Cirrus@Austlit

'The first Australian Braille Book of the Year awards was established by Mr Hector Bathurst OAM, President of the Braille Library, as part of an effort to increase funds and the profile for the Braille Library amongst Victorians.

'In 1974, the Vision Australia Foundation Library Awards were established to recognise and encourage the production of Australian titles in alternative formats. In 2003 the Braille Book of the Year Award was revamped to include an open day held at the site. A panel of judges evaluated a short-list of Australian literature based on literary merit, narrative content, accessibility to a broad reading public, relevance to actualities and braille translation.

'When the wider merger occurred in 2004 to create the new organisation Vision Australia, the organisation was required to consolidate and prioritise. As such, the Award was unfortunately suspended. With the assistance of the CAL Cultural Fund, Vision Australia is hoping to inaugurate a new era of Australian Braille Book of the Year Award, thereby encouraging dissemination of Australian content and promoting the importance of braille literacy.

'It is indeed a fitting time to reinstate the awards as 4 January 2009 commemorates 200 years since the birth of Louis Braille, the inventor of braille.'

Source: Vision Australia website, http://www.visionaustralia.org/
Sighted: 15/11/2010