This album was created by a member of the TPS Teachers Network, a professional social media network for educators, funded by a grant from the Library of Congress. For more information, visit tpsteachersnetwork.org.
Album Description
Hi everyone! As I move forward in my internship, I will be posting weekly to share some thoughts and resources in connection with my experiences onsite at the Library.
This Saturday, as I worked in the Library’s Young Readers Center and Programs Lab (YRCPL), I noticed many children showing a keen interest in the resources on display that relate to the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS). The YRCPL has a table that displays Talking Books, books in Braille, and information about how people who are blind or have low vision access literature. The NLS is also part of a collaborative effort to help plan for future youth spaces in the Library.
I wanted to learn more about the history of the NLS and look at primary sources related to the creation of the NLS and accessible literature. The Library of Congress first developed a concept for a national library for the blind in 1897, when Librarian of Congress John Russell Young established a reading room for the blind containing about 500 books and music items in raised characters. The Pratt-Smoot Act of 1931 authorized the Library of Congress to establish a program to distribute books for blind adults, which would develop over time to become the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. (For more information on the history of NLS, visit https://www.loc.gov/nls/about/organization/history/). In 2009, the Library created an exhibition in honor of Louis Braille’s 200th Birthday, which is still available online and contains various images related to braille and print accessibility. The images and articles that I found through the Library might be a good way to introduce learners to how literature was made accessible to people who are blind or people with low vision in the past. The Observe, Reflect, Question method would be a great start in analyzing these sources. You might ask your students if they notice anything about how braille is read and how it was created. This could also spark conversation with students about accessibility aids for people with disabilities, and where they see accessibility aids like braille in their daily life (public restrooms, signs, etc.)
Do you know of any other sources related to the NLS? How do you discuss accessibility in your schools/organizations and with your students? How could you envision using these sources to start a conversation with your learners?
If this topic interests you, check out the posts from former Junior Fellow Ellie Kaplan , who compiled resources on teaching disability history.
Further Resources:
Social Studies/History Disability History National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled Library
Teaching Notes
Here is a photograph of the table at the Young Readers Center and Programs Lab that I referenced above. Notice the copy of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" as a Print-and-Braille Picture book, as well as a copy of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution written in Braille. The table also has examples of talking books, a description of the NLS, and hands-on activities for children to learn more about how braille is created and read.
Teaching Notes
Here is a photograph of the Reading Room for the Blind at the Library of Congress, taken around 1920. What might be different about this reading room compared to other reading rooms in the library at the time? What pieces of technology do you notice in the photograph?
Reference link: https://www.loc.gov/item/2005694707/
Reference note
Created / Published
Notes
Repository
Digital Id
Teaching Notes
Here is an example of the Braille Alphabet. The YRCPL has a similar card that we give away to children who visit the space. What is the pattern used for the braille alphabet? How was this created? Who do you think is the intended audience for this image?
Reference link: https://www.loc.gov/item/2016864181/
Reference note
Contributor Names
Created / Published
Genre
Notes
Repository
Digital Id
Teaching Notes
This would be a great image to try Observe, Reflect, Question:
- What is this woman doing?
- What is the time period? How do you know?
- Why was this image produced?
Reference link: https://www.loc.gov/item/2016889835/
Reference note
Contributor Names
Created / Published
Subject Headings
Genre
Notes
Repository
Digital Id
Teaching Notes
This woman is using a Braille Press to create pages of braille text. How might braille be created today? How has the technology for accessibility aids, like braille, changed over time?
Reference link: https://www.loc.gov/item/2017864845/
Reference note
Contributor Names
Created / Published
Subject Headings
Genre
Notes
Repository
Digital Id
Teaching Notes
This is another way that braille was created--using a "braille machine." What other piece of technology from this period does this machine look like? (Perhaps a typewriter) Knowing that braille is made from a pattern of six dots, why might this machine have six keys? This image would be good to pair with the "Braille Alphabet" image from this album.
Reference link: https://www.loc.gov/item/2017864847/
Reference note
Contributor Names
Created / Published
Subject Headings
Genre
Notes
Repository
Digital Id
Copyright © 2024 | Designed by TPS Western Region at Metropolitan State University of Denver | All Rights Reserved
This site is not an official publication of the Library of Congress and does not represent official Library of Congress communications.