Braille Institute Library Services named recipient of the ASCLA/KLAS/NOD Award
Contact: Eileen Hardy
Marketing Specialist
312-280-4398
ehardy@ala.org
For Immediate Release
March 12, 2007
Braille Institute Library Services named recipient of the ASCLA/KLAS/NOD Award
CHICAGO —The Braille Institute of Library Services, Los Angeles (Calif.), is the 2007 recipient of the ASCLA/KLAS/NOD Award administered by the of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).
Donated by Keystone Systems, Inc., the $1,000 award and certificate is given to a library organization that has provided services for people with disabilities. The award is presented by ASCLA, a division of the American Library Association (ALA).
“It is truly our pleasure and honor that the Braille Institute is the recipient of this year’s award,” stated Kay Holloman, CEO of Keystone Systems. “Keystone knows and acknowledges the work the Braille Institute has done to promote and carry out innovative programs to better serve the community.”
The Library Services of the Braille Institute was selected for its Telephone Reader Program that was begun in 2000 with a Library Services and Technology Act grant. It has blossomed into a very important service for people in the area who are blind or have difficulty reading print. It allows people to hear the news and other information available in daily publications by dialing the telephone.
‘The Library Services of Braille Institute provide an innovative service that offers newspapers, magazines and other print materials readings through touch-tone telephone service to almost 9,000 people each year,” stated Ruth O’Donnell, ASCLA award committee chair. “The program has continuously improved its services and increased the number of volunteer readers, offering Spanish readers and taking advantage of its proximity to Hollywood’s population of actors.”
The award will be presented during the ASCLA President’s Program, “Is Your Information Technology Accessible? Section 508 and Libraries,” on June 25, 2007, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., during the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, DC.
