News and Updates

The National Braille Association is thankful for the countless men and women who have dedicated their lives to ensuring that individuals who are blind receive high quality braille. In 2011, we began to honor these individuals by presenting them with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Each year, one individual is selected to receive the NBA Lifetime Achievement Award. For 2021,…

With the COVID-19 pandemic shattering our plans for an in-person conference in 2020, we scrambled to find ways to deliver the same educational content. As you probably already know, and likely even attended, we produced a 5-day virtual conference in November 2020 with workshops each day. All those sessions were recorded and we knew that…

The National Braille Association is proud to announce the release of our newest publication from the Unified English Braille Literary Committee titled Grade 1 and Capital Indicators. In 40-pages, this publication takes readers through the process of learning more about grade 1 indicators and capital indicators, whether it be a simple or complex application. Since…

At the end of last year, BANA released their new Guidelines for the Transcription of Early Educational Materials from Print to Braille. With new guidelines in place, it became imperative to not only learn the new guidelines, but also how to properly apply them to your transcription work. As we received more and more questions…

The National Braille Association (NBA) is excited to announce the launch of its Prison Braille Program. The birth of this idea came from an acknowledgement that NBA’s traditional way of providing services is not accessible to many of the people who are preparing braille from behind the walls of a correctional institution. The program’s goal…

The NBA Nominating Committee will be preparing a slate of officers and directors to stand for election at the Fall 2021 NBA Professional Development Conference. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in the opportunity to serve NBA, please complete the form below. Available Positions The following positions are available to be filled.…

If there have been moments when you’re unsure about using contractions with Unified English Braille you’re not alone! We have just released a new publication called But Why Not that aims to provide all the answers you need to understanding contractions. Rule 10 will tell you when and when not to use contractions, but what…

You may have seen a post last month introducing a new member service that we thought might be helpful now more than ever. In April we launched the Transcribers Connect event series allowing NBA Members to join in a virtual discussion with one another. The first Transcribers Connect was well attended so we’ve been brainstorming…

Today, our world is facing a challenge of incredible significance. The rapid pace in which the coronavirus has changed our lives is truly surreal. Our hearts go out to all who have been negatively affected by this pandemic. Over the past several weeks, the National Braille Association (NBA) has focused its attention on protecting the…

In 2009, a long time Board Member and friend of NBA passed away suddenly. There were many individuals who wished they had been able to thank and honor this individual for everything she had done before she passed. It was through this desire that the concept of the NBA Lifetime Achievement Award was born. Each…