This September, the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library will host the fifth-annual Indiana Vision Expo at the Indiana State Library in Indianapolis. This free event was created for persons with vision loss, their friends and families, service providers, educators, health care professionals, librarians and other consumers interested in products and services designed to promote independent living.
In April 2006, the Indiana State Library hosted its inaugural Indiana Vision Expo with great success. Since then, the event has grown to include approximately 30 exhibitors and over 650 attendees. This year’s Expo features returning vendors such as American Printing House for the Blind, Bosma Enterprises, GW Micro and Humanware, as well as new exhibitors including Serotek, Handi-tech North America, Assistive Driving and A T Guys. A complete listing of this year’s vendors is available at indianavisionexpo.org.
Highlights of this year’s Expo include demonstrations by Bosma Enterprises to help connect Talking Book patrons and their families to downloadable audio books from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS/BPH) BARD web site. Additionally, nationally-renowned eye specialists, Dr. Richard Windsor and his daughter Dr. Laura Windsor will speak on the latest trends and developments in low-vision rehabilitation.
The 2010 Expo will also emphasize the progress of the Indiana Voices recording program, which records and circulates Indiana-related books and magazines that are otherwise unavailable in an audio format. The program, funded by a grant from the Ruth Lilly Philanthropic Foundation, records materials digitally and transfers them to a digital talking book cartridge for use with the new NLS Digital Player. Mike Whicker, an advocate of the Talking Books program, will give this year’s keynote speech. Whicker’s historical novel, Invitation to Valhalla, has been narrated by a local volunteer and is now available to all Indiana Talking Book patrons as part of the Indiana Voices collection.
The Indiana State Library looks forward to another year of growth and success in 2010. The 2010 Expo will include even more products and service information, and several new features designed to enhance the experience for attendees. To learn more about the Indiana Vision Expo, please visit the Expo web site at www.indianavisionexpo.org or contact Carole Rose, Indiana Vision Expo Coordinator, at (317) 232-0609 or crose@library.in.gov.
