Braille is not a static system of reading and writing – just like print, it changes and develops over time. For the last 60 years changes in braille codes have been reflected in each edition of “World Braille Usage”. Now, after 23 years, the word’s most important and comprehensive braille reference book has been updated. This new edition, released at the Braille Summit at Perkins in June, now contains braille codes for 133 languages – increased from 97 languages in the 1990 edition.
“It is truly a global treasure,” said Ellen Hall, Perkins International’s braille literacy manager. “It contains the most comprehensive collection of braille codes available in the world today – braille codes that open the door to literacy, literature and lifelong learning.”
Valuable Braille Code Reference
National braille authorities can use World Braille Usage, 3rd Edition to promote consistency within their country’s braille code. Transcribers and educators around the world will use it to answer questions about proper braille usage for letters, numbers and punctuation. Pharmaceutical companies and producers of pharmaceutical cartons can use this guide to worldwide braille codes as a tool to help validate braille on medicines packaging.
Developed in Partnership with Worldwide Braille Organisations
Perkins coordinated the World Braille Usage update project, working with the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped Library of Congress (NLS) and the International Council on English Braille (ICEB). More than 500 individuals and organisations contributed to the book.
World Braille Usage, 3rd Edition is currently available as a downloadable PDF at no charge. An electronic braille version is in the works. The first edition of World Braille Usage, published in 1953, took 40 years to go from concept to publication. The second edition was completed in 1990. Now, new technologies offer the potential for World Braille Usage to become a living, online document, able to be amended and added to periodically, and accessible in a variety of formats to braille experts and educators.
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World Braille Usage Third Edition – the most comprehensive reference to international braille codes.
Founded in 1829, Perkins reaches more than 630,000 people each year in 67 countries around the world. The organisation advances its mission through its various divisions: School for the Blind, International, Library, eLearning, and Products. Learn more at http://www.Perkins.org.
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