A Unique Resource for the Blind of the World . . .

                        THE INTERNATIONAL
                           BRAILLE AND
                        TECHNOLOGY CENTER
                          FOR THE BLIND

Established on the 
50th Anniversary 
of the founding of the 
National Federation of the Blind

                         Located at the
                  NATIONAL CENTER FOR THE BLIND
            1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
                         (410) 659-9314
[PHOTO CAPTION: Visitors to the International Braille and
Technology Center for the Blind get hands-on training in the use
of state-of-the-art equipment.]
-----------------------------------------------------------------



COVER PHOTO:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Marc Maurer--President,
National Federation of the Blind
1986-present

Hazel tenBroek--First "First Lady,"
National Federation of the Blind
Present at the founding of the
organization in 1940

Kenneth Jernigan--President,
National Federation of the Blind
1968-1986
Founder of the
National Center for the Blind
                      THE INTERNATIONAL 
                           BRAILLE AND
                        TECHNOLOGY CENTER
                          FOR THE BLIND

WHAT:
                         Demonstrations

                     Comparative Evaluations

                     Individual Instruction

                        Cost Comparisons

                 Americans with Disabilities Act
                      Compliance Assistance

               Personal and Telephone Consultation

                Meeting and Conference Facilities

               Overnight and Dining Accommodations

WHO:
                          Blind Persons

                            Employers

                          Professionals

                      Vendors of Technology

                         Family Members

                      Members of the Public

                         (410) 659-9314
Technology, Blindness, and the National Federation of the Blind

     The computer age has brought about advances in technology
for all people, including the blind.  The International Braille
and Technology Center for the Blind is the world's most extensive
demonstration and evaluation center for computer-related
technology serving the needs of blind persons.  The National
Federation of the Blind, in cooperation with other organizations,
has made a commitment to maintain this unique facility as a
resource for the blind of the world.  Nevertheless, it must be
remembered that technology is merely a tool to use in working
toward the complete integration of the blind into society on the
basis of equality--such integration being the ultimate purpose of
the National Federation of the Blind.

     Reaching this objective involves the removal of legal,
economic, and social discrimination; the education of the public
to new concepts concerning blindness; and the achievement by all
blind people of the right to exercise to the fullest their
individual talents and capabilities.  It means the right of the
blind to work along with their sighted neighbors in the
professions, common callings, skilled trades, and regular
occupations.

     Founded in 1940, the National Federation of the Blind is the
largest organization of the blind in America and has grown to
include more than 50,000 members.  Interested sighted persons
also join.  The Federation is organized in every state and has
local chapters in almost every community of any size in the
nation.  Each year the National Convention of the Federation is
attended by about 2,500 blind persons--the largest gathering of
blind people in the history of the world and growing each year.

     The National Federation of the Blind believes that the real
problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight.  The real
problem if the misunderstanding and lack of information which
exist.  If a blind person has proper training and opportunity,
blindness can be reduced to the level of a physical nuisance.

     It is in the context of this philosophy, this progress, and
this perspective that the International Braille and Technology
Center for the Blind was established and is operated.

[PHOTO CAPTIONS:  {1} The Main Hall of the International Braille
and Technology Center for the Blind.
     {2} Visitors touring the Center are able to compare the
quality of Braille produced by every hard-copy Braille embosser
in existence anywhere in the world.]


Meeting a Unique Need

     Who wants to spend thousands of dollars for equipment when
one has never had the opportunity to see it in operation, to talk
to someone who has used it, to compare it to other similar
devices, to know something of its reliability and durability, or
to determine its capacity to meet real-life on-the-job or
personal needs in a practical way?

     No one does, of course.  Yet, this has often been the only
option available to would-be purchasers of specialized access
technology for the blind.  Unlike their sighted counterparts,
blind people are not able to purchase equipment that is
accessible to them at their local computer supermarkets.  The
companies producing Braille and speech access devices for
computers tend to be small firms, which do not have local
outlets.  At best if has been possible to get hands-on experience
with only a few devices, and even then, under circumstances
making true comparative evaluations virtually impossible.

     The International Braille and Technology Center for the
Blind meets this unmet need. It serves as a nerve center and
laboratory to stimulate the use and development of technology for
the blind, facilitates comparative evaluation of state-of-the-art
technological devices, constitutes a test site for innovative
techniques, and functions as a hands-on training center for
individuals and other interested persons and groups.


Equipment

     The International Braille and Technology Center for the
Blind houses a continually changing collection of equipment and
software programs.  Newly developed devices come on the market
and existing ones become obsolete at a rapid rate.  The Center's
goal is to acquire on an ongoing basis for comparative evaluation
and demonstration purposes at least one of every computer-driven
Braille embossing device that is commercially available to blind
individuals and institutions anywhere in the world.  Such devices
range in speed from less than a dozen characters per second to
more than 1200 pages per hour and in price from less than $2,000
to more than $80,000.

     In addition to hard-copy Braille embossers the International
Braille and Technology Center for the Blind has an extensive
selection of Braille translation programs (software that converts
print into Braille), speech synthesizers, audible screen review
programs, reading machines (devices that scan a printed page and
translate text into spoken words), scanners, optical character
recognition systems, refreshable Braille Displays, Braille note-
taking devices, raised-line drawing equipment, and much more.

     The commitment of financial resources, personnel, and
physical facilities to achieve and maintain the equipment
acquisition and operating goals of the International Braille and
Technology Center for the Blind is enormous.  Nowhere else in the
world does a collection of technological devices such as this
exist.

     The International Braille and Technology Center for the
Blind displays more than 150 devices and software programs.  The
list of specific equipment changes on a continual basis.  To
obtain a current listing call the Center (410) 659-9314 or
download it from NFB Net, the computer bulletin board service of
the National Federation of the Blind (410) 752-5011.


Here are examples of some of the Center's equipment:

Braillo 400S interpoint Braille embosser
Thiel BAX-10 interpoint Braille printer
Elekul-03 high-speed Braille embosser
TED 600 interpoint Braille embosser
Braille Blazer personal Braille printer
Romeo Braille printer
Alva Braille Terminal refreshable display
KeyBraille refreshable Braille display
Braille 'n Speak note-taker
David notebook computer with Braille keyboard, Braille display,
     and speech
NFBTrans Braille translation software
Duxbury Braille Translator
Speaqualizer speech access system
Keynote Gold PC speech synthesizer
DEC-Talk speech synthesizer
Audapter speech synthesizer
Double Talk PC speech synthesizer
Artic Business Vision screen review program
Vocal-Eyes screen review program
Kurzweil Personal Reader stand-alone reading system
Arkenstone An Open Book stand-alone reading system
DragonDictate voice recognition system
and many more.


NFB NET
                         (410) 752-5011

     The International Braille and Technology Center for the
Blind also houses NFB NET, the official computerized bulletin
board service of the National Federation of the Blind. 
Information can be sent to or retrieved from NFB NET twenty-four
hours a day by any individual who has access to a computer and a
modem.  NFB NET is intended as a means of communication and
information exchange among NFB members, friends, or other
interested persons--sighted or blind.

     Files on the bulletin board include past and current issues
of the Braille Monitor, the official publication of the National
Federation of the Blind; Future Reflections, the magazine for
parents and educators of blind children; plus an array of other
literature of interest to the blind.  The system also has files
of interest to blind computer users--for example, demonstration
copies of various speech programs and Braille translation
programs.  In addition, there is a general collection of utility
programs, files relating to the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA), speech-friendly games, a recipe exchange area, and more.

[PHOTO CAPTIONS: {1} A blind visitor examines a personal computer
with Braille translation software and Braille embosser.
     {2} Information, tours and advice are available to all--
blind individuals, professionals in the field of educations and
training of the blind, vendors of technology, prospective
employers, and members of the general public.]


Job Opportunities For The Blind (JOB)
                         (800) 638-7518

     Job Opportunities for the Blind (JOB) is a joint project of
the U. S. Department of Labor and the National Federation of the
Blind.  JOB offers free services to U. S. residents who are blind
and looking for work in the United States.

     Services include a nationwide reference and referral
program, a job hunter's magazine on cassette (the JOB Recorded
Bulletin is issued eight times per year), recorded job
information literature, print materials for employer education,
local and national career-planning seminars, consultation on low-
vision aids and appliances, and introductions to blind peers
employed in jobs of interest to the job-seeker.


Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

     The President of the United States signed the Americans with
Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990.  With respect to employment it
provides that:

     Beginning July 26, 1992, employers with 25 or more employees
may not discriminate against qualified individuals with
disabilities.  Employers with 15 or more employees are covered by
this Act as of July 26, 1994.

     Employers must reasonably accommodate the disabilities of
qualified applicants or employees, unless an undue hardship on
the operation of the business would result.

     Complaints may be filed with the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission.  Available remedies include back pay and
court orders to stop discrimination.  For more information call
(800) 638-7518.

[NFB LOGO]

Membership in NFB

     Are you a member of the National Federation of the Blind? 
Would you like to become a member?  Whether you are sighted of
blind, you can join our organization through regular membership
or by becoming a member-at-large.  For more information, call us
at (410) 659-9314, or write to us at our headquarters in
Baltimore.

[PHOTO CAPTION: International in scope--the International Braille
and Technology Canter for the Blind features products from many
countries.  In recent months there have been visitors from more
than twenty countries including Australia, Bermuda, Brazil,
Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, India,
Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, New Zealand, Pakistan, the
Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand,
Turkey, and the United Kingdom.]