American Printing House for the Blind - 150 years old and still young

January 23, 1858, the American Printing House for the Blind - known as APH - was founded in the basement of the Kentucky School for the Blind. Celebrating their 150th birthday this week (thats one-five-oh, not a typo) APH has shown time and again that it will continue to innovate, and do what ever it takes, to serve blind and vision-impaired citizens. In 1879, the federal government designated APH as the official source of textbooks and aids for blind and visually impaired students across America. They continue to hold this designation today.

Upon visiting APH's campus in Louisville, KY, you are immediately struck by the history and weight of this institution. The clamshell Braille presses in the printing shop still clank and pound away, creating books from all manner of publishers and agencies. In the lobby, there are wonderful examples of books published in Braille - including a stunning Braille version of 'Where the Wild Things Are' with both the text and descriptions of the pictures translated into Braille on the facing pages. On the wall is a letter from First Lady Laura Bush to APH president Dr. Tuck Tinsley, thanking their organization for their contributions to educations.

Anybody who knows Fran Toolan and I know that we have an altruistic love of book publishing. It is therefore a great honor that, on the very day of their 150th anniversary, APH officially signed an agreement with Quality Solutions, and have adopted our Title Management software and integrated Web Architecture, as their foundation for the new generation of their popular Louis website . This is more than just a book website as it is designated as the central repository for all accessible publications published by hundreds of agencies around the country and is a critical resource for not only blind Americans and educators, but also for the agencies to ensure they do not translate books into Braille that another agency may already be working on or already published. It is especially an honor to play a role of employing technology to foster education and inclusion for blind Americans. Of course, it is the energy and creativity of the people of APH that make the difference. We are looking forward to working with Julia Myers, Director, Resource Services & NIMAC, and her team on this project.

There are so many exciting aspects of this project and APH to talk about - including their digital repository for accessible education and reading material known as NIMAC, but that will need to wait.

For more interesting reading about this great organization, you can check out these links:
Courier-Journal article

Senate recognizes APH's 150th birthday

And a new vocabulary word for the day:
sesquicentennial - celebrating 150 years.

Congratulations APH and welcome to the Quality Solutions family.