1. Call to Order: Jen

Jen called the meeting to order at 1:04 PM Eastern Time.

2. Roll Call: Amber

Attending:

• Jen Goulden, CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind), Chair
• Mary Nelle McLennan, Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER), Vice Chair
• Amber Pearcy, National Braille Press (NBP), Secretary
• Danette Johnson, Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Treasurer
• Marie Zaldivar, Alternate Text Production Center (ATPC)
• Judy Dixon, American Council of the Blind (ACB)
• Frances Mary (FM) D'Andrea, American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
• Guy Toles, Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation (CIDI)
• Kyle DeJute, American Printing House for the Blind (APH)
• Tracy Gaines, California Transcribers and Educators for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CTEBVI)
• Tina Seger, Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• Diane Spence, National Braille Association (NBA)
• Jennifer Dunnam, National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
• Wendy Buckley, Perkins School for the Blind
• Susan (Sue) Reilly, Administrative Assistant
• Holly Bullock, associate member Crawford Technologies

Not attending:

• Tamara Rorie, National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress (NLS), Immediate Past Chair

3. Approval of Minutes from March Meeting: Amber

MSC: Amber moved and Tracy seconded that the minutes from the March 24 meeting be approved. Motion carried.

4. Titles for Nemeth, Chemistry and Tactile Graphics Documents: Jennifer

Discussion was had about whether or not the word “The” should be added at the beginning of the title for the Nemeth Code manual. There was concern about the amount of work this would add for the tactile graphics committee, but the board ultimately agreed on adding the word “The.”

MSC: Diane moved and Tina seconded the use of the following titles: The Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation, 2022; Chemistry Notation using the Nemeth Braille Code 2022. Motion carried.

Tactile Graphics will begin working on incorporating the feedback from the board. They will then provide the board with a list of changes and the revised document. We would like to vote on the final document at the May meeting so that Publications can work on the accessible versions of the final document. Mary Nelle asked if Publications could begin the copy edits before the May meeting, and Diane agreed to this.

5. Web migration: Jennifer

Jennifer reported that the Braille Formats document was successfully uploaded to the new site.

6. Foreign Language Guidance: Jennifer

Jenifer reported that the task force is planning to submit their revised guidance within the next few days. We would also like to approve this document at the May meeting.

7. Braille Signage Committee: Jen

Jen has reached out to Kim about her plans for continuing to chair this committee, but she has not heard from her. Jen has also agreed to be the board liaison for this committee.

MSC: Kyle moved and Wendy seconded that Jen should serve as board liaison for the signage committee. Motion carried.

8. Standardized Tests: Jen

Jen reported that she has confirmed with Katharine, Whitney, and Diane that they will serve on this committee. Katharine, Diane and Whitney will try to recruit a few more members. A chair is also still needed.

9. Appointments Committee: Jen

Jennifer will leave this committee.  She is happy to help onboard the new members. The board thanks Jennifer for her dedication and work on this committee. 

MSC: FM moved and Jennifer seconded that Kyle serve on the Appointments Committee. Motion carried.

10. Knit and Crochet: Jen

Jen reported that Melissa LaCasse from NBP will serve on the committee. We would still like to find one or two more people to help her.

11. Upcoming Meetings: Jen

Jen confirmed that the spring meeting will take place on May 19 and 20. We will see how much gets done at that meeting to determine the rest of the summer schedule. It is possible that we could skip the monthly meetings in June and July. We will also revisit the issue of trainings during the summer.

12. Horizons for the Blind: Danette

Danette asked whether a representative has been appointed from Horizons for the Blind. Jen will suggest that they attend the annual meeting as associate members if they are not prepared to appoint a new representative. Jen will reach out again to ask about a replacement. She will also provide information about what BANA does, as well as discuss the history of Horizons' participation in the organization.

13. ICEB Music Representative: Judy

Judy asked about the status of finding a representative for the ICEB Braille Music Committee. Jen has been in touch with Karen Gearreald, and Karen and Tamara both agreed to try to think of possible representatives. Judy would like to have a nomination by May 9 if possible.

14. Reports Reminder: Jen

Jen reminded everyone that reports are due to Sue by May 5.

15. Fall Meeting: Diane

Diane asked when a decision would be made regarding the fall meeting. Jen said that we would discuss it at the May meeting.

16. Adjournment: Jen

Jen adjourned the meeting at 2:13 PM. 

Respectfully submitted,
Amber Pearcy
April 29, 2022

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1. Call to Order: Jen

Jen called the meeting to order at 1:02 P.M. Eastern time.

2. Roll Call: Amber

Attending:

• Jen Goulden, CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind), Chair
• Mary Nelle McLennan, Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER), Vice Chair
• Amber Pearcy, National Braille Press (NBP), Secretary
• Danette Johnson, Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Treasurer
• Tamara Rorie, National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress (NLS), Immediate Past Chair
• Marie Zaldivar, Alternate Text Production Center (ATPC)
• Judy Dixon, American Council of the Blind (ACB)
• Frances Mary (FM) D'Andrea, American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
• Guy Toles, Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation (CIDI)
• Kyle DeJute, American Printing House for the Blind (APH)
• Tracy Gaines, California Transcribers and Educators for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CTEBVI)
• Tina Seger, Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• Diane Spence, National Braille Association (NBA)
• Jennifer Dunnam, National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
• Wendy Buckley, Perkins School for the Blind
• Susan (Sue) Reilly, Administrative Assistant
• Holly Bullock, associate member Crawford Technologies

Observers: Natalio Abar NLS Intern, Collections Quality Assurance

3. Approval of Minutes from February meeting: Amber

MSC: Amber moved and Kyle seconded that the February minutes be approved.

4. Update on Meeting of Nemeth, Chemistry and Tactile Graphics Committee Chairs: Jennifer

Jennifer reported that the committees had a productive meeting. One pending item is the titles of the documents as they are referenced in the revised Tactile Graphics Guidelines. There are some inconsistencies in the titles of the Nemeth Code and Chemistry Code documents. Jennifer will ask the Nemeth and Chemistry committees to send the proposed titles of their revised documents to the board for approval. This change will need to be made throughout the entire Tactile Graphics Guidelines document.

Another meeting is scheduled for March 24, and Jennifer is hopeful that this will be the final meeting. Mary Nelle has asked for an estimate of when the tactile graphics document will be handed over to Publications; Jennifer will have a date determined after the meeting on the 24th.

5. Web Migration: Jennifer

Jennifer reported that Mary Nelle, Kyle and Holly have compiled a list of updates from the old website to the new site. Problems with the Braille Formats document are holding up the process of going live; the document is not showing on the new site even after being uploaded to the server. 

6. Foreign Language Guidance: Jennifer

Jennifer reported that there was great feedback for the task force. The task force is meeting on March 22, and they will have a response 30 days before the spring meeting.

7. Committee Membership: Jen

Jen led the board in the discussion of the following committees, which have been inactive for some time.

Braille Signage:

Judy and FM pointed out that ICEB receives many inquiries about braille signage. The board agreeed that this committee is still relevant and has important tasks to complete, such as the brochure on braille signage. A suggestion was also made to give braille signage a more prominent place on the new website. The listserve for this committee also needs to be migrated to Groups.IO.

Kim Charlson has agreed to remain as chair of this committee. Jen will follow up with her to discuss plans for meeting with the committee to get brochure updates moving forward.

There is confusion about whether the co-chair of this committee will continue to serve. This committee is also in need of a liaison. This can be decided at the spring meeting.

FM asks how inquiries about signage should be handled. If the questions are not sent to the committee listserv, they should be sent to Kim.  

Knit and Crochet ad hoc Committee:

Amber will see if there is anyone at NBP who has experience transcribing knit and crochet patterns. The committee needs to be re-populated so that the outstanding charge of updating the guidelines for UEB can be completed.

Outreach:

Jen confirmed that Marie is the chair. Jen is the liaison to Publications. Judy, Tracy, Amber, Tamara, Guy and Sue are the current members. Kim can no longer continue as podcast manager, and Cindy is no longer on the board; therefore, Kim and Cindy will come off of the committee.

Marie will review the charges and convene a meeting. Sue will send the charges to Marie.

Standardized Tests:

Members are currently Katherine Padgett, Whitney Gregory, and Diane Spence. It was believed that Katherine would be able to chair the committee, but this is no longer the case; therefore, a new chair must be chosen. Jen will reach out to the membership of this committee to schedule a meeting. The committee should have more members, who can be appointed at the spring meeting.

Outreach Needs Task Force:

This group prepared a report for the board in 2020. Judy will send the report to the board for everyone's review and for the benefit of new members. The board should review the report and come back with feedback before Outreach takes over.   

MSC: Jennifer moved and Tracy seconded that the disposition of Charge 380 be changed to done.

[Charge 380: Take a high-level view of what type of outreach BANA needs and how to do it.]

MSC: Judy moved and Tina seconded that the Outreach Needs Task Force be dissolved.

About BANA Task Force:

Members are Judy, Jen, Guy and Sue. The task force will update the About BANA section of the website by August 1.

Appointments Committee:

Current members are Jennifer and Tracy. This committee manages the process of filling seats on committees. They also recruit potential members. This committee does need a couple of new members.

MSC: Tamara moved and Tracy seconded that Amber be appointed to the Appointments Committee.

8. ICEB Updates: FM

FM reported that Clyve Lansink has been appointed as the new chair for the Committee on Technical Braille.

A vote on the German sharp s will be held soon.

ICEB has been working on a contested words list. To this end, the vote to use the "th" contraction in the name Beethoven has passed.

FM asked if anyone would be interested in participating on the Braille Music Committee because there are a lot of things that the committee would like to accomplish. There is not a lot of participation from the US currently. Anyone wishing to observe this committee should let Jen know.

9. Upcoming Meetings: Jen

Jen confirmed that the next meeting will be on April 18, 2022 at 1:00 PM Eastern.

10. Adjournment: Jen

Jen adjourned the meeting at 2:23 PM.

Respectfully submitted:
Amber Pearcy (Secretary)
April 1, 2022

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1. Call to Order: Jen

Jen called the meeting to order at 1:11 p.m. Eastern Time.

2. Roll Call: Amber

Attending:

• Jen Goulden, CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind), Chair
• Mary Nelle McLennan, Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER), Vice Chair
• Amber Pearcy, National Braille Press (NBP), Secretary
• Tamara Rorie, National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress (NLS), Immediate Past Chair
• Frances Mary (FM) D'Andrea, American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
• Guy Toles, Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation (CIDI)
• Kyle DeJute, American Printing House for the Blind (APH)
• Tracy Gaines, California Transcribers and Educators for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CTEBVI)
• Tina Seger, Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• Jennifer Dunnam, National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
• Wendy Buckley, Perkins School for the Blind
• Susan (Sue) Reilly, Administrative Assistant
• Holly Bullock, associate member Crawford Technologies

Absent:

Marie Zaldivar, Alternate Text Production Center (ATPC)

Judy Dixon, American Council of the Blind (ACB)

Diane, Spence National Braille Association (NBA)

Danette Johnson, Hadley Institute for the Blind

3. Approval of Minutes from January Meeting: Amber

MSC: Amber moved and Tamara seconded that the minutes from the January meeting be approved.

4. Update on Meeting of Nemeth, Chemistry and Tactile Graphics Committee Chairs: Jennifer

Jennifer reported that the Nemeth committee is meeting weekly to review their notes from the review panel.

The Tactile Graphics Committee has implemented feedback from the board and has sent the document back to the review committee.

Nemeth, Tactile Graphics and Chemistry committees have met to look at any conflicts between the three code documents. Chairs and liaisons have had one short but productive meeting. Additional longer meeting scheduled for Feb. 26.

5. Web migration: Jennifer

Jennifer reported that the task force is making progress. Kyle and Holly are working on comparisons of the old website with the new one. Sue has access so that she can make updates. Another meeting is scheduled two weeks from now.

6. Foreign Language Guidance: Jennifer

Jennifer reported that responses have been received from the board, and they are compiled in a document for the task force. In order to collect more responses, the deadline could be extended to end of day on  Sunday February 27; numerous people indicated that this would be helpful. Afterward, an updated document will be compiled, and the Review Committee will work with the task force to implement changes before the document comes back to the board. Jennifer will notify BANA-L of the deadline extension.

7. Permission Request from Monica: Jen

Monica Vilpers has asked if she can print the Basics of Braille -- giving credit to BANA as the source – for inclusion with her products. MN suggests looking at this document to ensure that it is up-to-date. The  board would like more information about her intensions for using the document. She can link to the BANA page or include a braille alphabet card, but we are not sure if she can use the document.

8. Appointment of James: Jen

The eBRF Committee would like to add James Bowden as a member.

MSC: MN moved and FM seconded the appointment of James Bowden to the committee.

Sue will create a listserv for this committee and Jen will send Sue James's information for the directory.

9. Upcoming Meetings: Jen

The March teleconference will be on Monday March 21 at 1:00 p.m. eastern time; the April teleconference will be on Monday April 18 at 1:00 p.m. eastern time.

After some discussion, it was decided that because of several scheduling conflicts, as well as uncertainties about travel among the board members, the spring meeting should be held virtually to maximize everyone’s availability to attend.

MSC: Jennifer moves and Kyle seconds that the spring meeting will be held virtually on May 19-20 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

10. Miscellaneous Items: FM, Kyle, MN

FM mentioned that ICEB is hoping to find someone who can lead the effort to revise the Guidelines for Technical Materials because the current chair has stepped down. She asks that people reach out to Judy if they would like to take this on or know anyone who can.

Kyle asked for a clarification on the status of the documents. Tactile Graphics has been reviewed by the board. Nemeth and Chemistry are still awaiting review by the board.

MN reports that the Publications Committee has found an accessibility specialist who is willing to work on the three revisions of the code documents. Justin Laffey has offered to do this remediation on a pro bono basis. No written agreement has been signed yet, but he has agreed to the written scope of work.

10. Adjournment: Jen

Jen adjourned the meeting at 2:12 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Amber Pearcy (Secretary)
March 4, 2022

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1. Call to Order: Jen Goulden

Jen Goulden, BANA Chair, called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

2. Roll Call: Amber Pearcy

Attending:

• Jen Goulden, CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind), Chair
• Mary Nelle McLennan, Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER), Vice Chair
• Amber Pearcy, National Braille Press (NBP), Secretary
• Danette Johnson, Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Treasurer
• Tamara Rorie, National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress (NLS), Immediate Past Chair
• Judy Dixon, American Council of the Blind (ACB)
• Frances Mary (FM) D'Andrea, American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
• Guy Toles, Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation (CIDI)
• Kyle DeJute, American Printing House for the Blind (APH)
• Tracy Gaines, California Transcribers and Educators for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CTEBVI)
• Tina Seger, Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• Diane Spence, National Braille Association (NBA)
• Jennifer Dunnam, National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
• Wendy Buckley, Perkins School for the Blind
• Susan (Sue) Reilly, Administrative Assistant
• Holly Bullock, associate member Crawford Technologies

Absent:

• Marie Zaldivar, Alternate Text Production Center (ATPC)
• Cindy Skandera, Horizons for the Blind

 

3. Membership Change: Jen

Jen announced that Cindy is stepping down as representative of Horizons for the Blind. She plans to speak with the CEO of Horizons for the Blind about their BANA membership going forward and to determine if a new representative will be appointed.

4. Approval of minutes from November meeting: Jen

MSC: Tamara moved and Tracy seconded that the minutes from the November 2021 meeting be approved.

5. Publications Committee Appointment: Mary Nelle

The Publications Committee could benefit from an additional member during this busy period.

MSC: Mary Nelle moved and Frances Mary seconded the addition of Holly Bullock to the committee. The motion carried unanimously.

6. Tactile Graphics review: Jennifer

Jennifer reported that the committee did receive some feedback from the board review in December. The review committee is working through the feedback. Because of the low number of comments, discussion was had about ways to change the board review process, especially with the prospect of reviewing the Chemistry and Nemeth documents soon. No definitive decisions were made at this time; however ,the idea of using a panel of board members was suggested.

7. Status of Nemeth document: Jennifer

Jennifer reported that the Nemeth committee is working through the feedback received from the panel review. Mary  Nelle has requested the most up-to-date copy of the file so that the Publications committee can begin a structural review.

8. Status of Chemistry document: Frances Mary

Frances Mary reported that the chemistry committee is waiting to make changes to their document until the joint meeting can be held with the Nemeth committee. She will also send files to Mary Nelle so that Publications can begin a structural review.

9. Web migration: Jennifer.

Jennifer reported that the two prongs of this process are still ongoing. The group working on the web interface is meeting after this teleconference. The Drupal version of the site is still being updated.

10. Foreign Language guidance: Jennifer

Jennifer reported that the document has gone out to all board members for their review. Responses are due by February 17, 2022.

11. Permission Request from Lindy: Jen

Lindy Walton has requested BANA’s permission to present a workshop at the fall NBA conference about the impending changes to the Nemeth Code and the chemistry code. Discussion was had about past in-person conferences where materials were clearly labeled as drafts and were collected from participants after the sessions. Everyone agreed that this would be more difficult in a virtual setting.

MSC: Jennifer moved and FM seconded the following motion: BANA approves of Lindy Walton presenting a workshop at the fall NBA conference regarding the Nemeth and Chemistry documents under development, providing that any associated materials are marked as drafts and that every reasonable effort is made to ensure that no documents or materials are available to participants after the workshop. The  motion was approved unanimously.

12. Article for USA Today: Jen

Jen was approached by a writer at USA Today looking for a 300-word article about the importance of braille literacy in the U.S. education system. Tamara and Tracy agreed to assist in writing the article. Jen will send the information from USA Today to the board.

13. Ad Hoc Committee on eBRF: Jen

Jen will hold a meeting with this committee in the next few weeks. Kyle and William Freeman will host a virtual workshop at APH in late February where they will discuss eBRF.

14. Upcoming Meetings: Jen

The February teleconference will be held on Monday February 21; the March teleconference will be on Monday March  21; the April teleconference will be on Monday April 18. Jennifer is still unsure whether NFB can host the spring meeting in-person, but she hopes to provide more details either at or before the next teleconference.

15. ICEB Midterm Meeting: Judy

Judy reminded the board that the ICEB midterm meeting will be held virtually from June 5 through 9. Sessions will take place from 4:00 to 7:00 PM Eastern time. More details will be announced soon on the ICEB Announce listserv.

16. Adjournment: Jen

Jen adjourned the meeting at 2:14 PM.

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