Braille Authority of North America (BANA) Update to AER Members: During AER’s business meeting at the 2016 international conference, the body passed a resolution designed to encourage more dynamic communication between AER members and the BANA Board via AER’s Representative to BANA. One of the strategies for gathering members’ thoughts and perspectives is for us to conduct a survey of AER members prior to BANA’s two semiannual face-to-face meetings. That survey is scheduled to be distributed by AER’s central office to all AER members on Tuesday, October 25. I hope you will reply and share your thoughts and suggestions. In then meantime, I am providing information about BANA’s fall 2016 meeting. This information has also been distributed in a press release. For those of you who are interested in a more detailed update of BANA’s work, I am attaching the report that I provided the AER Board of Directors for their recent meeting. This includes a report on the AER Task Force on the Implementation of UEB, which then-president Christy Shepard asked me to form and chair beginning this past summer. Announcement from BANA press release: The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) will hold its fall meeting November 3–5, 2016, in Atlanta, Georgia. The American Foundation for the Blind), which is a BANA member organization, will host the meeting at the Center for the Visually Impaired, 739 West Peachtree Street N.W., Atlanta, 30308. Guests are welcome at BANA Board meetings where they can observe deliberations. Space is limited; to reserve a seat, contact BANA Chair Jennifer Dunnam at chair@brailleauthority.org <mailto:chair@brailleauthority.org>. Items on the meeting’s agenda include reports from all BANA committees as well as discussion of the many works in progress such as updating the Guidelines and Standards for Tactile Graphics and the soon-to-be-released Braille Formats: Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription, 2016. On October 6, BANA held its fourth and final UEB (Unified English Braille) Transition Forum. It was held in Louisville, Kentucky, in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the American Printing House for the Blind. Prior to the forum, delegates completed a survey that included questions about needed UEB resources as well as resources their state or organization has developed. At the forum, delegates reported on those developed resources, provided updates on various aspects of UEB implementation, and generated ideas about how to deal with issues such as delivering ongoing UEB training to students and teachers. The forum delegates’ survey responses will be used in BANA’s real time strategic planning processes. Thanks for your support, and I encourage you to share your ideas and perspectives on the work of BANA. As your representative on BANA’s decision-making body, I am committed to voicing your perspectives and needs. Please feel free to contact me at this email address or the phone numbers n the signature below. Take care, Mary Nelle Mary Nelle McLennan, M.A. AER Representative to the Braille Authority of North America Chair, BANA Publications Committee 1536 Broad Hill Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15237 Land Line: 412-367-9085 Cell: 412-559-7782