[nobe-l] Fwd: [BANA-Announce] BANA Press Release: Recent Actions of Spring 2014 Meeting

Tue May 13 19:47:03 UTC 2014

>From: "Mary Nelle McLennan" <mary.nelle at earthlink.net>
>To: <bana-announce at brailleauthority.org>
>Date: Tue, 13 May 2014 12:45:30 -0400
>Subject: [BANA-Announce] BANA Press Release: Recent Actions of Spring 2014
>         Meeting
>
>[]
>
>
>Press Release
>
>Spring 2014
>
>For Immediate Release
>
>CONTACT: Frances Mary D’Andrea, Chair
>
>Braille Authority of North America
>
>Phone: 412-521-5797
>
>Email: <mailto:literacy2 at mindspring.com>literacy2 at mindspring.com
>
>Recent Actions: BANA Held Spring Meeting in Philadelphia
>
>The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) 
>held its 2014 spring meeting April 3 – 5 in 
>Philadelphia, PA. Associated Services for the 
>Blind and Visually Impaired, (ASB), a BANA 
>member organization, hosted the meeting. All sessions were held at ASB.
>
>During its three-day meeting, the BANA Board 
>reviewed and acted on semiannual reports from 
>its eighteen committees, considered committee 
>recommendations, and deliberated issues and 
>challenges facing braille users and producers. 
>The UEB Task Force reported on the development 
>of a plan for the transition to UEB in the 
>United States as well as the collaborative steps 
>that have been taken to initiate dialogue and 
>planning among the various braille communities. 
>The development of resources for training 
>teachers, transcribers, consumers, and family 
>members is a focus of BANA’s efforts at this time.
>
>BANA welcomed three new organizational 
>representatives to their first meeting as 
>members of the Board. Dawn Gross is the new 
>representative from the Alternate Text 
>Production Center of the California Community 
>Colleges (ATPC). Peggy Schuetz now represents 
>the California Transcribers and Educators of the 
>Blind and Visually Impaired (CTEBVI). Kyle Key 
>has recently been appointed as the 
>representative from the Clovernook Center for the Blind.
>
>In addition to extensive deliberations involved 
>in the 44-item meeting agenda, actions of note included the following:
>
>Revisited and revised organizational priorities 
>in order to balance BANA’s work during this time 
>of focus on the transition to UEB.
>
>Approved a recommendation from the Tactile 
>Graphics Technical Committee that any braille 
>volume containing one or more tactile graphics 
>should contain a note on the Transcriber’s Notes 
>page stating: “The Guidelines and Standards for 
>Tactile Graphics, 2010 was used in the preparation of the tactile graphics.”
>
>Approved a document detailing specific factors 
>and specifications that should be employed when 
>producing braille signage. This new fact sheet 
>will be posted on the BANA website.
>
>Voted that, in light of the major revision 
>underway to align the Braille Formats 
>publication with UEB, BANA will not produce for 
>sale hardcopy editions of Braille Formats 2011, 
>which can be downloaded free of charge from the 
>BANA website and printed or embossed. The Board 
>also voted to add the recently posted errata in 
>the HTML, PDF, and BRF files of Braille Formats 
>2011 that are posted on the BANA website. These 
>decisions followed an extensive deliberation of 
>the complex issues impacting BANA’s current 
>obligations and resources. NOTE: Braille Formats 
>2011 went into effect in January 1, 2013. 
>Materials now being transcribed should follow these guidelines.
>
>On Saturday morning, BANA hosted an Open Forum, 
>which was well attended by individuals from the 
>Philadelphia community. BANA Board members and 
>forum participants enjoyed reading example 
>documents transcribed in Unified English Braille 
>and discussing the characteristics of the code. 
>They also discussed the progress of the 
>transition to UEB as well as ongoing plans for 
>informing braille readers and preparing 
>educators and transcribers about specific code changes.
>
>NOTE: This press release is available in HTML on 
>the BANA website at 
><http://www.brailleauthority.org/pressreleases/pr-2014-4.html>http://www.brailleauthority.org/pressreleases/pr-2014-4.html 
>
>
>For additional resource information, visit 
><http://www.brailleauthority.org>www.brailleauthority.org.
>
>You can follow the work of BANA by signing up 
>for BANA-Announce, a one-way email list that 
>disseminates news and information. To join this 
>list, send a blank email message to 
><mailto:bana-announce-subscribe at brailleauthority.org>bana-announce-subscribe at brailleauthority.org 
>and follow the directions in the confirmation 
>email that will be sent in response. You can 
>also follow BANA on Facebook and Twitter!
>
>The Board of BANA consists of appointed 
>representatives from seventeen member 
>organizations of braille producers, transcribers, teachers, and consumers.
>
>The mission of the Braille Authority of North 
>America is to assure literacy for tactile 
>readers through the standardization of braille and/or tactile graphics.
>
>
>
>The purpose of BANA is to promote and to 
>facilitate the uses, teaching, and production of 
>braille. Pursuant to this purpose, BANA will 
>promulgate rules, make interpretations, and 
>render opinions pertaining to braille codes and 
>guidelines for the provisions of literary and 
>technical materials and related forms and 
>formats of embossed materials now in existence 
>or to be developed in the future for the use of 
>blind persons in North America. When 
>appropriate, BANA shall accomplish these 
>activities in international collaboration with 
>countries using English braille. In exercising 
>its function and authority, BANA shall consider 
>the effects of its decisions on other existing 
>braille codes and guidelines, forms and formats; 
>ease of production by various methods; and acceptability to readers.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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