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…

In cooperation with a network of regional and subregional libraries, the Library of Congress provides a free library service to persons who are unable to read or use standard printed materials because of a visual or physical impairment. Books and magazines in recorded form (talking books) or in braille are delivered to eligible readers by…

This report describes activities and recommendations of the Texas Commission on Braille Textbook Production, which monitors the acquisition Commission on Braille Textbook Production. The primary purpose of the commission is to monitor the expeditious acquisition of publisher computerized files in the form of textbook diskettes which are needed for…

The goal of this project was to devise new methods of producing tactile facsimiles of microscopic images for the blind and visually impaired biology students at the secondary and college level. The numerous raised-line images that were produced were assembled along with brailled and large print student instructions, audio cassette tapes describing…

This guide to selected juvenile fiction lists books available on disc, on cassette, or in braille in network library collections provided by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress. The books were selected for readers from preschool to second grade, and fall into the following categories:…

A study conducted to determine user acceptability of cassette braille systems addressed three concerns: (1) user reaction to the basic concept of cassette braille, (2) the determination of the strong and weak features of the cassette braille machines currently available, and (3) the determination of those features of braille machines which would…

This thesis investigates the impact of computer Braille on blind professionals in terms of their need for, the availability of, and the cost of production of Braille transcriptions of serials. Related problems of an economic, legal, and educational nature are discussed as they impinge on the area of investigation. The thesis is in three parts:…

This historical study describes the development of braille and non-braille devices designed to aid the blind in arithmetic computations. Several such devices are described and evaluated. The author concludes that documentation of the development of arithmetic devices is unavailable, especially about the nature of 17th and 18th century devices…

A hypothesized hierarchy of tasks in the development of tactual discrimination (an essential skill for reading) was tested in 60 blind primary level children. For five braille and five Optacon (optical to tactile converter) sequences, Ss were asked to identify the different stimulus from the four presented. Scalogram analysis was used to examine…

Provided in the second of two articles is further evidence of the validity of the author's sequence of tactual discrimination tasks for partial development of Optacon use readiness in young blind children. (IM)

This review examines electronic braille input-output devices which have a braille keyboard for data entry and/or a braille display. Four braille notetakers and two braille computer systems are evaluated, commenting on their keyboards, ease of use, documentation, and analysis of speech and/or the braille display. (JDD)

This directory lists National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped libraries and machine-lending agencies alphabetically by state. Each entry includes address, phone and fax numbers, e-mail address, World Wide Web site, area served, librarian name, hours, book collection, special collections, assistive devices, special…

Describes an education professor's efforts to equalize opportunities for a blind student teacher in her reading instruction class. The class was better for sighted students because of the blind student's presence and the modifications made to accommodate her lack of sight. Accommodation challenges are even greater for elementary teachers with…

This article describes the whole-language philosophy of teaching reading and writing and its application to teaching braille reading to blind children. It suggests activities that are effective for enhancing the development of early reading behaviors in children who use braille and that integrate the critical components of literacy learning with…

A survey found a wide range of capabilities regarding the production of textbooks and instructional materials for students with visual impairments in 42 states. Shortages of qualified Braille transcribers and inadequate funding were cited as barriers to developing better services. The most effective model was a centralized production center.…