(Editor’s Note: While we would like to include the full text of the resolutions in “The ACB Braille Forum,” there isn’t enough space to do so and include all the articles you enjoy. Below is a summary of this year’s resolutions. For a braille or large print version of the complete set of resolutions, contact the ACB national office at (202) 467-5081 or 1-800-424-8666. They are also available on www.acb.org.)
Resolution 2024-03 was tabled. Resolutions 2024-04, 2024-05, 2024-07, 2024-08, and 2024-16 were withdrawn.
Resolution 2024-01 reaffirms ACB’s support for braille and rejects the idea that shapes or other tactile markings constitute an appropriate replacement for braille when marking products or surfaces, and calls upon ACB’s leaders and staff to consult with special-interest affiliates such as the Braille Revival League before embracing systems such as that proposed by Procter & Gamble, and asks that Procter & Gamble consider working to incorporate braille as an appropriate tactile symbol in any future marking systems for its products.
Resolution 2024-02 requests that ACB, in cooperation with Library Users of America, request that NLS extend the policy begun with the “New York Times Book Review” and apply it to other audio publications where there are book reviews, to include “Bookmarks,” “Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine,” “Analog,” “Azimov’s,” “The Atlantic,” and “The New Yorker.”
Resolution 2024-06 directs ACB’s Board of Directors to establish a mechanism to inform the membership regarding upcoming board decisions, collect member input, and disseminate that input to the board prior to making decisions.
Resolution 2024-09 directs ACB to increase its focus on employment through working collaboratively with thought leaders in the employment arena to hold a summit on employment and challenges impacting people who are blind or have low vision; using those findings to define an appropriate consumer role for ACB as a chief influencer and leading blindness organization; providing information to members on any regulatory or legislative developments related to Social Security reform that might impact work incentives or payments to blind or low vision individuals seeking employment; ensuring that the reduction of employment barriers is incorporated into communications related to advocacy initiatives whenever possible and encouraging members to stress employment while communicating with legislators and policymakers; and highlighting employment-related activities of ACB affiliates and chapters. ACB will report on these activities during its 2025 conference and convention.
Resolution 2024-10 directs ACB to ask NLS to implement a process by which library patrons will be able to easily search for books by authors of specific racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, by topic, and by genre, and will also ask NLS to report progress at ACB’s 2025 national convention.
Resolution 2024-11 instructs ACB and RSVA to urge the Department of Defense to work collaboratively with the Department of Education to eliminate any requirement for a lead contractor in multi-state military dining facility contracts in order to expand employment opportunities for blind and low vision individuals in the Randolph-Sheppard Program. Both organizations will take other actions as necessary to remove this barrier to employment.
Resolution 2024-12 asks ACB to advocate directly with streaming video providers, broadcast and non-broadcast networks, to pass through existing audio-described content as is already done with broadcast and cable TV, so that people who are blind or have low vision are not left behind through this technological transition; to strongly encourage the FCC to use its authority to refresh the record and ensure that the definition of multi-channel video programming distributor is updated and that all video programmers are subject to the accessibility requirements of the CVAA, including the pass-through of audio-described content; and that ACB will work toward the swift passage of the Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act to expand the amount of audio-described content available for consumers, regardless of how they choose to consume it.
Resolution 2024-13 directs ACB, in conjunction with other disability-related organizations, to advocate directly with the Advanced Television Standards Committee, the FCC, and industry stakeholders to ensure pass-through of all provided secondary audio streams regardless of technology; implementation of enhanced accessibility features according to universal design principles; and that multiple secondary audio streams be available for the concurrent transmission of translation and audio description; and extending the overall accessibility of televisions, set-top boxes, and other modern viewing platforms.
Resolution 2024-14 affirms ACB’s belief that the time has come to address the inequities that are embedded within the current ADA regulations and to begin the process of making a paradigm shift such that the purpose of paratransit service will be to allow people with disabilities to get where they need to go when they need to get there; directs ACB’s leadership to call upon and join with other organizations of and for people with disabilities to develop proposed national standards for paratransit services and to collectively advocate for their adoption by the U.S. Department of Transportation; and that if the ACB Board of Directors concludes that circumstances justify ACB advocating primarily or solely on its own, the Board shall consider other options to carry out this resolution. The Executive Director and/or the President shall provide a report at the 2025 ACB convention.
Resolution 2024-15 directs ACB to call upon GS1, and any other international standard-setting bodies, to incorporate accessibility compliance requirements into any future QR and barcode standards; and to seek the support and collaboration of the World Blind Union to move this issue forward internationally.