Braille Authority of North America: Fall 2024
Saturday, October 26, 2024, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 27, 2024, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Monday, October 28, 2024, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Hosted by: National Braille Association, Inc.
Location: The Antlers by Wyndham
1. Call to Order: Jen Goulden
Jen called the meeting to order at 9:00 A.m. Mountain Time.
2. Welcome: Jen Goulden
Jen welcomed the board and observers to the fall 2024 meeting of the BANA board. She informed the board that Judy Dixon, the representative for the American Council of the Blind (ACB), would not be in attendance due to a personal commitment; ACB did not send an alternate representative.
3. Welcome from our hosting organization: Patrick Jansen, President, National Braille Association
Patrick welcomed the board to Colorado Springs. He briefly discussed the NBA conference, which took place during the week preceding this meeting.
He informed the board of a recently received donation, which will allow NBA to create a comprehensive online learning system. He also mentioned that there are now tiered membership options for Prison Braille programs, which will make training more accessible.
Patrick introduced the new chair of the NBA Accessibility Committee, Tom Babinszki. Mr. Babinszki expressed his commitment to promoting accessibility and inclusivity for individuals of all ages and with all disabilities.
Jen thanked NBA for hosting the meeting and for providing a wonderful location and accommodations.
4. Self-Introductions: Representatives and Observers
The following board members were in attendance:
Jen Goulden, CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind), Chair
Mary Nelle (MN) 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, 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)
Kyle DeJute, America n Printing House for the Blind (APH)
Tracy Gaines, California Transcribers and Educators for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CTEBVI)
Hollie Knight, Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation (CIDI)
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
- Aquinas Pather, associate member Allyant
Holly Bullock, Associate Member Crawford Technologies
Not attending:
Judy Dixon, American Council of the Blind (ACB)
Emily Coleman, Associate Member Council of Schools and Services for the Blind (COSB)
Observers:
- Betty Marshall
- Jenny Wheeler
- Randy Davis
- Patrick Janson (Saturday morning)
Tom Babinszki (Saturday morning)
Jen reminded observers that they would have the chance to comment and ask questions if time permits.
5. Board's Liability Statement: Amber Pearcy
In her role as board secretary, Amber read the following:
BANA indemnifies its Officers and Board of Directors and holds them harmless from all claims of every kind, including court expenses, attorneys' fees, and the claimed amount arising from the performance of their duties as Officers and Directors except for their own acts of dishonesty and gross negligence." (Adopted March 30, 1987)
6. Agenda Approval: Jen Goulden
Jen asked if
Jen asked if anyone had comments on the meeting agenda. No concerns or comments were voiced.
MSC: Mary Nelle moved to approve the agenda proposed for the meeting. FM seconded. Motion carried.
7. Chair's Comments: Jen Goulden
Jen reminded the board that she would make comments throughout the meeting as necessary.
She asked if any board members had any comments before continuing with the agenda. Tracy reported that Judy Dixon and Kim Charlson received the Wings of Freedom Award (2024) from APH.
Tamara mentioned that Kim Charlson was a recipient of the 2024 Migel Medal from the American foundation for the Blind.
8. Approval of Minutes: Amber Pearcy
Amber reported that she received no feedback regarding edits to the minutes from the September 18, 2024 meeting.
MSC: Amber moved to approve the minutes from the September 18, 2024 meeting. Tamara seconded. Motion carried.
9. Braille Formats Technical Committee: Cindi Laurent
Hollie delivered the report as circulated.
Charge 305: This charge remains ongoing; the committee responds to questions as they are received. Hollie reported that there have not been questions received as of late.
Charge 345: The committee has completed its work with the BANA Taskforce on Braille Formats and has categorized their original list of problematic items into three categories: errata, rulings by committee, and items that needed further study. The committee requests that the disposition of Charge 345 be changed to done.
MSC: Hollie moved to change the disposition of Charge 345 from To be Addressed (TBA) to Done. Jennifer seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 345 (11/1/18): Develop a summary of items that need to be changed and or clarified in Braille Formats Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription, 2016.]
Charge 449: The errata to Braille Formats: Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription, 2016 has been posted to the BANA website. The committee requests that the disposition be changed to done.
MSC: Hollie moved to change the disposition of Charge 449 from Ongoing to Done. Kyle seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 449 (3/25/24): Work with the Publications Committee to prepare the errata for Braille Formats: Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription, 2016 and to post it to the BANA website.]
Charge 450: The document entitled Braille Formats: Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription 2016, March 2024 Updates has been posted to the BANA website.
FM noted a few abnormalities in the highlighting of certain words in the PDF version that is available online. The Digital Assets Committee will clean up the document.
FM suggested including both the date of approval and of posting (month/year) on the designated web page for each document so that a person will not have to click on the files to view this information.
MSC: Hollie moved to change the disposition of Charge 450 from TBA to Done. Diane seconded. Motion carried. Motion carried.
BANA Approval Requested: The committee requested the board's approval to conduct a full review of Braille Formats: Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription, 2016. This review would provide the opportunity to address some of the aforementioned problematic items, which would result in significant changes to some of the guidelines; furthermore, this would allow for the errata, the Rulings by committee document, and the new Guidelines for the Transcription of Languages Other than English to be incorporated into the guidelines document. There was agreement that with the completion of the major updates to the areas of the Nemeth Code, the chemistry code, and tactile graphics, this is the right time to begin a major update to the formats guidelines.
MSC: Jennifer moved to charge the Braille Formats Technical Committee to undertake a full revision of Braille Formats: Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription, 2016. FM seconded. Motion carried.
During the discussion that followed, FM asked if this review and update would include information about math/science transcription. It was agreed that the committee should consider inclusion of formatting for technical materials in the document revision.
MSC: Jennifer moved to charge the Braille Formats Technical Committee to work with the General Committee on Unified English Braille to consider the inclusion of formatting for technical material in the revised formats guidelines. Kyle seconded. Motion carried with one opposition.
In discussion preceding the vote, it was suggested that material from the Provisional Guidance on Technical Material could be incorporated into the guidelines. It was also recommended that examples of technical material should be added to the appropriate sections in the formats guidelines. The
Formats Committee will respond to this charge by providing an update at the spring 2025 meeting.
Appointment or Reappointment of Committee Members and Consultants: The committee requests the reappointment of the following members: Cindi Laurent (chair), Diana Brent, and Tina Herzberg.
They request the addition of another transcriber to assist with the review of the guidelines document. They put forth the recommendation of Charles (Chip) Mize. It was agreed that the recommendation of Charles Mize should be considered by the Appointments Committee. Tracy suggested that the Appointments Committee have a brief in-person meeting to review this candidate and bring a recommendation to the board.
MSC: FM moved to reappoint Cindi Laurent as chair of the Braille Formats Technical Committee for a term lasting until the end of 2026. Tamara seconded. Motion carried.
MSC: FM moved to reappoint Diana Brent and Tina Herzberg to the Braille Formats Technical Committee for a term lasting until the end of 2026. Tamara seconded. Motion carried.
10. Nemeth Code Technical Committee: Dorothy Worthington
Jennifer delivered the report as circulated.
Charge 366: The errata to the Graphing Calculator Guidelines has been prepared by the committee and attached to this report.
Kyle provided a detailed explanation of the errors found in the errata to the Graphing Calculator Guidelines for the board. The first group of errors requires updates to any material which refers specifically to the Nemeth Code so that the material makes reference to the correct sections in the 2022 code update.
The second category of errors requires correction of the braille transcription of Sample 5 so that the braille corresponds more closely to the print in the use of square brackets.
The proposed updated transcription does not currently include all of the pages from Sample 5, which is why the board should send this document back to the Nemeth Committee and ask that the entirety of Sample 5 be corrected.
MSC: Jennifer moved that the board should send the errata to the Graphing Calculator Guidelines back to the Nemeth Code Technical Committee and ask that the requested changes be made to the entirety of Sample 5, and upon the completion of these changes, the committee should present a new errata to the board for review. Tracy seconded. Motion carried.
MSC: Jennifer moved to change the disposition of Charge 366 from TBA to Ongoing. FM seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 366 (11/7/19): Create an errata to the Graphing Calculator Guidelines.]
Charge 447: This charge refers to the committee’s response to inquiries regarding The Nemeth Code. Committee members are available to respond to inquiries regarding the Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation, 2022.
Charge 451: The errata to the Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation, 2022 has been approved by the board but needs to be prepared by the Publications Committee for posting to the BANA website.
MSC: Jennifer moved to change the disposition of Charge 451 from TBA to ONGOING. Kyle seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 451 (3/25/24): Work with Publications Committee to prepare the errata to the Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation, 2022 and post it to the BANA website.
Appointment or Reappointment of Committee Members and Consultants: Dorothy Worthington is resigning from her position as Chair of the Nemeth code Technical Committee. She would like to remain a member of the committee. Dawn Gross has been recommended as the new committee chair.
MSC: Jennifer moved to appoint Dawn Gross as Chair of the Nemeth Code Technical Committee for a term lasting until the end of 2026. Tracy seconded. Motion carried.
The committee requests that Cindi Laurent be reappointed.
MSC: Jennifer moved that Cindi Laurent and Dorothy Worthington be appointed as members of the Nemeth Code Technical Committee for a term lasting until the end of 2026. FM seconded. Motion carried.
Jennifer informed the board that the committee does not feel that this is the appropriate time to go into maintenance mode because the Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation, 2022 is still relatively new.
Jennifer mentioned that there is an addendum to the Nemeth Code that relates to ancient numerations systems. Dawn Gross has been thinking about ideas to update this section. It is an image-heavy document which could be somewhat complex. This is a request that should be anticipated in 2025 when Dawn becomes chair of the committee.
11. Tactile Graphics Technical Committee: Aquinas Pather
Aquinas and Diane delivered the report as circulated.
Charge 202: This charge refers to the committee’s response to inquiries regarding tactile graphics. Aquinas reported that the committee has not received any questions recently.
Diane reported that most questions regarding the Tactile Graphics Guidelines come from the BANA Chair and that few come from the website. The committee would like to be sure that the links for submitting questions through the website are working.
Charge 452: This charge refers to the collaboration between the Nemeth Code Committee and Braille Literacy Canada to develop new graphing calculator guidelines. However, this was erroneously attributed to the Tactile Graphics Committee; furthermore, the charge has previously been declared done.
Appointment or Reappointment of Committee Members and Consultants: The committee requests the reappointment of Susan Osterhaus and Betty Marshall to the Tactile Graphics Technical Committee.
MSC: FM moved to reappoint Susan Osterhaus and Betty Marshall to the Tactile Graphics Technical Committee for a term lasting until the end of 2026. Diane seconded. Motion carried.
12. Ad hoc Committee on Standardized Tests: Kyle DeJute
Kyle delivered the report.
Kyle reported that the committee has not made progress on their sole charge, Charge 408. Jen called for board discussion which could provide some direction to the committee.
Kyle began by acknowledging that while she is open to new input from the board, she has not yet attempted to implement most of the input the board previously provided.
The question was raised about the possibility of appointing a co-chair for this committee. FM volunteered to serve as co-chair. She has ideas about having conversations with other education-focused committees outside of BANA to discuss the issue of standardized tests.
MSC: Tamara moved to appoint Frances Mary D'Andrea as co-chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Standardized Tests. Kyle seconded. Motion carried.
Kyle suggested that it would be helpful for her to have more deadlines in place to report on the progress of this committee. Jen agreed to add an item to the agenda at our monthly teleconferences.
General Consensus: There will be a monthly agenda item for an update from the Ad Hoc Committee on Standardized Tests.
Charge 408: The charge was read, and the board agreed that the charge is clear and does not require any modification at this time. However, the committee is welcome to suggest alterations or clarifications as needed. It was agreed that this remains an important and urgent issue.
It was suggested that the first part of the standardized test guidelines would be a position statement reminding test publishers of the importance of making standardized tests accessible. This opening statement could provide a frame for the committee about what to include in the remainder of the guidelines document.
The question of engaging transcribers and educators was raised. Could they be helpful in determining some of the key elements of the guidelines? It was also suggested that the perspectives of students would be beneficial, and the recommendation was made that educators and students could possibly be surveyed at a face-to-face committee meeting. It may also be helpful to collect pre-existing guidelines from transcribing agencies and test developers.
It was agreed that the board should allocate funds in the 2025 budget in the event that the committee is willing to meet in-person.
13. Music Braille Technical Committee: Jenny Wheeler
Hollie delivered the report as circulated.
Charge 281: This charge refers to the committee’s response to inquiries regarding the Music Braille Code. There have been few inquiries regarding the 2015 Music Braille Code, but the committee hopes to hear more comments and questions from the field. At this time, responding to inquiries is the committee's primary assignment.
Appointment or Reappointment of Committee Members and Consultants: The committee requests the appointment of Melinda Hudson as a new member of the Music Braille Technical Committee. She is a current transcriber who is working on her certification in Music Braille. The committee feels that with her experience as a transcriber, musician, and music teacher, she would be a positive addition to the committee. Jenny also indicated that she would be willing to wait to appoint Melinda until a committee replacement is needed.
It was suggested that Melinda should be encouraged to get involved in the work being done by the ICEB Music Braille Committee. Several board members believed that it would be helpful to delay appointment until Melinda is certified. Other board members felt that if she was near completion of certification, and if certification is not a requirement to serve on the committee, it would not be important to wait. The point was made that even though certification is not a requirement, it is a manifestation of technical expertise.
Agreement was ultimately reached to add Melinda Hudson to the Music Braille Committee for a term lasting until the end of 2025; this would stagger committee membership.
MSC: Mary Nelle moved to appoint Melinda Hudson as a member of the Braille Music technical Committee for a term lasting until the end of 2025. Tracy seconded. Motion carried.
Stephanie Pieck and Ka Kit Tam were not listed in the report as requiring reappointment, but it was determined that both of their terms would end at the end of 2025.
MSC: Hollie moved to reappoint Stephanie Pieck and Ka Kit Tam for a term lasting until the end of 2026. Tracy seconded. Motion carried.
MSC: Tamara moved to charge the Music Braille Technical Committee to monitor the international initiatives regarding Music Braille, including the work being done by the ICEB Music Braille committee and to keep the BANA board informed as necessary. FM seconded. Motion carried.
Jen received a suggestion that the 2015 Music Braille Code should be available in uncontracted braille as a benefit to international musicians who do not read contracted English braille. Furthermore, ICEB has found that many non-English musicians use the BANA Music Braille code. An uncontracted version could also be useful for new braille users. Jenny Wheeler volunteered to provide the transcription in uncontracted braille if the source files for the original transcription in contracted braille can be found. Kyle suggested asking the National Prison Braille Network if there is anyone available to proofread the document; alternatively, another member of the committee may be willing to proofread.
The question was raised regarding BANA's requirements to provide other documents in uncontracted braille; the board is open to considering other requests on a case-by-case basis.
The search for these particular source files serves as a reminder of the importance of having access to all source files for all BANA documents.
14. Ad Hoc Committee on Chemistry: Cary Supalo
FM delivered this report.
Charge 266: This charge refers to the revision of the 1997 Braille Code for Chemical Notation so that it can be used with UEB. The code has been fully updated. The BRF and printable PDF have been posted to the website. The accessible PDF will be posted soon.
MSC: FM moved to change the disposition of Charge 266 from Ongoing to Done. Tamara seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 266 (11/8/14): Update and revise the braille code for chemical notation.]
Charge 307: This charge refers to the committee’s response to questions regarding the Provisional Guidance for Transcription Using the Chemistry Code within UEB Context. This charge is no longer relevant since the publication of Chemical Notation Using the Nemeth Code 2023 has occurred.
MSC: FM moved to change the disposition of Charge 307 from Ongoing to Done. Tamara seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 307 (11/6/16): Respond to inquiries regarding the "Provisional Guidance for Transcription Using the Chemistry Code within UEB Context" and to consider feedback to be incorporated into any future updates.]
Charge 446: This charge refers o the creation of the accessible PDF version of Chemical Notation Using the Nemeth Code 2023. Holly reported that the accessible PDF has been completed and will be ready to post to the BANA website after a brief final review by her team.
MSC: FM moved to change the disposition of Charge 307 from TBA to Ongoing. Mary Nelle seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 446 (10/25/23): Work with the Publications Committee to produce the Chemical Notation Using the Nemeth Code 2023 files for the publication process.]
MSC: FM moved to change the disposition of Charge 459 from TBA to Ongoing. Wendy seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 459 (10/25/23): Provide the alt-text examples of the equations in the document; in the meantime, BANA will post the printable PDF and BRF to the website.]
Now that all documents are posted, it is appropriate to charge the committee to answer questions concerning the revised chemistry code.
MSC: FM moved to charge the Ad Hoc Committee on chemistry to respond to inquiries regarding the Chemical Notation Using the Nemeth Code 2023. Jennifer seconded. Motion carried.
The board will need to make a decision in the spring regarding either disbanding the Ad Hoc Committee on Chemistry or forming a technical committee for chemistry. The committee was originally considered ad hoc because it was working on a particular project based on Nemeth. It may be necessary to have conversations with the committee about their desire to continue serving on a newly-formed technical committee.
15. International Council on English Braille: Callie Brusegaard
FM reported that the ICEB midterm meeting will be held from June 22-26, 2026 at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts.
The papers, country reports, and recordings from the ICEB General Assembly have been posted to the ICEB website. The minutes have not yet been distributed.
ICEB is hoping to modernize and refresh their website in the coming year.
FM reminded the board about the ICEB newsletter and encouraged story submissions. Submissions can be sent to Sue Reilly.
World Braille Day will occur on January 6, 2025 and many countries have plans to commemorate the 200th anniversary of braille. Organizations are encouraged to share their activities for the commemoration of the anniversary with ICEB.
16. Report of the General Committee on Unified English Braille: Wendy Buckley
Wendy delivered the report as circulated.
Charge 272: This charge refers to the committee’s response to inquiries concerning the Unified English Braille Code. The committee has worked with Sue to obtain a list of inquiries that did not reach the committee via the website because of a glitch in the groups.io listserv. There were a total of 54 inquiries received from 9/22 to 3/24. A generic response was sent to everyone explaining the glitch. A couple of people wrote back with questions about grade 3 braille and contraction usage, but no additional questions have been received. It is unclear if there is still a glitch with the listserv.
The Tactile Graphics Committee is having the same issue; it was agreed that this problem deserves a deep dive.
Charge 274: Members of this committee regularly share updates from the ICEB Code Maintenance Committee.
Furthermore, the ICEB Committee on Technical Material is seeking feedback on the use of grade 1 indicators in technical material so that they can make major revisions to this section of the Unified English Braille Guidelines for Technical Material. It is incumbent upon us as board members to provide guidance to our U.S. representatives on all ICEB committees concerning such major revisions to part or all codebooks so that they will consider our feedback when voting. Moreover, our representatives may need a reminder about the importance of providing frequent updates to the board about considerations being made by ICEB committees so that we can provide them with informed feedback. Regarding our feedback to the ICEB Committee on Technical Materials, Jennifer agreed to initiate a conversation with our U.S. representative to explore ideas about how more frequent updates can be provided to the board, thus expanding opportunities for offering feedback.
Charge 308: The committee has completed their work on creating a decision-making guide to assess all code-related items submitted to the Committee for consideration for the BANA Board to send to the ICEB Code Maintenance Committee. Upon completion of this guide, they used their criteria to evaluate the request for the shortform themself and have chosen not to pursue this request further.
Charge 349: This charge to streamline the UEB information on the BANA website has been replaced by Charge 464.
MSC: Wendy moved to discard Charge 349. FM seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 349 (11/1/18): Update the UEB information on the BANA website.]
Charge 388: The UKAFF document is still under review. Therefore, no action by the board is recommended at this time.
MSC: Wendy moved to change the disposition of Charge 388 from TBA to Ongoing. FM seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 388 (11/7/20): Review the UKAFF revision to their math guidance document once it is available and make a recommendation to the Board on any action needed to be taken by BANA.]
Charge 448: This decision-making guide has been created. The guide prioritizes items that impact rules of UEB, and focuses on the ambiguity of output, clarity of rules, and impact on electronic braille translation.
MSC: Wendy moved to change the disposition of Charge 448 from Ongoing to Done. Kyle seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 448 (1/24/24): Develop a decision-making guide for evaluating suggestions to bring to the board to recommend sending to the ICEB CMC.]
Charge 463: Work has just begun on the Provisional Guidance for Transcribing Math in UEB document.
MSC: Wendy moved to change the disposition of Charge 463 from TBA to Ongoing.
[Charge 463 (3/25/24): Update the Provisional Guidance for Transcribing Math in UEB document.]
Charge 464: A work order has been forwarded to the Digital Assets committee with recommendations for changes to the website which would streamline the information about UEB. Sue plans to hold a meeting of the Digital Assets Committee soon. She had some challenges accessing the website over the summer.
MSC: Wendy moved to change the disposition of Charge 464 from TBA to Ongoing. Kyle seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 464 (3/25/24): Work with the Digital Assets Committee to streamline the information about UEB on the BANA website, discarding and archiving the documents that are not current, as appropriate.]
Appointment or Reappointment of Committee Members and Consultants: The committee requests the appointment of Callie Brusegaard. An application for consideration has not been sent to the Appointments Committee; the Appointments Committee will meet in-person to discuss the appointment of Callie at this meeting and make a recommendation to the board.
17. Publications Committee: Mary Nelle McLennan
Charge 403: All files for Standards and Guidelines for Tactile Graphics 2022 have been posted to the BANA website.
MSC: Mary Nelle moved to change the disposition of Charge 403 from Ongoing to Done. Tamara seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 403 (5/20/22): Work with Tactile Graphics Committee to prepare the final files of TG Guidelines for publication.
Charge 433: The BRF files of the Guidelines and Standards for Tactile Graphics 2022 have been posted to the BANA website.
MSC: Mary Nelle moved to change the Disposition of Charge 433 from Ongoing to Done. Tina seconded. Motion carried.
Motion carried.
[Charge 433 (10/25/23): Manage the preparation of the final BRF files of the Tactile Graphics Guidelines and Standards document for publication and posting on the BANA website.]
Charge 445: The printable PDF and BRF files of Chemical Notation Using the Nemeth Braille Code 2023 have been posted to the BANA website; the accessible PDF is the final file that has not yet been posted. Therefore, the disposition of this charge will remain Ongoing until this file is posted.
Charge 454: The adjusted 9.4 Nemeth Code update will not be posted to the BANA website as a stand-alone document; this updated section has now been incorporated into the errata to the Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation 2023. Therefore, this charge is deemed complete.
MSC: Jennifer moved to change the disposition of Charge 454 from TBA to Done. Kyle seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 454 3/25/24): Work with the Nemeth Code Technical Committee to prepare the adjusted 9.4 update to the Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation 2022 and post it to the BANA website.]
Charge 455: The errata to Braille Formats: Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription 2016 has been posted to the BANA website.
MSC: Mary Nelle moved to change the disposition of Charge 455 from TBA to Done. Tracy seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 455 (3/25/24): Work with the Braille Formats Technical Committee to prepare the errata to Braille Formats: Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription, 2016 and post it to the BANA website.]
Charge 456: The document Braille Formats: Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription 2016, March 2024 Updates has been posted to the BANA website.
MSC: Mary Nelle moved to change the disposition of Charge 456 from TBA to Done. Jennifer seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 456 (3/25/24): Work with the Braille Formats Technical Committee to prepare the document Braille Formats: Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription 2016, March 2024 Updates and post it to the BANA website.]
Charge 457: The errata to the Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation 2022 has not yet been posted but will be soon.
MSC: Mary Nelle moved that the disposition of Charge 457 should be changed from TBA to Ongoing. Jennifer seconded. Motion carried.
Charge 462: The Guidelines for Transcribing Knit and Crochet Patterns have been posted to the BANA website.
MSC: Jennifer moved to change the disposition of Charge 462 from TBA to Done. Mary Nelle seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 462 (3/25/24): Work with the Knit and Crochet Task Force to prepare the updated Guidelines for Transcribing Knit and Crochet Patterns and post them to the BANA website.]
In 2025, the committee will begin work on the revision of the authoring guidelines for BANA documents. Now that the Nemeth, Chemistry, and Tactile Graphics documents are finished, the committee would like to solicit feedback from each authoring committee to determine how to create authoring guidelines which will be beneficial to both Publications and to the authoring committees in the future.
MSC: Mary Nelle moved to charge the Publications Committee to update BANA's authoring guidelines. FM seconded. Motion carried.
18. General Committee on Electronic Braille Translation: Jennifer Dunnam
Jennifer delivered the report.
Charge 322: This charge refers to problems and improvements in braille translation by screen reading software. A few notable improvements have occurred since the last report. JAWS is using LibLouis 3.30, which improves the way consecutive numbers are displayed in refreshable braille.
NVDA is the only screen reader that will consistently display braille typeform indicators. Future updates will allow for these indicators to be read in braille without also having them spoken.
Charge 426: Jennifer plans to make sure the status log which provides details about problems occurring with various braille translation software is updated on the BANA website.
Charge 454: This charge regards the collaboration with the ICEB Technology Committee to communicate with the screen reader and braille device companies to advocate for the removal of continued barriers to accurate braille-to-print and print-to-braille translation. Jennifer attended a community forum regarding the LibLouis software and raised issues about UEB translation. There was surprise among the forum participants that LibLouis's print-to-braille translation is used in commercial products. Jennifer has also been in communication with James Bowden, who maintains the LibLouis tables.
MSC: Jennifer moved to change the disposition of Charge 454 from TBA to Ongoing. Tamara seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 454 (3/25/24): Work in collaboration with the ICEB Technology Committee to communicate with the screen reader and braille device companies to identify and remove continued barriers to accurate braille-to-print and print-to-braille translation.]
Charge 459: A draft of the document to address confusion that manufacturers have about the term computer braille was presented to the board in May and June. A new draft has been submitted with this report. New feedback is requested from the board by November 11, and the goal is to approve it at the next teleconference.
MSC: Jennifer moved to change the disposition of Charge 459 from TBA to Ongoing. Kyle seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 459 (3/25/24): Develop a short document to address confusion that manufacturers have about the term computer braille.]
Charge 460: This charge relates to the progress of the DAISY eBraille Working Group. The DAISY eBraille Working Group released the following documents:
eBraille Tagging Best Practices
eBraille Styles Best Practices
eBraille Codes Registry
eBraille Working Draft 1.0.
There has been progress made in ensuring that the correct metadata is in place to follow particular formats guidelines with the goal of eventually supporting formats guidelines for other countries.
The board should review these documents to determine if there are any questions from BANA about the work being done.
MSC: Jennifer moved to change the disposition of Charge 460 from TBA to Ongoing. FM seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 460 (3/25/24): Participate actively through its members in the DAISY eBraille Working Group and to report on the activities of the working group.]
A question was asked about the availability of a beta version of eBraille. Jen will ask about this. Any beta would come from the various software manufacturers supporting the eBraille format.
19. General Committee on Languages Other Than English: Jen Goulden
Jen delivered the report as circulated.
Charge 415: This charge refers to the committee’s response to inquiries concerning the Guidelines for Transcription in Languages Other than English. No inquiries relating to the new guidelines have been received recently. The committee will remain in maintenance mode.
Discussion was had about adding an additional member to the committee.
MSC: Kyle moved to appoint Jennifer Dunnam as a member of the General Committee on Languages Other Than English. FM seconded. Motion carried.
As this is now a general committee, the policies state that it should have at least five members.
General Consensus: The board should provide recommendations to the Appointments Committee to recruit more members for this committee.
It was suggested that one area in which this committee could be active is in recommending updates to the publication World Braille Usage. However, this activity will occur in the future once the World Braille Council takes action regarding World Braille Usage.
The approval date will be added to the web page containing the download of the Guidelines for the Transcription of Languages Other than English.
20. BANA Digital Assets Committee: Sue Reilly
Sue delivered the report as circulated.
Charge 411: The process of creating documentation on how to update content and perform other maintenance on the BANA website is ongoing. Sue is unsure when this documentation might be completed; therefore, she would like to leave this charge as ongoing until the document is more structured. It is also possible that there will be major software updates necessary in the near future, and these updates will drastically affect any documentation that is created.
Charge 412: The process of overseeing and maintaining the infrastructure for BANA listservs, website platform, and file storage is ongoing and procedures are modified as necessary.
Charge 413: The development of a process for web updates is ongoing in collaboration with the Publications Committee. It was suggested that a meeting should be held to determine the areas for which the Publications Committee is responsible.
Charge 435: The consideration of consolidating all email lists into one platform is still ongoing. However, no concrete action should be taken until a decision is made about updating the website software.
Charge 436: The Awards Committee has submitted information for the website regarding BANA's Braille Excellence Award, but it is not yet ready to be posted.
Charge 437: Work has not yet begun to create an archive codes section of the website. All outdated codes are no longer available on the website, but Sue has preserved all of the files to eventually compile into an archive.
Charge 458: A meeting will be convened soon to discuss the creation of new sections of the website and to make other changes as needed. This meeting will also include discussion of the suggestions submitted by the General Committee on Unified English Braille.
The suggestion was made to include $2000 in the budget for web software updates.
Kyle mentioned that there is a problem with the BRF download of the Business Card Fact Sheet; Sue will look into this issue.
A reminder was put forward that the Graphing Calculator Guidelines should be moved to the UEB Codes and Guidelines page.
Someone mentioned that there are blank pages in the Braille Formats Errata that should be removed when the cleanup of the PDF occurs. Furthermore, the Braille Formats Errata should be linked as a BRF.
21. General Committee for Review Process: Kyle DeJute
Kyle reported that the next document under review will be the final draft of the "No Translation" document.
22. Ad Hoc Committee on Braille Signage and Labeling: Kim Charlson
Jen delivered this report.
Charge 259: Inquiries regarding braille signage are frequently received and answered by the committee.
Charge 346: This charge refers to the review of the ICC A117.1 Standard, American National Standard, to determine if this architectural code needs to be changed to comply with Unified English Braille. The board determined that this charge should be discussed at the next teleconference to ask for input from Judy.
Charge 416: The update of the position paper entitled "Size and Spacing of Braille Characters" to reflect updated standards, titles and numbering has not begun. The lack of progress on this update is concerning to the board. Jen would like to follow up with Kim Charlson and Debbie Gillespie to see if they have the time to commit to continuing as co-chairs of this committee.
The board was in agreement that a full review of this committee is necessary.
23. Outreach Committee: Marie Zaldivar
Marie delivered the report as circulated.
Charge 168: There are no updates on the creation and distribution of position papers on topics as assigned by the board.
Charge 177: There are no updates on the management of the BANA exhibit process.
Charge 356: There are no updates regarding the exploration and development of avenues of communication with BANA's constituents.
Charge 357: The latest episode of the BANA Braille Bits podcast was recently released. It featured Judy Dixon, who discussed the events of the eighth ICEB General Assembly, held in May in Auckland, New Zealand.
Charge 382: The Outreach Committee continues to post relevant information and activities on social media. Discussion was had about creating a Mastadon account for BANA. FM also recommended creating an account on Blue Sky.
Charge 441: The document which specifies the steps involved in the process of organizing and implementing BANA exhibits was shared with the board in the spring. A few minor changes were suggested by the board during the fall meeting. The written documentation from the Outreach Committee should be updated by the next meeting and should eventually be added to the BANA policies.
MSC: Jennifer moved to change the disposition of charge 441 from TBA to Ongoing. FM seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 441 (10/25/23): Create a document that specifies steps involved in the process of organizing and implementing BANA exhibits.]
The suggestion was made that the board needs to be more deliberate about where we exhibit. However, this decision is dependent on which representatives will be at each conference. It was also suggested that informational presentations at conferences could be more effective than exhibits.
The board could develop a basic outline of a presentation that could be utilized by any board member.
It was agreed that the board should submit a proposal to present at the spring conference of the California Transcribers and Educators of the Blind and Visually Impaired.
It may be worthwhile to brainstorm ideas about additional venues for presenting.
24. Membership Committee: Tamara Rorie
An in camera discussion was held regarding the application for associate membership by The Educational Center for the Blind and Disabled, Puerto Rico, Inc.
MSC: Tamara moved to accept the Educational Center for the Blind and Disabled, Puerto Rico, Inc. as an Associate Member of the Braille Authority of North America for a term beginning in 2025. Diane seconded. Motion carried.
Jen will contact the agency and tell them of the decision.
25. Significant Occasions: Frances Mary D’Andrea
FM informed the board of news that she received during this meeting regarding a long-standing member of the Chemistry Committee who passed away on October 23. Jen will send a letter of condolence on behalf of BANA to his family.
26. BANA Appointments Committee: Tracy Gaines
Tracy delivered the report.
The Appointments Committee received the application of Melinda Hudson for the Music Braille Technical Committee.
the committee also received the suggestion of Dawn Gross as chair of the Nemeth Code Technical Committee.
The name of Charles Mize was submitted as an additional member on the Braille Formats Technical Committee.
Finally, the committee received the name of Callie Brusegaard for consideration as an additional member on the General Committee on Unified English Braille.
The Appointments Committee met during this meeting to consider all of these candidates.
MSC: Tracy moved to appoint Charles Mize to the Braille Formats Technical Committee for a term to last until the end of 2026. Kyle seconded. Motion carried.
MSC: Tracy moved to appoint Callie Brusegaard to the General Committee on Unified English Braille. Wendy seconded. Motion carried.
There was agreement that the Appointments Committee should review all suggestions made for committees who require new members. However, this practice has not been consistently followed.
MSC: Jennifer moved to charge the Bylaws Committee to make a recommendation of when it is necessary for the Appointments Committee to review appointments. Mary Nelle seconded. Motion carried.
27. Miscellaneous Task Force Charges: Sue Reilly
Task Force to Update Braille Terminology: This task force has a charge which is duplicated by the General Committee on Electronic Braille Translation, Charge 421. This is the charge which relates to the creation of a document to explain the term computer braille.
MSC: Jennifer moved to discard Charge 421. FM seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 421 (2/13/23): Create a document on computer braille terminology by the spring meeting.]
It was also agreed that this task force is no longer relevant because of the creation of the General Committee on Electronic Braille Translation.
MSC: Jennifer moved to disband the Task Force to Update Braille Terminology. FM seconded. Motion carried.
Task Force on Tactile Graphics Guidelines Supplement: The charge assigned to this task force, Charge 409, is no longer relevant because APH is producing the Tactile Graphics Supplement.
MSC: Diane moved to discard Charge 409. Tamara seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 409 11/14/2022): Investigate the production of the Tactile Graphics Guidelines Supplement.]
This task force is no longer necessary now that the Tactile Graphic Supplement is in production at APH.
MSC: Diane moved to disband the Task Force on Tactile Graphics Guidelines Supplement. Tamara seconded. Motion carried.
Knit and Crochet Task Force: Now that the Guidelines for Transcribing Knit and Crochet Patterns have been updated to UEB and the publication has been posted on the BANA website, this task force is no longer necessary.
MSC: Jennifer moved to disband the Knit and Crochet Task Force. FM seconded. Motion carried.
Braille Formats Task Force: The work of this task force has been completed now that the Braille Formats Technical Committee has categorized all of the items on their list.
MSC: Jennifer moved to disband the Braille Formats Task Force. Tamara seconded. Motion carried.
General Consensus: The Treasurer Transition Working Group is no longer necessary. Its associated charge, Charge 331, is also no longer necessary.
MSC: Jennifer moved to change the disposition of Charge 331 to Done. Motion carried.
Sue will update the list of active charges after this meeting and send it to the board.
28. International Initiatives
Jen reported on the activities of the World Braille Council. The Council recently had their first meeting in many years. They would like to focus on developing a braille system that can be learned without a teacher. Discussion was also had about the celebration of the 200th anniversary of braille in January 2025. In addition, the World Braille Council discussed the following:
updating international braille signage standards
updating World Braille Usage
labeling medications.
During the ICEB General Assembly, the World Blind Union reported on their concern regarding the upkeep and support of the Louis Braille Museum.
The World Blind Union is recommending the creation of a standardized system of labeling packaging.
The Accessible Book Consortium Global Book Service now has close to one million titles available for sharing. They are offering training and technical assistance to developing countries. The Library of Congress, National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, and CNIB are both part of this consortium.
The Tactile Reading and Graphic conference will be held from June 2-4, 2025 in Amsterdam.
A university in India contacted the BANA chair asking for information about the IPA. This discussion led them to disclose their efforts to make the visual elements of linguistics learning more accessible. As a former student of linguistics with an advanced degree in the subject matter, Jen will be assisting the university, in a personal capacity, in the creation of videos discussing ways in which linguistics can be taught. They are also working on making archaeology more accessible.
29. Secretary's Report: Amber Pearcy
Amber reported that there were no email votes taken since our last meeting.
30. Awards Committee: Frances Mary D'Andrea
FM delivered the report as circulated.
Charge 335: This charge refers to the collaboration with the Publications Committee to put information about the BANA Braille Excellence Award on the BANA website. FM summarized the award criteria for the board. The committee does not recommend any changes to the criteria of the Braille Excellence Award at this time.
MSC: Tamara moved to accept the draft of the BANA Braille Excellence Award criteria as written. Jennifer seconded. Motion carried.
The Digital Assets Committee will now have the document describing the award and the criteria for receiving it to post on the BANA website. It was recommended that this information go in the About BANA section. However, the decision was made to create an entirely new section on the website for the information on the award. The Digital Assets Committee must work with the Awards Committee to collect photographs of past award recipients to include with the document.
MSC: FM moved to change the disposition of Charge 335 from Ongoing to Done. Tamara seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 335 4/9/18): Work with the Publications Committee to put information about the BANA Braille Excellence Awards on the BANA website.]
MSC: Jennifer moved to charge the Awards Committee to work with the Digital Assets Committee to develop and populate a BANA Awards section on the website. Kyle seconded. Motion carried.
MSC: Jennifer moved to charge the Digital Assets Committee to work with the Awards Committee to develop and populate a BANA Awards section on the website. Kyle seconded. Motion carried.
Charge 436: This charge is no longer necessary with the approval of the draft document discussing the BANA Braille Excellence Award.
MSC: Jennifer moved to discard Charge 436. Tamara seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 436 (10/25/23): Work with the Awards Committee to put information about the BANA Braille Excellence Awards on the BANA website.]
Nominations for the Braille Excellence Award to be given in 2025 must be received in early spring. The board will also need to consider other venues for presenting the Braille Excellence Award in 2025 and beyond.
There is a request by this committee for an amount of $500 in the 2025 budget.
MSC: Jennifer moved to charge the Bylaws Committee to incorporate the Braille Excellence Award criteria into the BANA Policies. FM seconded. Motion carried.
31. Bylaws Committee: Jennifer Dunnam
Charge 389: This charge relates to the following:
cancellation of face-to-face meetings
timely notification of the board in the event of such cancellations
clarification of policies regarding board member attendance at meetings
reviewing and delineating duties of the Administrative Assistant
optimization of responsibilities of specific officers
optimization of financial policies
optimization of policies on hosting a BANA meeting.
The charge was declared done in 2023 so no further action is needed.
There has been no additional action on other charges, but this committee will meet in November to resume work.
32. Nominations Committee: Tamara Rorie
Tamara delivered the report as circulated.
The following slate of officers was presented for the year 2025.
Chair: Jen Goulden (fourth year)
Vice-Chair: Wendy Buckley (1st year)
Secretary: Amber Pearcy (3rd year)
Treasurer: Danette Johnson, (5th year)
No additional board members expressed interest in running for any of these offices.
MSC: Tamara moved to accept the slate of BANA officers elected by acclamation for 2025. Tracy seconded. Motion carried.
The Nominations Committee would like to change the makeup of its membership. Tamara announced that she will no longer serve as chair of this committee, and Jennifer has also requested to move off of the committee. Frances Mary D'Andrea volunteered to serve as chair of this committee.
MSC: Tamara moved to appoint Frances Mary D'Andrea as chair of the Nominating Committee. Wendy seconded. Motion carried.
Diane Spence agreed to serve on this committee.
MSC: Tamara moved to appoint Judy Dixon and Diane Spence to the Nominations aCommittee. FM seconded. Motion carried.
33. Treasurer's Report: Danette Johnson
Danette delivered the report as circulated.
Danette reminded any board member who attended the ICEB General Assembly and has not submitted their travel receipts for reimbursement to do so as soon as possible.
Discussion was had about moving the BANA savings into an account that earns higher interest.
General consensus: The treasurer will explore the possibilities for transferring BANA's savings to an account which earns higher interest and report back to the board.
The Tactile Graphics Technical Committee will not require any money in 2025.
The board will include $8000 for the Ad Hoc Committee on Standardized Test in the 2025 budget in the event that they hold a face-to-face meeting.
The line items for the Knit and Crochet Task Force, ICEB, and the eBRF Committee will be removed from the budget.
The Archives Committee will need $600 in the 2025 budget for printing and shipping of hard copy materials to the APH BANA Archives.
The Publications Committee will receive $2000 in the 2025 budget for potential Publications Committee work.
The Awards Committee will receive $500 in the 2025 budget for the preparation of the Braille Excellence Award.
MSC: Danette moved to accept the treasurer's report. Tamara seconded. Motion carried.
MSC: Danette moved to approve the proposed 2025 budget as amended. Kyle seconded. Motion carried.
34. Certificates of Appreciation: Mary Nelle McLennan
The certificates of appreciation are pending. It is necessary to add Dorothy Worthington to the list of recipients.
It was suggested that there should be a set time frame in which certificates are sent. The board must determine how certificates of appreciation will be sent and to whom they are sent, as well as the process for sending them. The board should also decide on a set of guidelines to clarify the method of creating the certificates (e.g. print and braille, or braille only for individuals who are braille users).
The board agreed that we could expedite the process of sending certificates by creating print-only certificates for print readers.
It was decided that Tamara will braille the text of the certificates for braille readers on clear adhesive labels to be overlaid on the print copies.
The board will include a letter from the BANA chair with each certificate.
General Consensus: Amber will gather resources for the future issuing of certificates.
The current pending certificates will be sent by the end of the calendar year.
35. Directory Update: Sue Reilly
Sue delivered this report.
The March 17, 2024 version of the directory is in Dropbox.
Sue has made a linked directory for ease of access for those using screen readers. It was suggested that she create one document with two sections: one for a list of committee assignments, and one for contact information. Sue will try to streamline the directory so that it is easy to navigate from a person's committee assignment to their contact information. She will send the working draft of the directory to the board to proofread before the final update occurs in January. Any edits should be sent to Sue by November 15.
36. BANA's Listservs: Sue Reilly
Sue reported that the Web Migration Task Force listserv needs to be deleted.
All board members have been added to BANA-Announce.
Sue has noticed a problem with spam coming to the BANA-Announce list. She will address this issue when working on the potential web software update.
Liaisons should remind their committees that members must respond to the Groups.io invitation to be added to a committee listserv.
The board discussed the outstanding issues with Dropbox, but it was decided that no resolution can be reached until the Digital Assets Committee discusses this issue.
37. BANA's Archives: Frances Mary D'Andrea
Frances Mary D'Andrea delivered the report as circulated.
Charge 334: This charge relates to the method of delivering BANA material to the APH archives. Mary Beth Williams is the new archivist for both BANA and ICEB at APH. Judy and FM met with Mary Beth after the spring 2024 meeting to review both the paper and electronic archive at APH. It was discovered that paper copies of meeting minutes and agendas from the spring and fall meetings from 1996-2001 are missing from the archives. There are also missing paper copies of agendas from 2007-2013 and from 2020-2022. FM has many of these agendas available as electronic versions.
APH can receive electronic materials in any format. The teleconference minutes need to be gathered. FM will convene a meeting of this committee to discuss how to move forward with the collecting and sorting of electronic items.
MSC: FM moved to change the disposition of Charge 334 from Ongoing to Done. Jennifer seconded. Motion carried.
[Charge 334 (4/9/18): Learn what the best practice is for submitting email to be archived.]
MSC: FM moved to charge the Archives Committee to ensure that any missing minutes are printed and sent to the archives at APH. Amber seconded. Motion carried.
38. Strategic Planning: Mary Nelle McLennan
Mary Nelle reported that many of the goals from the strategic planning working group have not been addressed in many years. A few of the recommended trainings took place before the pandemic.
The strategic plan put in place was based on a system of assessing challenges, threats, and opportunities facing BANA.
In addition to trainings, the strategic planning working group recommended the submission of quarterly reports by each committee. This has not been done. Quarterly reports would ensure consistent progress on projects by committees.
It was decided that the board should review the two strategic imperatives and the tasks that stem from each one. These two imperatives were based on the goals of producing BANA publications in a timely manner, and helping clarify the confusion around UEB math/science and UEB with Nemeth.
Much has changed since the initial implementation of these strategic initiatives, which means that the board should look at these imperatives through the lens of our current activities.
General Consensus: Jen, Mary Nelle, Holly, Amber, and Tracy will meet to explore the strategic plan and make updated recommendations to the board.
39. Press Releases: Mary Nelle McLennan
Mary Nelle reported that a press release will be sent following this meeting. It will include the following:
elected officers for 2025
the addition of the new associate member
posting of the errata to the Nemeth Code for Mathematics and science Notation 2022
an announcement about the dates and location of the spring meeting
a general note about adding members to committees and reviewing reports.
The press release will also reaffirm BANA's presence on social media sites and will announce the decision to include the posting and approval dates of publications on the BANA website. The release will remind readers about the latest Braille Bits podcast.
As Mary Nelle will no longer serve as BANA Vice-Chair, Wendy will take on the responsibility for press releases in January.
40. Unfinished/continued Business:
There was no unfinished business.
41. New Business:
Diane reported that the National Braille Association is planning to release a series of articles in their bulletin giving a detailed review of the changes found in Guidelines and Standards for Tactile Graphics 2022. These bulletins will be similar to the in-person workshop strand that was presented at the NBA conference this year.
42. Upcoming Zoom Meetings: Jen Goulden
Our next Zoom meeting will be held on December 16, 2024 at 1:00 P.M. Eastern Time.
43. Spring 2025 Meeting: Mary Nelle McLennan
The meeting will be held at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Austin, Texas, will begin on May 6, 2025, and the half day will be on May 8. Hotel accommodations will be made at the Holiday Inn Midtown.
44. Future Spring and Fall Meetings:
Fall 2025: NBP
Spring 2026: AFB
Fall 2026: CIDI
Spring 2027: CTEBVI
Fall 2027: Hadley
Spring 2028: ATPC
Fall 2028: ACB
Spring 2029: CNIB
Fall 2029: Clovernook
Spring 2030: NFB
Fall 2030: NLS
Spring 2031: Perkins
Fall 2031: NBA
Spring 2032: APH
45. Around the Table: Organization Updates (time permitting)
Member representatives gave updates on the activities of their organization.
46. Adjournment: Jen Goulden
Jen adjourned the meeting at 10:30 A.M. Mountain Time.
Respectfully submitted,
Amber Pearcy
December 2, 2024