Big Braille or Jumbo Braille are seldom-used formats for braille in which the dots are spread out slightly. For some beginners and those with finger sensitivity problems, this cell size is helpful. However, as with large print, the message takes up much more space. Long documents, bulky in standard size braille, can become completely unwieldy […]

The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) sets all the rules for braille code and formatting. Their committee structure and collaborative process assures that the rules are not changed without all the implications first being considered by the best minds. BANA has published several documents that set the standard to which the Library of Congress […]

In today’s terminology, Audio Tape refers to any product that is provided to the end user on an audiocassette tape. Depending on their use, these cassettes can come in many lengths, tape speeds and packaging. General guidelines exist for preparing audio recordings. These are published by the Library of Congress, National Library Services for the […]

In today’s terminology, Audio Tape refers to any product that is provided to the end user on an audiocassette tape. Depending on their use, these cassettes can come in many lengths, tape speeds and packaging. General guidelines exist for preparing audio recordings. These are published by the Library of Congress, National Library Services for the […]

A cutting edge technology that combines the use of a tactile (raised line) graphic, a touch screen or drawing pad, and computer software. A file is loaded into the computer that has commentary associated with different areas of the touch screen. The tactile graphic has raised lines that represent or lead to those areas that […]

In today’s terminology, Audio Tape refers to any product that is provided to the end user on an audiocassette tape. Depending on their use, these cassettes can come in many lengths, tape speeds and packaging. General guidelines exist for preparing audio recordings. These are published by the Library of Congress, National Library Services for the […]

In the broadest sense, this term addresses the use of some sort of tool to deal with limitations presented by a disability – wheelchair, magnifier, talking computer. This glossary entry narrows the discussion to items that apply to visually impaired and blind people. Each type of adaptive technology is discussed more fully in its own […]

A generic term referring to those animals specially trained to help people with disabilities with various activities. Such trained animals and their use are protected under the ADA. No such animal may be excluded from lodging, public accommodations or public agencies. The use of a guide dog by blind people is covered by this provision […]

ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. ASCII code is the numerical representation of a character such as “a” or “@” or an action of some sort. This code uses the language of numbers that computers understand. It is usually used so that documents can be easily imported from one application to another. […]

This is a specially trained animal such as a dog or monkey whose purpose is to help its human owner in some way such as picking up dropped items, alerting to visitors, opening doors, providing balance or providing companionship to enhance mental well-being.