 |
NBA Merit Awards
Volunteer work done by members is recognized by awards presented at professional development conferences, and published in the Bulletin. Hours of volunteer service are credited towards these awards according to a Conversion Table in which the complexity of various tasks is taken into consideration. An Application Form must be submitted to the National Office.
APPLICATION FOR NBA MERIT AWARDS
Eligibility
To be eligible, an individual must have held membership in his own name for at least one year, must be a member in good standing at the time of application and meet the qualifications outlined below. Awards will be issued only upon receipt of all requested information.
Qualifications
Only hours of unpaid, volunteer service can be counted. New members may apply for an award one year from the date on which their membership dues were received in the National Office. However, volunteer services performed prior to membership may be counted when applying for an award.
Categories of Merit Award Certificates
Awards earned for hours of service in one or more of the following fields of service:
- Braille transcribing--transcribers must be certified by the NLS - Library of Congress, or by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.
- Production of tactile graphics
- Proofreading
- Formatting- preparing a textbook for transcription
- Braille instruction
- Special services: embossing, binding, thermoforming, group administration
- Tape recording
- Large print typing
Date _________________________
Name________________________________________ E-mail _________________________
Address___________________________________________________________________
City _______________________________ State _________ ZIP __________________
Group Affiliation, if any____________________________________________________
Signature of Group Chairman (or signature of volunteer not affiliated with group) for verification of qualifications.
______________________________________________________________________________
Awards (check one)
___ Noteworthy Service (500 hours--Ruby)
___ Meritorious Service (2500 hours--Sapphire)
___ Distinguished Service (5000 hours--Diamond)
Qualifications for Merit Awards: (Note number of hours in appropriate spaces)
Braille transcribing _____________________
Tactile Graphics _______________________
Proofreading _________________________
Formatting ___________________________
Braille Instruction_______________________
Special services _______________________
Tape recording ________________________
Large print typing ______________________
Total hours _________________
Send completed form to:
National Braille Association, Inc.,
3 Townline Circle, Rochester, NY 14623-2513
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Conversion Table for Computation of Hours
Below is a suggested conversion table for those who are computing pages/hours for NBA awards. The requirements for NBA merit awards are 500 hours for Noteworthy, 2500 hours for Meritorious, and 5000 hours for Distinguished Service.
Computer-assisted braille and Perkins Brailler (includes formatting, brailling, and correcting):
Braille--5 pages/hr (This is finished braille which is not Nemeth or Foreign Language. The transcriber has formatted, brailled and corrected it.)
Braille, Foreign Language--4 pages/hr (This is transcriber formatted, brailled and corrected.)
Braille, Nemeth--4 pages/hr (same as above)
Braille, Music--1.5 pages/hr (braille and proofread)
Translation typing--10 braille pages/hr
Proofreading (sighted proofreader proofing another's work):
Braille--15 pages/hr
Braille, Foreign Language--10 pages/hr
Braille, Nemeth and Computer Codes--15 pages/hr
Translation typing--40 pages/hr
Certified Proofreader
1 hour to read 25 braille pages, depending on the amount of braille on a page and the complexity of the subject matter
1.5 to 2 hours to prepare report for the 25 braille pages
Examples:
One volume of 80 pages:
Textbook or Literary transcriber credit--16 hours
Nemeth and Foreign Language credit--20 hours
Music transcriber credit--53 hours
Translation typing credit--8 hours
Sighted Proofreader:
Textbook or Literary--5.3 hours
Nemeth and Computer Code--5.3 hours
Foreign Language--8 hours
Translation typing--2 hours
Certified Proofreader:
Reading--3.2 hours
Report--4 to 6 hours, depending on complexity of material and number of errors
Tactile Graphics:
0.5 to 2 hours per drawing depending upon complexity
Tactile graphics specialists are encouraged to keep individual records of time spent for very complex material
Audio Tape Recording:
6 recorded hours--8 volunteer hours per cassette
Team--narrator/monitor (for each volunteer):
1.5 narrator or monitor hours to produce 1 recorded hour of material such as a novel or simple history text
2 narrator or monitor hours to produce 1 recorded hour of average text with some diagram description
2.5 narrator or monitor hours to produce 1 recorded hour of advanced level text material or texts with large numbers of visuals or complex visuals
1.25 to 1.75 hours depending upon complexity of material and quality of recording to REVIEW 1 hour of tape
Special Services (binding, thermoforming, scanning print pages, large print production using photocopier, administration, etc.):
1 hour work--1 hour credit