BANA Braille Bits

Braille Authority of North America
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This podcast series highlights activities of the Braille Authority of North America. BANA is the standard-setting body with regard to braille codes and formatting guidelines for both literary and technical material. It makes the rules for how braille is written and formatted in the U.S. and Canada.

Episodes

  1. 11/04/2025

    BANA Braille Bits

    In this tenth episode of BANA Braille Bits, hosted by BANA Chair, Jen Goulden, we highlight Perkins School for the Blind, which is based in Watertown, Massachusetts. Wendy Buckley is the Perkins representative on the BANA Board and the current BANA Vice-Chair.  Wendy talks about the history of Perkins, its goals supporting students, and projects focusing on community engagement.

    21 min

  2. 09/22/2025

    BANA BrailleBits--Episode 9

    In this ninth episode of BANA Braille Bits, hosted by BANA Chair, Jen Goulden, we highlight the Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation (CIDI), which is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Hollie Knight represents CIDI on the BANA Board and is a Braille Media Specialist. Hollie shares information about CIDI's mission towards braille, the resources it provides, as well as some upcoming goals and activities.

    14 min

  3. 03/25/2025

    BANA BrailleBits Episode 8

    In this eighth episode of BANA Braille Bits, hosted by BANA Chair, Jen Goulden, we hear from Dave Williams, Chair of The Braillists Foundation in the United Kingdom. Dave provides an update on various events celebrating the 200th anniversary of the invention of braille. Dave is also an Inclusive Design Ambassador for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). For more information on Braille 200 events, visit https://www.rnib.org.uk/about-us/braille-200/what-is-braille-200/.

    27 min

  4. 10/08/2024

    BANA BrailleBits Episode 7

    In this seventh episode of BANA Braille Bits, we hear from Dr. Judy Dixon who serves as President of the International Council on English Braille (ICEB) and who also represents the American Council of the Blind (ACB) on the Braille Authority of North America (BANA). Host Tamara Rorie, BANA Representative from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) and Past BANA Chair, interviews Judy who shares highlights from ICEB's 2024 8th General Assembly held in Auckland, New Zealand, in May. Judy also details information on the work of ICEB, the status of the ICEB rulebook, and resolutions passed at this quadrennial ICEB General Assembly. For more information about ICEB, you can contact Dr. Dixon at the following email addresses: info@iceb.org for general questions concerning ICEB or ueb@iceb.org for questions on UEB.

    18 min

  5. 12/18/2023

    BANA BrailleBits. Episode 6

    Hosted by Tamara Rorie, representative of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, this episode of BANA Braille Bits highlights one of BANA's Member Organizations, Hadley. Danette Johnson, the team leader of the Braille and Rehab teams at Hadley, shares how the mission of Hadley is to create personalized learning opportunities that empower adults with vision loss or blindness to thrive at home, at work, and in their communities. She also gives us exciting information on current and upcoming projects. For more information on Hadley, call 800-323-4238 or visit hadleyhelps.org

    15 min

  6. 08/01/2023

    BANA BrailleBits

    Hosted by Tamara Rorie, representative of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, this episode features an interview with Jen Goulden, current Chair of BANA, who represents the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. Jen talks about BANA's role, its member organizations, and gives a glimpse into what's in store for 2023-2024.

    16 min

  7. 10/26/2020

    BANA Braille Bits Episode 4

    This episode features an interview with Darleen Bogart, CNIB National Braille Convenor and long-time representative on the BANA Board. She looks back at the establishment of and early days of the Braille Authority of North America in 1976. Darleen reflects on the composition of BANA, projects and means of communication over the years. She brings the history of BANA forward and updates us on her current activities.

    38 min
  8. BANA Braille Bits

    01/04/2020

    BANA Braille Bits

    This episode features an interview with Dr. Robert Englebretson by Dr. Sandra Ruconich, chair of BANA's Outreach Committee. Dr. Englebretson is the recipient of the 2019 Darleen Bogart Braille Excellence Award. Dr. Englebretson is Chair of the Linguistics Department at Rice University in Houston, Texas.  From 2005 to 2010, he served as the International Council on English Braille's U.S. Representative to UEB Committee for Foreign Languages and Linguistics, under the auspices of which he developed IPA Braille. IPA Braille presents an up-to-date braille notation for the symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet, primarily aimed at braille-reading students and professionals in the language sciences, as well as braille transcribers wishing to produce braille versions of linguistics texts. BANA Awards Darleen Bogart Braille Excellence Award to Dr. Robert Englebretson

    27 min
  9. BANA Braille Bits

    01/03/2020

    BANA Braille Bits

    An interview with the chair of BANA, Jennifer Dunnam. Discussion about the organization and some of the exciting work that is happening, as well as thoughts about braille and its future.

    12 min
  10. BANA Braille Bits

    02/05/2019

    BANA Braille Bits

    This podcast is an overview of the Braille Authority of North America (BANA). Sandy Ruconich, Vice-chair of BANA, is interviewed so you can learn a little about our organization: who we are, what we do, and how long we've been around. BANA is the standard-setting body with regard to braille codes and formatting guidelines for both literary and technical material. It makes the rules for how braille is written and formatted in the U.S. and Canada.

    11 min
  • 10 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

About

This podcast series highlights activities of the Braille Authority of North America. BANA is the standard-setting body with regard to braille codes and formatting guidelines for both literary and technical material. It makes the rules for how braille is written and formatted in the U.S. and Canada.

Information

  • Creator
    Braille Authority of North America
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2025
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    BANA Braille Bits