January 4 Marks Braille Bicentennial

January 4, 2009, marks the bicentennial of the birth of Louis Braille, a genius inventor who bestowed the gift of literacy to blind people around the world.

 

Braille is a system of embossed type used by blind and partially sighted people for reading and writing. It has been adapted into almost every known language. Braille is used everywhere from bus stops and maps to music notation and text books.

    The South Carolina State Library Talking Book Services offers Braille items for school displays to educate students about the importance of Braille’s impact on reading and literacy.  The State Library’s Talking Book Services has access to the world’s largest Braille collection located at Utah’s State Library. The collection has over 14,000 Braille titles available for loan to Talking Book Services patrons.

    For more information about the Louis Braille Bicentennial, visit www.louisbraillebicentennial.com.

    For more information about the South Carolina State Library’s Talking Book Services and reading materials in a wide variety of accessible formats, visit www.statelibrary.sc.gov or contact Pamela Davenport at 803-734-8650 or email pdavenport@statelibrary.sc.gov.
 

Upcoming Event

Image of Jennifer Boykin Boyd

Jennifer Bartell Boykin, Poet Laureate of Columbia, SC

April 25, 2024, 6:00 PM
Join the South Carolina State Library's Center for the Book for our next Speaker at the Center Author Talk, featuring Poet Laureate of Columbia, SC, Jennifer Bartell Boykin. She will discuss her debut book of poetry, Traveling Mercy, and her upcoming release, Only Believe (The Word Works), a winner of the 2023 Hilary Tham Capital Collection.