Public

RESOLUTION 2008-13
RE: Use of MathML to Improve Access to Technical
Information for the Blind

WHEREAS, while screen access programs and Braille translation software have given the blind unprecedented access to information that is fundamentally coded as literary text, it has been more difficult for these technologies to provide efficient and effective access to information that, at its core, contains scientific and mathematical expressions; and

RESOLUTION 2008-11
RE: Audio Description of Films

WHEREAS, the movie-going experience for blind and visually impaired people is enhanced by the provision of audio description of the characters, their actions, and the scenery and the reading of subtitles during screening of the film; and

WHEREAS, only a few movie theatres show audio-described films regularly; and

WHEREAS, blindness and vision loss are increasing in the United States, and we are becoming a more important segment of the entertainment market; and

RESOLUTION 2008-10
RE: Upcoming Section 508 and Section 255 Access Technology Standards

WHEREAS, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 255 of the Communications Act of 1996 are two laws regarding accessible information and communication technology for which technical standards and guidelines have been promulgated under the auspices of the U.S. Access Board; and

WHEREAS, Section 508 requires federal agencies to procure accessible electronic and information technology and to be guided in these procurements by technical standards promulgated by the Access Board; and

RESOLUTION 2008-09
RE: State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies’ Purchase
of Assistive Technology for Blind Clients’ Use on the Job

WHEREAS, at the outset of employment and on an as-needed basis, blind people may require certain assistive technology to allow them to compete equally with their sighted peers in the workforce; and

RESOLUTION 2008-08
RE: The Blind and American Paper Currency

RESOLUTION 2008 –07
RE: Insulin Pen Disclaimer

WHEREAS, most people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes can achieve effective self-management of the disease by regularly testing blood sugar, eating well, and taking medication if necessary; and

WHEREAS, for some, effective self-management also includes accurately measuring and injecting insulin several times a day; and

WHEREAS, many diabetics measure insulin with ordinary insulin pens manufactured by pharmaceutical giants like Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Sanofi-Aventis; and

RESOLUTION 2008-06
RE: Improving Access to Instructional Materials in Higher Education

WHEREAS, for many years the National Federation of the Blind has worked tirelessly to improve the accessibility of instructional materials for blind college students; and

WHEREAS, the chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, George Miller (D-CA) has included language on the accessibility of instructional materials for college students in HR 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2008, House legislation to reauthorize higher education programs; and

RESOLUTION 2008-05
RE: Reading Restrictions on the NLS Digital Download Project

WHEREAS, in October 2006 the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress (NLS) began to provide an alternative way for borrowers to access its collection by allowing some patrons to download books and magazines over the Internet; and

WHEREAS, the NLS Website already contains over 10,000 books and more than a dozen periodicals for patrons to download, and NLS plans to add additional materials each month to the Website for downloading; and

RESOLUTION 2008-04
RE: The Department of Defense Report on the Military Dining Facility Conflict

WHEREAS, beginning in 2003, and occurring in every annual piece of legislation to reauthorize Department of Defense (DOD) Programs through 2006, Congress has addressed the conflict between blind vendors under the Randolph-Sheppard Act and the severely disabled under the Javits-Wagner-O’Day (JWOD) Act in the operation of military dining facilities; and

RESOLUTION 2008-03
RE: Books Formatted for Braille from Bookshare.org

WHEREAS, Bookshare.org is a project dedicated to the legal distribution of books and periodicals in accessible formats, including electronic Braille; and

WHEREAS, with creativity and ingenuity Bookshare.org offers unprecedented access to general books and periodicals to blind readers through a mechanism enabling the sharing of books scanned by thousands of individuals, which eliminates significant duplication of effort; and