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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>FYI:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Chris Nusbaum, Co-Chair<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Public Relations Committee<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Maryland Association of Blind Students<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Phone: (443) 547-2409<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> bana-announce-bounces@brailleauthority.org [mailto:bana-announce-bounces@brailleauthority.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Kim.Charlson@Perkins.org<br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, March 06, 2013 10:06 AM<br><b>To:</b> BANA-Announce@brailleauthority.org<br><b>Subject:</b> [BANA-Announce] BANA to Hold Spring Board Meeting in Washington, D.C.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;text-align:center'><i><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><img width=184 height=75 id="_x0000_i1025" src="cid:153175314@06032013-1C6C"></span></i><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-top:6.0pt;text-align:center'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Press Release<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-top:3.0pt;text-align:center'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>March 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-top:3.0pt;text-align:center'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>For Immediate Release<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><hr size=5 width="97%" noshade style='color:#943634' align=center></span></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:6.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>CONTACT: Frances Mary D’Andrea, Chair<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Braille Authority of North America<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Phone: </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>412-521-5797</span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:13.7pt;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;text-indent:.5in'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Email: </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><a href="mailto:literacy2@mindspring.com"><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>literacy2@mindspring.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='mso-margin-top-alt:.25in;margin-right:13.7pt;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;text-align:center'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>BANA to Hold Spring Board Meeting in Washington, D.C.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:13.7pt;margin-bottom:10.0pt;margin-left:0in'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The Braille Authority of North America (BANA), which meets face-to-face semiannually, will hold its 2013 spring meeting April 11-13 in Washington, D.C. This meeting is hosted by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), a BANA member organization. Meetings on April 11 and 12 will take place in the Madison Building at the Library of Congress, which is located at 101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, DC 20540. Meetings on Saturday, April 13, including an Open Forum, will be held at the Arlington Public Library, 1015 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, VA 22201. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:13.7pt;margin-bottom:10.0pt;margin-left:0in'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>As always, interested parties are invited to observe the BANA Board meetings. Items on the Board’s agenda include reports from all of BANA's technical <span style='color:black'>committees such as music, formats, and tactile graphics. In-depth reports will be presented by the BANA Bylaws Committee as well as the Unified English Braille (UEB) Task Force. </span>To learn the process required to comply with special security requirements and procedures for entry to federal buildings and to reserve a seat as an observer, please contact BANA Chair Frances Mary D’Andrea at 412-521-5797 or by email at <a href="mailto:literacy2@mindspring.com">literacy2@mindspring.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:13.7pt;margin-bottom:10.0pt;margin-left:0in'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Saturday morning, BANA will host an Open Forum that provides a venue for participants to discuss braille with the Board and to learn more about the workings of BANA. Members of the BANA Board will share plans for the transition to UEB. Forum participants are encouraged to discuss their views and suggestions surrounding braille and its future. Braille readers, teachers, and students as well as producers and distributors of braille are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to participate in a round-table discussion with the members of the BANA Board. The Open Forum will be held Saturday, April 13, from 10:30 A.M to 12:00 noon at the Arlington Public Library. A meet-and-greet time with snacks will begin at 10:00 A.M. To reserve your space at the Open Forum and to help ensure accurate counts for handouts, contact Frances Mary D’Andrea.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:13.7pt;margin-bottom:10.0pt;margin-left:0in'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>For additional resource information, visit </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><a href="http://www.brailleauthority.org/"><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>www.brailleauthority.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:13.7pt;margin-bottom:10.0pt;margin-left:0in'><i><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The Board of BANA consists of appointed representatives from fifteen member organizations of braille producers, transcribers, teachers, and consumers.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:13.7pt;margin-bottom:10.0pt;margin-left:0in'><i><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>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. </span></i><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></body></html>