AFB eNews

Sept. 2009

AFB's Migel Library Moves to the American Printing House for the Blind

Professionals and students in the field of vision loss will soon be able to find AFB's famous M.C. Migel Memorial Library at the American Printing House for the Blind (APH). The Library, containing approximately 40,000 volumes and scheduled to move to APH in September, is one of the largest and most important research collections on the non-medical aspects of blindness and visual impairment in the world.

AFB decided to move the library to another venue where it could be expanded and easily accessed. "We selected APH to house the Migel Library because it is a repository of knowledge and is committed to preserving and expanding its book collection," said Carl R. Augusto, President and CEO of AFB. "With APH's popular annual meeting and its connection to a number of university prep programs, we are confident these important books will continue to educate people in our field for years to come."

For more than 75 years, the M.C. Migel Memorial Library has provided scholars, researchers, practitioners, students, and consumers with a centralized source of materials related to blindness and visual impairment. The Migel Library collection contains items on aging, orientation and mobility, education, employment, and rehabilitation. It also includes a collection of items relating to deaf-blindness, fictional titles that feature blind or visually impaired characters, books on Helen Keller, children's books that touch on blindness and visual impairment, and many important AFB publications dating back to the 1920s.

The Migel Rare Book Collection will remain at AFB, along with the Helen Keller Archives, the AFB and Talking Book Archives, and the Bertrand Lowenfeld and Josephine L. Taylor Archives. Visit AFB's Press Room to read the full press release on the Migel Library move.

News & Announcements

New Publication from AFB Press
AFB Press is pleased to announce the publication of Everyday Activities to Promote Visual Efficiency: A Handbook for Working with Young Children with Visual Impairments by Rona Shaw, Ed.D., and Ellen Trief. This user-friendly, comprehensive handbook provides simple activities that can be incorporated easily by families and service providers into the everyday routines of a baby or child to facilitate early visual development and use of functional vision. Early intervention services are essential for these children, not only to ensure their early development but also to help them learn to use their vision with maximum effectiveness, right from the start. Available in paperback or ASCII files on CD-ROM, the book is available for $45.95. For more information, visit AFB's online bookstore or contact AFB Press at afbpress@afb.net.

Essential Learning for Professionals
Earlier this year, AFB CareerConnect© and AT&T were pleased to provide a great learning opportunity for professionals who work with children and adults with visual impairments: two free online webinars, "Lifelong Learning in Career Education" and "Determining Current and Future AT Needs." These webinars, conveniently available through participants' home or work computers, were recently rebroadcast due to popular demand. Continuing education units for the two sessions were approved by ACVREP and CRCC. If you missed either of the broadcasts, but still want to take advantage of the learning sessions, you can access audio versions of the webinars from the CareerConnect homepage.

Attack of the Coworkers: Teen Employment Series Continues
You listened as Aaron learned how to produce a good resume and watched as he went on his first real job interview. Now that Aaron has made it through school and landed that all-important job, see how he, as a new employee, handles his well-meaning, but uninformed, coworkers' mistakes about blind people. Experience "Attack of the Co-workers," the third installment of the series, Aaron's Adventures in Employment.

The Fifth Annual Samuel N. Hecsh (SNH) Window on the Working World of Law
In today's tough economic times, can one's career be turned into a way of helping others? See how Richard Chen, attorney in Banking & International Law, uses his law degree and work skills to not only help his clients, but also stream good works into his neighborhood and community. If you're interested in law careers, be sure to read our past SNH articles about an Assistant Criminal District Attorney, a Senior Associate Attorney, an Assistant City Attorney, and a Chief District Judge.

Low Vision Tech Project Now in Development
The American Foundation for the Blind's Professional Development Department is pleased to announce that it is now beginning the development of the new Training Resources on Low Vision Technology Project. Also known as the Low Vision Tech Project (LVTP), this program is a two-year effort with a long range goal of providing resources that will assist professionals attempting to stay abreast of the rapidly changing field of low vision technology. Outputs from the project will include:

A web resource that can be used by service providers to acquire the latest information on low vision technology and access a multi-leveled overview of the topic.
A curriculum that can be used by Certified Low Vision Therapists (CLVTs) to provide information specific to low vision technology in face-to-face training experiences.

The LVTP will encompass a variety of activities, including updating and expanding AFB's assistive technology database and the demonstration videos on low vision technology; developing various curricula for service providers; providing training seminars in California, Florida, Texas, and Massachusetts; and developing and implementing a web-based resource that can be used by service providers or CLVTs to offer updated training on low vision technology. In addition, AFB will be collecting input from participants and other service providers in the field about the design of the web-based tool that would meet their needs to remain updated on low vision tech. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact Ike Presley, LVTP Project Manager, at presley@afb.net, or 404-525-2303.

AFB Blog
Check out AFB's blog and read about the U.S. signing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, good-byes to departed colleagues in the blindness field, and much more.