January is National Braille Literacy Awareness Month and World Braille Day is January 4, so celebrate the achievements of Louis Braille, the man who invented the Braille writing/reading system.
Louis Braille
Louis Braille was not born blind. As a child, he was playing in his father's workroom where he grabbed an awl to make holes in some leather. The awl slipped, poking Louis in the eye. His eye became infected and he lost his eyesight.
Louis didn't let that stop him. Instead he continued through school, received an education, and met people who inspired him to create the Braille system, a system using raised dots to help people with visual impairments read and write. While rudimentary at the beginning, it is now accepted worldwide as the most efficient way to read and write for individuals with visual impairments.
Find Out More
Library Resources
- Discover more about Louis Braille.
- Does your child have vision loss? Learn more about how to help your child build prereading skills.
- Check out some great young adult books that feature characters with visual impairments or the author themselves have a visual impairment.
- Use the Perkins Brailler at Koelbel Library.
Library Materials
- Who Was Louis Braille?
- What Is Braille?
- Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille (Read Along)
- Louis Braille
Online Resources
- Learn more details, from letters to grammar, about the Braille system, opens a new window.
- Try an online biography about Louis Braille, opens a new window.
- Check out the Colorado Talking Book Library, opens a new window for more information and to sign up for this amazing outreach program. Use the CTBL for Braille materials, large print materials and different audio options.
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