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<div align="center"><b>Press Release<br>
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<div align="center"><b>September 2012<br>
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<div align="center"><b>For Immediate Release<br>
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CONTACT: Frances Mary D’Andrea, Chair<br><br>
Braille Authority of North America<br><br>
Phone: 412-521-5797<br><br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:literacy2@mindspring.com"><font color="#0000FF">
literacy2@mindspring.com</a><br>
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<div align="center"><b>BANA to Hold Fall Board Meeting in Los
Angeles<br>
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The Braille Authority of North America (BANA), which meets face-to-face
semiannually, will hold its fall meeting on November 2–4, 2012, in Los
Angeles, CA. This meeting is hosted by the Braille Institute of America
(BIA), a BANA member organization. Meetings on November 2, including an
Open Forum, will take place at the BIA, which is located at 741 North
Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles, CA. Meetings on November 3 and 4 will be
held at the Los Angeles Marriot Burbank Airport Hotel and Convention
Center located at 2500 North Hollywood Way in Burbank. <br><br>
<br><br>
BANA will host an Open Forum on Friday morning, November 2, from 10:00 AM
until 12:00. The first half-hour will be an informal reception with
coffee provided. This forum is the venue for participants to ask
questions and discuss braille with the Board and to learn more about the
workings of BANA. Members of the BANA Board want to hear participants’
views about issues surrounding braille and its future. Braille readers,
teachers, and producers of braille are encouraged to take advantage of
this opportunity to participate in a round-table discussion with the
members of the BANA Board. To reserve your space at the Open Forum and to
help ensure accurate counts for handouts, contact Frances Mary D’Andrea
at 412-521-5797 or by email at
<a href="mailto:literacy2@mindspring.com"><font color="#0000FF">
literacy2@mindspring.com</a></font>. <br><br>
<br><br>
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
committees as well as votes pertaining to the future of braille codes in
the United States. One direction under consideration is the adoption of
Unified English Braille while maintaining the Nemeth Code. To reserve a
seat as an observer, please contact BANA Chair Frances Mary
D’Andrea.<br><br>
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For additional resource information, visit
<a href="http://www.brailleauthority.org/"><font color="#0000FF">
www.brailleauthority.org</a><br>
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</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></body>
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