[Blindtlk] Fwd: [BANA-Announce] BANA Meeting Report Release

[David Andrews]

>
>Press Release
>
>April 2011
>
>For Immediate Release
>
>CONTACT: Judy Dixon, Chair
>
>Braille Authority of <?xml:namespace prefix = 
>st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />North America
>
>Phone: 202-707-0722, Email: jdix at loc.gov
>
>
>
>BANA Dialogues about Braille at Spring Board Meeting
>
>
>
>The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) 
>held its spring meeting on April 1 – 3, 2011, in 
>Cincinnati, Ohio. This meeting was hosted by The 
>Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually 
>Impaired (CCBVI), a BANA member organization.
>
>
>
>The Board Meeting was preceded by its 
>traditional open forum on the evening of 
>Thursday, March 31, at the Hyatt Regency. This 
>round-table meeting provided an opportunity for 
>participants to learn more about the workings of 
>BANA and to offer feedback about issues surrounding braille and its future.
>
>
>
>The BANA Board welcomed two new participants. 
>Friday morning, at the opening session of the 
>business meeting, Chair Judy Dixon introduced 
>Kim McEachirn, Clovernook’s new representative 
>to the BANA Board. Later in the business 
>meeting, the Board voted unanimously to accept 
>the application of Crawford Technologies to join 
>BANA as an associate member.  Congratulations to 
>both Mr. McEachirn and Crawford Technologies.
>
>
>
>Topics on the agenda included tactile graphics, 
>foreign language braille, strategic planning, 
>and the recent review of the formats guidelines. 
>Pete Osborne, Chair of the United Kingdom 
>Association for Accessible Formats (UKAAF), 
>attended the full meeting and provided a helpful 
>international perspective. UKAAF was formed in 
>2009 when the Braille Authority of the United 
>Kingdom merged with two other industry organizations.
>
>The Board participated in lengthy and thoughtful 
>deliberations as they explored the evolving ways 
>in which braille is produced and used. These 
>essential considerations have been spurred by 
>the rapid changes and impact of technology as 
>well as the escalation of changes in print materials.
>
>
>
>The Board approved a code change recommended by 
>the Braille Mathematics Technical Committee. 
>This change to Rule XXV Sections 191a(v) and 
>191b(vi) in the Nemeth code is effective as of 
>April 3, 2011. The change – which is posted at 
><http://www.brailleauthority.org/nemethupdates2011/rule25/index.html>http://www.brailleauthority.org/nemethupdates2011/rule25/index.html 
>–
>
>eliminates the blank line between a cell-5 
>heading and directions that immediately follow the heading.
>
>
>
>For additional information and resources, visit 
><http://www.brailleauthority.org/>www.brailleauthority.org
>
>
>
>The mission and purpose of the Braille Authority 
>of North America are to assure literacy for 
>tactile readers through the standardization of 
>braille and/or tactile graphics. BANA promotes 
>and facilitates the use, teaching, and 
>production of braille. It publishes rules, 
>interprets, and renders opinions pertaining to 
>braille in all existing codes. It deals with 
>codes now in existence or to be developed in the 
>future, in collaboration with other countries 
>using English braille. In exercising its 
>function and authority, BANA considers the 
>effects of its decisions on other existing 
>braille codes and formats; the ease of 
>production by various methods; and acceptability to readers.
>