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| Historical Highlights - Graphics Version | |
| HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS | |
| The Beginnings | |
| 1919 — J. Robert Atkinson started the Universal Braille Press, later to become Braille Institute, in the converted garage of his house in Los Angeles. 1924 — The first King James version of the Bible was printed in revised braille (21 volumes) by the Universal Braille Press. This project was the forerunner of the Library’s book collection. 1925 — Sixteen U.S. libraries supported by the Library of Congress were authorized to distribute braille books. 1929 — Braille Institute of America, Inc., was incorporated as a nonprofit organization. 1931 — After the Pratt-Smoot Act was signed into law, as of March 3, funding was established through the Library of Congress for raised-print literature for blind people. Atkinson is credited with initiating the lobbying of the bill. Braille Institute rented space on Vermont Avenue close to Melrose Avenue for its library of 250 titles that comprised 1,250 volumes. 1933 — The Library moved to 741 North Vermont Avenue. |
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| The Early Years | |
| 1934 — The Library of Congress designated Braille Institute of America the Southern California Regional Library and Machine Lending Agency for the Blind. Library service was extended not only to the 10 southern counties of California but also to the State of Arizona. 1938 — Braille Institute leased space at 656 North Vermont Avenue to accommodate the expanding Library. Braille Institute published the first braille Merriam-Webster’s Student Dictionary, in 32 volumes. 1940 — Librarian Eleanor Syminton was appointed the Regional Library’s first administrator. 1943 — Property was leased at 721 North Vermont Avenue for Library expansion, and services were extended to 1,522 patrons. 1944 — In its 25th anniversary year, Braille Institute purchased the leased Vermont Avenue property. 1954 — The Braille Institute Library was expanded to occupy 6,500 square feet. 1957— After 38 years as head of Braille Institute, Atkinson was succeeded by Alan Hunt. 1960 — John M. Holmes assumed leadership of the Institute. |
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| Years of Growth | |
| 1966 — Congress passed PL 89-522, giving people with physical handicaps access to the talking-book service. Russell W. Kirbey was appointed Executive Director of Braille Institute. A 24-hour answering service was installed for the convenience of Library patrons. 1969 — On the 50th anniversary of Braille Institute, the construction of a new Library building began. It was completed a year later. 1970 — With the exception of braille readers who continued to receive braille books from Braille Institute Library, service to residents of Arizona was transferred to the new Arizona Regional Library in Phoenix. 1976 — The Library Advisory Committee was formed with Gerard Rossi as the first elected chairperson. The committee was composed of eight representatives of the patron population and four members of statewide organizations. 1977 — The National Library Service introduced four-track cassettes. 1978 — The State Legislature passed SB 1565, appropriating $166,000 to provide partial support for library services to blind, visually impaired, physically handicapped and reading-disabled residents of Southern California. The Library of Congress renamed the Division for the Blind and Physically Handicapped as the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. 1980 — A PDP II computer was installed and the Library operation was automated, one of the first changeovers among network libraries. 1981 — Thrift Shop activities at 100 South Western Avenue were discontinued to provide annex space for supplementary Library storage. 1984 — The Library’s first voice-indexed cassette dictionary was purchased for the reference section of the collection, which consisted of 400,000 units of braille and talking books. 1986 — Braille Institute acquired 1.7 acres of land from Los Angeles City College on which to build new Library and conference facilities. 1988 — Construction of 100,000-square-foot Library and conference facilities began. |
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| Years of Challenge | |
| 1990 — In January, Dr. Henry C. Chang was appointed Director of Library Services. The Library began a series of large-print bibliographies. In September the $15 million new Library and conference facilities were dedicated. 1991 — According to a pilot plan, the first of four branch libraries was officially established in the Regional Center at Rancho Mirage. The Main Library installed DRA Report Writer software capable of generating computerized statistics and spread sheets. The first Work Team Achievement award was presented to the Public Library Workshop Team. NLS selected the Library as a test site for its new version of NLSNET software. The first expanded Summer Reading Program was completed, with 69 children participating. 1992 — Branch libraries were established in the regional centers at Anaheim and Santa Barbara. Descriptive videos were added to the collection. 1993 — The regional center at San Diego was dedicated and the doors of the fourth branch library were opened. Software was installed at Los Angeles Regional Library to facilitate communication with the branch libraries. The Anaheim Branch Library was expanded and the Santa Barbara Branch Library remodeled. Service to Arizona Braille readers was transferred to the Utah Regional Library. In August monthly circulation at the Southern California Regional Library reached an all-time high of 70,548 items; 8,720 items circulated in a single day. 1995 — The NLS-sponsored "Take a Talking Book" multimedia public education campaign was successfully completed, reaching 3,000 seniors. Leslie E. Stocker was appointed President of Braille Institute. Library Services’ circulation reached 1 million items. An independent audit ranked the Library’s machine-quality program number one in the nation. 1996 — NLS joined BILS in honoring the Telephone Pioneers of Southern California for its contributions to the national talking-book program. Over the past two decades, more than 100,000 machines had been repaired. During National Library Week, a Certificate of Commendation was received from Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. The state-of-the-art AlphaServer IOOOA computer system was installed. Internet access was acquired and Web-browsers and e-mail were utilized to conduct the daily operation of the Library. Frank Kurt Cylke, NLS Director, was keynote speaker at the Library’s Annual Open House. HR 3754 passed, which exempted the Library and other NLS network libraries from copyright restrictions. 1997 — Pioneer Verdugo Life Members presented their 14,000th repaired cassette machine to the Library. 1998 — The first Braille Institute Web site was established. The Long-Range Plan was completed. Objectives were directed toward achieving 15 percent growth over five years. Nearly 2,000 Braille book titles were processed in a five-year program to eliminate overlapping call numbers. Braille Institute Library Services was invited to co-host the 2000 National Conference of Network Librarians in Los Angeles. The Library workshop "Living with Limited Vision" drew a record 150 participants from healthcare facilities throughout Southern California. 1999 — In January an all-time record was reached with the circulation of 13,215 items in a single day. On March 25, San Diego's branch library relocated to the new 28,000-square-foot regional center in La Jolla. National Library Week celebration featured two-time Grammy-winning artist and composer Diane Schuur, who is a Library patron. A Book-of-the-Month Club, a monthly book discussion group with a regular patron following, was established. A partnership with public libraries was established to enable readers in Southern California to check out books and exchange playback equipment at their local libraries. The number of depository libraries rose to 1,525, including 200 public libraries. A comprehensive user survey was conducted. Findings showed that user satisfaction rate was 99 percent. A first-ever survey of Spanish-speaking patrons solicited information pertinent to the collection. Mayor Riordan was keynote speaker at the Library Open House. Headlining the program were comedian Don Knotts and actor/narrator Joseph Campanella. The Library produced the 832-page Spanish Catalog in English and Spanish that was distributed throughout the NLS network libraries. 2000 — Braille Institute Library Services held "Meet the Author Day," the first event of its kind to specifically target young adult patrons. Author Frances Lantz headlined the affair. Braille Institute Library Services co-hosted the National Library Service's 2000 National Conference of Librarians Serving Blind and Physically Handicapped Individuals, held in Los Angeles. Braille Institute Library Services was awarded a grant from the California State Library to implement the Telephone Reader Program. Braille Institute Library Services launched the successful "Be Kind, Rewind" campaign to encourage the rewinding of cassette books. For the first time in its 66-year history, Braille Institute Library Services circulated more than 100,000 items in one calendar month. |
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