<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div>Take a minute to read.</div><div>Cathy<br><br>Sent from my iPhone</div><div><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><b>From:</b> David Andrews <<a href="mailto:dandrews@visi.com">dandrews@visi.com</a>><br><b>Date:</b> February 16, 2013, 3:34:10 PM EST<br><b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:nfbnet-master-list@nfbnet.org">nfbnet-master-list@nfbnet.org</a>,<br><b>Subject:</b> <b>[Nfbnet-master-list] Fwd: [BANA-Announce] BANA Recent Actions Release</b><br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite" class="cite" cite="">From:
<<a href="mailto:Kim.Charlson@Perkins.org">Kim.Charlson@Perkins.org</a>><br>
To: <<a href="mailto:BANA-Announce@brailleauthority.org">BANA-Announce@brailleauthority.org</a>><br>
Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2013 22:42:09 +0000<br>
Subject: [BANA-Announce] BANA Recent Actions Release<br><br>
<div align="center"><b>Press Release<br>
</b></div>
<br>
<div align="center"><b>February 2013<br>
</b></div>
<br>
<div align="center"> <br>
</div>
<br>
<div align="center"><b>For Immediate Release<br>
<br>
</b></div>
CONTACT: Frances Mary D’Andrea, Chair<br><br>
Braille Authority of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /> North
America<br><br>
Phone: 412-521-5797<br><br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:literacy2@mindspring.com"><font color="#0000FF">
literacy2@mindspring.com</font></a><font color="#0000FF"><br>
</font><br>
<div align="center"> <br>
</div>
<br>
<div align="center"><b>Recent Actions: BANA Adopts UEB for United States;
Elects Officers, Approves Modifications of Nemeth Code and Computer
Braille Code<br>
</b></div>
<br>
<br><br>
The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) held its 2012 fall meeting
on November 2 – 4 in Los Angeles, CA. The Braille Institute of America
(BIA), a BANA member organization, hosted the meeting. A well-attended
Open Forum provided an opportunity for participants to learn more about
the workings of BANA and to provide feedback. Members of the BANA Board
reviewed the history and rationale behind <i>Unified English Braille
</i>(UEB)<i> </i>and responded to participants’ questions and concerns
about its adoption.<br><br>
During its three-day meeting, the BANA Board reviewed and acted on
semiannual reports from its eighteen committees and deliberated issues
and challenges facing braille users and producers. Based on
recommendations from BANA technical committees, the following rulings
were approved:<br><br>
<u>Modification to Section 191 of the Nemeth Code</u>: A minor wording
change to Section 191 of the Nemeth Code was recommended by the BANA
Mathematics Technical Committee and approved by the BANA Board. By
removing the word "outlines" from this section of the Nemeth
Code, transcribers can use the nested list format detailed in <i>Braille
Formats: Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription, 2011</i> when
transcribing outlines and tables of contents in Nemeth. This change is
effective immediately, and it is posted on the BANA website.<br><br>
<u>Minor change in wording of the Computer Braille Code Update:</u> The
Board approved a clarification to the Computer Braille Code Special
Symbols Update 2010. This update makes clear the fact that CBC symbols
are to be listed on the Special Symbols page in a specific order. This
clarification is reflected in the files on the BANA website.<br><br>
<u>Document approved – <i>Application of the Formats Guidelines 2011 to
Nemeth Transcriptions</i>:</u> BANA’s Mathematics Braille Technical
Committee created a document that provides a quick guide to the updated
<i>Braille Formats: Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription,
2011</i> for transcribers and proofreaders who produce Nemeth code
materials. The Board approved this document, and it will soon be posted
on the BANA website.<br><br>
<br><br>
BANA welcomed a new member organization, the Alternate Text Production
Center of the California Community Colleges (ATPC), and their
representative to the Board, Sandy Greenberg. BANA also welcomed two new
Board Representatives – Nancy Niebrugge from the Braille Institute of
America and Jackie Sheridan from National Braille Press.<br><br>
<br><br>
The Board elected officers for the 2013 calendar year, and they are:
<br><br>
<br><br>
<b>Chair: Frances Mary D’Andrea</b>, representing the American Foundation
for the Blind (AFB); <br><br>
<b>Vice Chair: Mary Nelle McLennan</b>, representing the American
Printing House for the Blind (APH);<br><br>
<b>Secretary: Jennifer Dunnam</b>, representing the National Federation
of the Blind (NFB);<br><br>
<b>Treasurer: Sue Reilly,</b> representing the California Transcribers
and Educators of the Blind and Visually Impaired (CTEBVI); and<br><br>
<b>Immediate Past Chair: Judy Dixon</b>, representing the National
Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS).<br><br>
<br><br>
As reported in a press release distributed in early November 2012, the
most notable action by the Board was the adoption of the <i>Unified
Braille Code</i> (UEB) in the United States. The transition to UEB will
take time and will require extensive preparation and coordination. The
transition will follow a carefully crafted implementation timeline and
plan that will take into consideration the various aspects of using,
teaching, and producing braille. At its November meeting, the BANA Board
appointed a UEB Implementation Task Force, which is constructing an
implementation plan that will reflect input from the diverse communities
involved in using, teaching, learning, and producing braille.
Opportunities for input into the implementation plan will continue
through the summer and fall as well as throughout the transition period.
After the implementation plan is put into action and the transition time
is determined, the official braille codes for the United States will be
<i>Unified English Braille</i>; <i>Nemeth Code for Mathematics and
Science Notation, 1972 Revision</i> and published updates; <i>Music
Braille Code, 1997</i>; and <i>The IPA Braille Code, 2008</i>. <br><br>
<br><br>
BANA’s next meeting will be sponsored by the National Library Service for
the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS). Meetings will be held at the
Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The dates of this spring meeting
will be April 11 through 13, 2013, with the Open Forum scheduled for
Saturday, April 13 at the Arlington, VA, Public Library. Observers are
welcome; however, interested guests must register in advance with the
BANA Chair in order to conform with special security requirements and
procedures for entry to federal buildings. Additional details about the
spring meeting and the Open Forum will be announced soon.<br><br>
<br><br>
For additional resource information, visit
<a href="http://www.brailleauthority.org/">www.brailleauthority.org</a>
<br><br>
<i>The Board of BANA consists of appointed representatives from fifteen
member organizations of braille producers, transcribers, teachers, and
consumers.<br>
</i><br>
<i>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. </i></blockquote>
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