                      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
David Andrews, Program Director
National Information Access Center
Telephone:  (410) 659-9314

            NATIONAL INFORMATION ACCESS CENTER OPENS

     Baltimore--The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), a
50,000-member nationwide consumer organization, has announced the
opening of the National Information Access Center.  The Center is
home for the Information Access Project for Blind Individuals, a
U.S. Department of Justice-funded technical assistance grant,
designed to assist businesses as well as units of state and local
government implement the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Specifically, the Information Access Project will help 
ADA-covered entities to initiate and adopt procedures and methods
for providing printed information in nonvisually accessible
forms. 

     NFB President Marc Maurer said, "There are over 5 million
businesses open to the public in this country and most of them
are producing printed materials on a regular basis.  It is often
inconvenient or impossible for us as blind persons to avail
ourselves of these materials.  However, the ADA requires that all
public accommodations and units of state and local government
provide the disabled, including blind persons, with access to
this printed information.  Through this project we can assist
businesses, units of state and local government, and all entities
covered by the ADA find cost-effective methods for meeting the
information access requirements of the Act." 

     Services provided by places of public accommodation, and by
public entities (units of state and local government) must comply
with the nondiscrimination requirements of the ADA which went
into effect on January 26, 1992.  

     David Andrews, Program Director of the National Information
Access Center said, "The ADA does not require a specific method,
such as Braille or cassette tape, for a covered entity to use to
give blind people access to its information.  Any number of ways
are possible, including Braille, enlarged print, cassette tape,
human readers, computer disks or dial-up phone services.  The
National Information Access Center has been established to
educate blind persons, businesses, and units of state and local
government about the ADA and its provisions for information 
access.  We work with individuals and covered entities to help
them decide on what is the best way to provide blind persons with
access to printed information without unreasonable technical or
financial burden."

     The National Information Access Center is located at the
National Center for the Blind in Baltimore, Maryland, the
headquarters for the NFB.  The National Center for the Blind also
houses the International Braille and Technology Center for the
Blind, a comprehensive demonstration and evaluation center for
computer-related technology used by the blind.  The Information
Access Project is able to draw upon the staff and resources of
the Braille and Technology Center as it makes recommendations to
individuals, businesses, and organizations around the country
about appropriate access methods and technology.

     In addition, the Information Access Project has a volunteer
corps of over 50 local Information Access Coordinators (at least
one per state).  These local coordinators distribute project
materials on a local basis, work with covered entities to educate
them and help them devise plans to meet the information access
needs of blind persons in their local areas.  The coordinators
will also spearhead projects in their local areas such as
assisting banks to provide their customers with accessible
automated teller machines or with bank statements in accessible
media. 

     The National Information Access Center staff is available
for consultation through the mail, via NFB's electronic bulletin
board service or by telephone.  They can be reached as follows:

Information Access Project for Blind Individuals
National Federation of the Blind
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, MD  21230
Telephone: (410) 659-9314
Fax:  (410) 685-5653
BBS: (410) 752-5011.
The Center is open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
eastern time.

     The National Federation of the Blind is the oldest and
largest organization of the blind in this country with over
50,000 members.  There are state affiliates and local chapters in
all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  Founded in 1940, the
NFB is dedicated to the complete integration of the blind into
the economic, political and social community.

     The Information Access Project is funded by a $99,930 grant
from the U.S. Department of Justice.
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