The Braille Institute of America (BIA) is a
nonprofit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
with headquarters in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
providing programs, seminars and one-on-one instruction for the
visually impaired
Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment ...
community in Southern California. Funded almost entirely by private donations, all of the institute's services are provided completely free of charge. The organization has seven regional centers: Anaheim, Coachella Valley, Laguna Hills, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego and Santa Barbara, as well as outreach programs at more than 200 locations throughout Southern California. It is a member of the
Braille Authority of North America
The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) is the standardizing body of English Braille orthography in the United States and Canada. It consists of a number of member organizations, such as the Braille Institute of America, the National Braill ...
.
![Braille Institute, Los Angeles 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Braille_Institute%2C_Los_Angeles_2.jpg)
BIA serves children, youth and adults, with the goal of helping its clients adapt to life with low vision and achieving fulfilling, independent lives. The organization offers instruction in adaptive cooking, home skills, mobility training and staying connected through technology. BIA's publishing arm produces "The Braille Special Collection," several series of free children's books in Braille, designed to foster an early love of reading and promote Braille Literacy.
History
After losing his sight in 1912,
J. Robert Atkinson, a cowboy from Montana, learned to read
braille
Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...
and transcribed 250 books dictated to him by his family. Impressed by his efforts, philanthropists
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
and
John Longyear donated $25,000 to help Atkinson found the Universal Braille Press in 1919 in Los Angeles. By 1924, Atkinson finished printing the 21 volumes of the braille
King James Version
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
of the Bible. ''The Braille Mirror'', a braille magazine, was first published in 1926 by the Universal Braille Press.
Atkinson lobbied lawmakers and influenced the passage of the
Pratt-Smoot Act in 1931. The legislation provided $100,000 for the printing and distribution of raised-print media through the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
Services for the Blind. The Universal Braille Press incorporated as the Braille Institute of America.
In 1934, BIA joined the National Library System. BIA printed the first braille
''Webster's Dictionary'' in 1938. In 1971, Braille Institute opened its first regional center in
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
. In 2000, the first
Braille Challenge was held, an annual competition for visually impaired youth that celebrates braille literacy.
Activities
Library services
Braille Institute's Library Services is the Southern California branch of the National Library Service of the Library of Congress. The Library freely provides over 1.2 million Braille texts, periodicals, and audio recordings for the public. In 2009, Library Services received the
National Medal for Museum and Library Service
The National Medal for Museum and Library Service is an award given annually by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to American libraries and museums with outstanding service to their communities. The IMLS refers to the medal as "t ...
from the
Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an independent agency of the United States federal government established in 1996. It is the main source of federal support for libraries and museums within the United States, having the mis ...
.
The Braille Challenge
The Braille Challenge is the Braille Institute's annual
braille literacy competition for youth.
Best Practices: Braille Institute and the Braille Challenge.
''American Association on Health and Disability.''
Atkinson Hyperlegible
Most of the Braille Institute's clients are not fully blind and do not use braille to read. In 2019, in collaboration with Applied Design Works, the Braille Institute released Atkinson Hyperlegible
Atkinson Hyperlegible is a freely available typeface built around a grotesque sans-serif core, intended to be optimally legible for readers who are partially visually impaired, with all characters easily distinguishable from one another. It wa ...
, a free typeface
A typeface (or font family) is the design of lettering that can include variations in size, weight (e.g. bold), slope (e.g. italic), width (e.g. condensed), and so on. Each of these variations of the typeface is a font.
There are list of type ...
built around a grotesque sans-serif
In typography and lettering, a sans-serif, sans serif, gothic, or simply sans letterform is one that does not have extending features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. Sans-serif typefaces tend to have less stroke width variation than seri ...
core. Named after J. Robert Atkinson, the typeface is meant to be optimally legible for people with low vision, who may have difficulty distinguishing similar characters.
See also
* Will H. Kindig, helped establish the institute
References
External links
Braille Institute of America
{{authority control
Blindness organizations in the United States
Organizations established in 1919
Organizations based in Los Angeles
Braille organizations
1919 establishments in California