For the past few years, Library Users of America has made book discussion a part of its annual program at the ACB convention. This year represents the 50th birthday of the American Council of the Blind, so it is fitting that our choice as a book this year is "People of Vision."
Published in 2003, this extensive history of our organization was written by two noted historians who looked at available documents and interviewed many of ACB's leaders. It is our hope that we can attract some of the people featured in the book to join us and talk about what they think both of the book and how it portrayed them. "People of Vision" is available in braille, on tape and as a digital download from NLS. It is also available from Web-Braille. It is also an item that you can purchase in various formats from the ACB Store.
"People of Vision" begins with a discussion of how blind people have been treated in the past, includes a discussion of the origins of the consumer movement with the formation of the National Federation of the Blind in 1940, and contains extensive discussion of what led to the creation of ACB in 1961. It then explores the history of our organization and tries to assess where we were by 2003. It will be fascinating to see how far the Megiverns' expectations of ACB have been fulfilled in the eight years since the book was published. Join us on Wednesday, July 13th at 3 p.m. for a chance to discuss this seminal work on the history of our organization.
Here are the details on the book. "People of Vision: A History of the American Council of the Blind," by James J. Megivern and Marjorie L. Megivern is available in braille as BR14800; on cassette as RC56115; and as a digital download as DB56115. See you there.