An evaluation of the E-Z cassette player was conducted for the National Library Service (NLS) for the Blind and Physically Handicapped to determine if the player is suitable for readers who either had no previous experience with cassettes or who cannot operate a standard NLS cassette player. Players were distributed to volunteer library patrons…

The document makes up the appendixes to the final report of a program to evaluate user satisfaction, practicality, reliability, and maintainability of the Digicassette (or Portable Braille Recorder--PBR), an electronic braille reading and writing machine and an audiotape recorder which is compact and easy to carry around. Materials include the…

This directory, in its revised and updated form, documents the existence of 46 braille music collections in 27 countries. The purpose of the directory is not to list specific braille music editions but to establish preliminary data that will facilitate the future compilation of an international catalog. Entries in the directory are arranged…

The guide provides accreditation standards for programs which transcribe printed matter into alternate media for blind and visually handicapped persons. Presented in a self study format, the booklet touches upon six aspects of the production of reading materials (sample subtopics in parentheses): planning and organization (administration,…

The guide provides standards for self study and evaluation by social work and recreation and leisure programs for blind and visually handicapped persons. Standards are classified according to four components for social work and for recreation and leisure programs: planning and organization, personnel, program services, and program evaluation. It…

This final segment of a series of studies to ascertain the degree to which visually impaired persons use the Library of Congress National Library Service for the blind and physically handicapped (NLS) examines the methodologies involved in conducting the studies, as well as the problems associated with those methodologies. Chapters explore the…

This evaluation of the use of volunteers in the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) had five objectives: (1) to determine all categories of tasks currently performed by volunteers for network programs and to estimate the amount of time spent on each category by volunteers on a yearly basis; (2) to assess the…

In order to develop a profile of the readership served by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), and to identify readers' interests and concerns as an aid to future program planning, a users survey was conducted during the autumn of 1979. After a questionnaire was designed and tested, NLS members were surveyed…

The Braille Readiness Skills Grid identifies activities and skills that foster braille readiness in children with visual impairments. The grid assesses five readiness areas: tactile, fine motor, listening/attention, concept, and book/story. It is intended to encourage systematic braille readiness activities from infancy and foster children's…

This report describes the outcomes of a one-year federally funded pilot study of 14 students with low vision or blindness (grades 3-6) and 13 teachers. The study was designed to generate practical classroom assessment procedures for measuring "learned helplessness" and recommendations for a conceptual intervention model for use in the classroom.…

This experimental study compared the use of Belcastro rods with the use of traditional methods in teaching addition and subtraction of whole numbers to five blind students. Results showed a significant difference favoring the use of Belcastro rods. (Contains 30 references.) (MKR)

This article discusses the development of an orientation and mobility screening measure suitable for use with children having severe visual impairments (and possibly additional impairments) from birth through five years of age. Twenty instructors rated the measures as being useful. The two forms of the measure (for either ambulatory or…

The VIISA (Vision Impaired In-Service in America) training model provided early intervention/childhood professionals with training that would help them better serve preschoolers, ages birth to five, with blindness and visual impairment. Materials and procedures for two courses were developed and taught to 344 participants in 9 states over a 3-year…

A study investigated similarities and differences in the views of experienced vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselors serving African Americans who are blind or visually impaired. A total of 26 counselors, 11 of whom were African American, reported their views in structured telephone interviews. In general, there were more similarities than…

Reports results of the administration of a battery of tests of oral language skills to blind braille readers (N=15). Three skills were tested: phoneme deletion, sentence completion, and morphological analysis. Participants were congenitally blind high school students. Subjects differed from sighted readers only in the ability to perform…