The Reading Rights Coalition, which represents people who cannot read print, will protest the threatened removal of the text-to-speech function from e-books for the Amazon Kindle 2 outside the Authors Guild headquarters in New York City at 31 East 32nd Street on April 7, 2009, from noon to 2:00 p.m. The coalition includes the blind, people with dyslexia, people with learning or processing issues, seniors losing vision, people with spinal cord injuries, people recovering from strokes, and many others for whom the addition of text-to-speech on the Kindle 2 promised for the first time easy, mainstream access to over 255,000 books. For more information, please see the official press release on the protest.

National Federation of the Blind and NASA Confirm Historic Flight

Baltimore, Maryland (March 26, 2009): In a surprise announcement at the launch ceremony for the new Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar, NASA announced that the new commemorative coin celebrating the life and work of the inventor of the reading code for the blind will fly on a future space shuttle mission. The announcement, by NASA Deputy Administrator for Educational Programs Dr. Joyce Winterton, came at the end of the official event announcing the availability of this beautiful new coin, which will help the National Federation of the Blind to increase Braille literacy in the United States.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
said: "The Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar symbolizes the power of knowledge and future opportunities for blind children across America. It is therefore fitting that this historic coin will be part of a mission to uncover the secrets of the universe. Perhaps someday a Braille reader will also be part of such a mission."

Dr. Joyce Winterton said: "NASA believes strongly in the importance of educational opportunities for everyone, and that is why we have partnered with the National Federation of the Blind to help create programs that enhance scientific study for blind youth. Launching the first coin ever to contain tactile, readable Braille into space symbolizes NASA's commitment to the spread of knowledge by every means and to every individual."

The Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar goes on sale to the general public at noon today. Those interested in ordering a coin should visit www.usmint.gov or call 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). For more information about the National Federation of the Blind and the Braille Readers are Leaders campaign, visit www.braille.org.

Braille Reading Pals is an early literacy program that gently encourages and rewards parents for reading daily with their blind or low vision children ages infant-7 (or older if the children have developmental delays) who are not yet reading. Sponsored by the NFB Jernigan Institute, this free two-month spring program begins May 1 and concludes June 30. For more information about the program, visit the Braille Reading Pals home page. Registration ends on April 27, 2009, so sign up online today!