[rehab] Upcoming NCLB Examination dates

[Edward Bell]

THE NATIONAL CERTIFICATION IN

LITERARY BRAILLE (NCLB)

 

As you may be aware, the National Literary Braille Competency Test (NLBCT) of the National Library Service (NLS) has been transferred to the administration of the National Blindness Professional Certification Board (NBPCB). With the NLBCT as its cornerstone, the NBPCB has established the National Certification in Literary Braille (NCLB), which is a complete professional credential that requires recertification on a five year cycle. Individuals who were certified with the NLBCT prior to 2006 will need to retest through the NBPCB; however, the initial fee may be waived if the applicant can show proof of original NLBCT credential.

 

The NCLB is currently the only nationally recognized certification in literary Braille. The examination has not been substantially changed from its earlier version once administered by the NLS, however a five year recertification requirement has been instituted in the interest of maintaining high standards. The exam is not aimed at transcribers. Rather, it is a valid test of a person’s ability to competently read, write, and understand contracted, literary Braille, and is being targeted to all individuals who teach Braille professionally, and/or those seeking to be credentialed in this area.

 

The next exams scheduled for 2009 are:

 

WASHINGTON, DC

Date:                Saturday, February 7, 2009

Time:                8:00am-5:00pm (Doors close 8:30am)

Location:          Holiday Inn Capitol (Columbia II)

550 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20024

Cost:                $250 combined application/testing fee

Deadline:          Friday, January 9, 2009 (or $275 late registration January 10-25)

 

NEW YORK, NY

Date:                Sunday, March 15, 2009

Time:                8:00am-5:00pm (Doors close 8:30am)

Location:          Lighthouse International (6th Floor Studio/Jr. Ballroom)

111 East 59th Street, New York, NY 10022-1202

Cost:                $250 combined application/testing fee

Deadline:          Sunday, February 15, 2009 (or $275 late registration Feb 16-Mar 1)

 

To apply online go to:

http://www.nbpcb.org/nclb/application/

 

or to download the NCLB Candidate Guidelines please visit:

http://www.nbpcb.org/nclb/

 

Subsequent NCLB examinations will be convened wherever an appropriate venue can be procured, and sufficient applicant numbers make it possible. For additional information please visit the NBPCB website at: www.nbpcb.org, call the NBPCB office at (318) 257-4554, or contact Louise Walch, NBPCB Coordinator, at: braille at nbpcb.org.





Edward C. Bell, Ph.D., CRC, NOMC
Director, Professional Development and Research
Institute on Blindness
Louisiana Tech University
210 Woodard Hall
PO Box 3158
Ruston LA  71272
318.257.4554 (Office)
318.257.2259 (Fax)
ebell at latech.edu
www.latech.edu/instituteonblindness
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"I am somehow less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops." 
-- Stephen Jay Gould