[Electronics-talk] More Information About Free Currency Reader Program

[Gerald Levy]

Following is more information taken from another list about the free currency reader program that will be rolled out by the US Department of the Treasury Bureau of Engraving and Printing:


DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

BUREAU OF ENGRAVING AND PRINTING

washington DC headquarters

WASHINGTON, DC

Table cell intentionally left blank

Western Currency Facility, Ft. Worth TX

FT. WORTH, TX

Release Date: July 3, 2014 Contact: Darlene Anderson

Darlene.Anderson at BEP.GOV

(202) 874-2229

BEP Announces U.S. Currency Reader Program for Blind and Visually Impaired

Orlando, FL - The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) revealed today its plans

to distribute currency

reader devices at no cost to eligible blind or visually impaired persons, as one

component of its initiative

to provide meaningful access to Federal Reserve notes (U.S. currency). Program details

were presented at

the National Federation of the Blind's (NFB) Board of Directors meeting and annual

convention by the

Senior Advisor to the BEP's Director, Dawn R. Haley, in Orlando, Florida.

Haley signaled the U.S. Currency Reader Program kick-off by announcing that currency

readers would be

distributed to eligible attendees at the July and August summer conventions of the

National Federation of

the Blind, American Council of the Blind (ACB), and Blinded Veterans of America (BVA),

followed by a

broader launch of the program in two phases:

Pilot: Beginning September 2, 2014, in partnership with the Library of Congress National

Library

Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) the BEP will initiate a four-month

pilot

where NLS patrons can pre-order a currency reader. The pilot program allows the government

to

test its ordering and distribution processes and gauge demand for currency readers.

National Rollout: Currency readers will be widely available to all U.S. citizens,

or persons legally

residing in the U.S. who are blind or visually impaired, starting January 2, 2015.

Individuals who

are not NLS patrons must submit an application, signed by a competent authority who

can certify

eligibility, to request a currency reader.

"The BEP has participated at the summer conventions for a number of years now," Haley

said. "We are

excited to introduce our currency reader program plans here at this venue and to

provide currency readers

to interested conference participants here and at the other conventions as well."

Through a national network of cooperating libraries, NLS administers a free library

program that

circulates braille and audio materials to approximately 400,000 eligible borrowers

in the United States.

"The fact that we already have a process in place to provide reading materials to

individuals who are blind

or visually impaired made our partnership with the BEP a natural fit," explained

Isabella Marques de

Castilla, NLS Deputy Director. "Our role in the U.S. Currency Reader Program will

be to process orders

and distribute currency reader devices to eligible individuals."

In 2011, the BEP introduced EyeNote®, an app that scans and identifies note images

on mobile devices

operating on the Apple iOS platform. A similar app for Android phones, the IDEAL

Currency Reader ®

was developed through collaboration with the Department of Education.

Individuals interested in applying for a currency reader device or learning more

about BEP's meaningful

access program can visit

www.bep.gov

.


Gerald