Press Release
September 2012
For Immediate Release

CONTACT: Frances Mary D'Andrea, Chair
Braille Authority of North America
Phone: 412-521-5797
Email: literacy2@mindspring.com

BANA to Hold Fall Board Meeting in Los Angeles

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.

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 literacy2@mindspring.com.

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.

For additional resource information, visit www.brailleauthority.org

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.