APH News & Press
Rod Brawley to be honored for sharing California braille textbook files with American Printing House for the Blind Repository-a move that makes it possible for blind students in other states to have access to braille textbooks more quickly
News Release: Louisville, Kentucky, February 28, 2002
Rod Brawley, Director of the Clearinghouse for Specialized Media and Technology in Sacramento, California, has made it possible for California braille textbook files to become part of the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) File Repository. Mr. Brawley is also an Ex Officio Trustee of APH. On Friday, February 22, Tuck Tinsley III, President of APH, will present a plaque to Mr. Brawley in recognition of his leadership and willingness to share valuable materials for the benefit of all.
The group of files from California is the largest contribution made to the APH File Repository in its two-year history. It increases, significantly, the number of books in the collection that transcribers have prepared so that they are ready to be embossed. The repository includes over 1,600 files. The collection of files from California makes up nearly 12% of the total number of files and 89% of the files that are transcribed and ready to be embossed.
The APH File Repository includes publisher textbook files, APH software, and braille textbooks files that have been translated by APH or other institutions so that they are ready to emboss. Repository files are available to institutions such as schools for the blind and other institutions that provide textbooks for blind and visually impaired students. Many months are required to complete the translation of a textbook into braille. The process for changing a book from regular print copy to braille is both lengthy and labor intensive. Sharing files through the APH File Repository allows institutions to avoid duplication of effort and speeds up the process of providing books for students who require braille.
The American Printing House for the Blind, founded in 1858, is the oldest organization of its kind in the United States and the world's largest not-for-profit company that creates educational, workplace and life-style products and services for visually impaired people.
In 1879, the U. S. Congress passed the Act to Promote the Education of the Blind. This act set up a system to provide free textbooks and other materials for blind students and named APH as the national central source of these educational materials. The system through which these specialized materials are distributed is known as the Federal Quota Program. APH Ex Officio Trustees are responsible for overseeing the implementation of this program in the various states and regions they represent.
Contact Roberta Williams, Public Relations Specialist, for more information. Telephone: 1 -800-223-1839 or (502) 895-2405; e-mail: rwilliams@aph.org