edited by Cynthia G. Hawkins
The announcement of products and services in this column does not represent an endorsement by the American Council of the Blind, its officers, or staff. Listings are free of charge for the benefit of our readers. “The ACB Braille Forum” cannot be held responsible for the reliability of the products and services mentioned. To submit items for this column, send a message to [email protected], or phone the national office at 1-800-424-8666, and leave a message in Sharon Lovering’s mailbox. Information must be received at least two months ahead of publication date.
Army Orders, NIB Delivers
In December 2024, the Army placed 770 orders for the presidential inauguration with Industries of the Blind (IOB) in Greensboro, N.C. The agency immediately got to work fulfilling the request, successfully meeting the challenge to deliver 1,070 pieces of new 15-piece dress uniform ensembles. On January 20, approximately 80 Army guardsmen and reservists supporting the presidential inauguration were dressed in the new uniforms. Those participating in the memorial parade for President James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, held earlier this month, also wore the new uniforms.
IOB is one of nearly 100 associated nonprofit agencies across the country that partner with National Industries for the Blind (NIB), the nation’s largest employment resource for people who are blind, low vision or visually impaired. A subset of these agencies, including IOB, manufacture more than one million articles of military clothing and equipment annually. They strategically support the U.S. Armed Forces through innovation, savings on goods and services and waste reduction.
As soon as the uniform orders were placed, IOB worked to source items from across the country, receiving materials and expediting the pick-pack-and-ship process to ensure the uniforms were delivered in time for the event. The challenge was two-fold: Not only were the items required highly sought after with reduced availability, but there was also weather to contend with as the country braced for multiple winter storms.
In coordination with and at the direction of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), IOB made the orders its top priority, with employees working off-hours to receive urgent deliveries of end items and quickly repacking and shipping them to customer locations. It was an enormous coordination challenge, with some items having to be substituted and retrofitted to work. For instance, a specific belt size was out of stock, so larger sizes were ordered and cut to fit.
They met their deadline. No one watching the Army reservists and National Guard personnel participate in President Carter’s memorial parade or the presidential inauguration knew the behind-the-scenes challenges and hard work that took place, except those with IOB and their partners at DLA.
2025 Schneider Family Book Awards Recipients Named
PHOENIX – The American Library Association (ALA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Schneider Family Book Awards, which honor an author or illustrator for the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. The award winners were announced today during the ALA’s LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience held January 24 – 27 in Phoenix.
Recipients are selected in three categories: young children birth through grade school (age 0–8), middle grades (ages 9-13) and teens (ages 14–18). Winners will receive $5,000 and a framed plaque.
The best younger children’s title is “A Little Like Magic,” written and illustrated by Sarah Kurpiel.
Two younger children’s honor titles are: “Monster Hands,” written by Karen Kane and Jonaz McMillan, illustrated by Dion MBD, and “You’re SO Amazing!”, written by James and Lucy Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George.
The best middle grade title is “Popcorn,” written and illustrated by Rob Harrell.
Two middle grade books that received honor titles are “Louder Than Hunger,” written by John Schu, and “Shark Teeth,” written by Sherri Winston.
For young adults, the best title is “Chronically Dolores,” written by Maya Van Wagenen.
The two young adult titles receiving honors are: “Light Enough to Float,” written by Lauren Seal, and “On the Bright Side,” written by Anna Sortino.
For more information on the Schneider Family Book Award and other ALA Youth Media Awards, visit www.ala.org/yma.
Large Print Bible
Xavier Society for the Blind has released the New American Bible in large print. The Bible is in 13 volumes, and 22-point sans-serif font.
The Society also provides the Mass Propers for Catholic Services in large print. The Mass Propers in large print are mailed monthly.
All items are free of charge. Want your copy? Send an email request to [email protected], or call (212) 473-7800 (toll-free at 1-800-637-9193).
New at National Braille Press
New in the children’s section is “Every Dog in the Neighborhood,” by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Matthew Cordell. It’s available in UEB for ages 4 to 8. If you have a child who loves dogs, you’ll definitely want to check this one out!
For more information, call toll-free 1-800-548-7323, or visit the online store at shop.nbp.org.
Getting in Touch with Literacy Conference
The 2025 Getting in Touch With Literacy Conference will be held November 5th-8th, 2025 at the Downtown Embassy Suites/VonBraun Center in Huntsville, Ala. It is expected to draw approximately 350-400 dedicated people from around the world, including researchers, educators and other professionals who promote literacy for children and adults who are visually impaired. Presenters from a dozen countries will provide more than 100 concurrent sessions to those in attendance.
This year they are adding a strand dedicated solely to enhancing the attendees’ knowledge of the constantly advancing AT available to teachers and trainers to enable them to be more effective, efficient, and productive and/or allow students and clients a higher level of access to their education with more fun and educational tools that will ultimately lead to greater independence, employability, and enhanced quality of life.
To register as a vendor or sponsor, visit https://forms.gle/vKtgSGjrDRS2AYzB7. To register as a presenter, go to https://cec1785.wufoo.com/forms/rus1w5b0vhqxqd/. For more information about the conference, visit https://www.gitwl.org/home.
Voya Financial Donates to National Braille Press
Voya Financial has donated $16,500 to National Braille Press (NBP) from its employees who conducted a fundraising appeal in the month of September during Voya’s annual Employee Giving Campaign. The funds raised were used to publish a braille children’s book “Goodnight Owl,” which was the December Book of the Month for NBP’s Children’s Braille Book Club.
This past holiday season, 317 families received this book at no cost because of their generosity, along with other funders. For the past 40 years, the Children’s Braille Book Club has helped thousands of families with blind and visually impaired individuals have access to print-braille books, allowing them to create a library of their own. This has helped many parents and children, sighted, blind and visually impaired, enjoy reading alongside each other.