INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Recognizing that information leads to solutions, the AFB Textbooks and Instructional Materials Solutions Forum has prepared this portfolio for individuals to share information about this important issue. The Accessible Textbooks Tool Kit contains fact sheets, news releases and articles from various stakeholders.

Feel free to make copies as needed of any of the contents and share with individuals who influence decisions about textbooks or who might help lead the way in developing solutions.

For more information about the AFB Textbooks and Instructional Materials Solutions Forum, or to submit information that may be appropriate to add to this portfolio, contact:

Mary Ann Siller
AFB Solutions Forum Project Director
American Foundation for the Blind
260 Treadway Plaza
Dallas TX 75235
214-352-7222, ext. 15
E-mail: siller@afb.net

You can also find up-to-date information about the AFB Solutions Forum at www.afb.org/education.asp or at www.tsbvi.edu.

Please note the following about the contents of the Tool Kit:

• each article includes a footer to identify its location within the portfolio,
• each article carries a date stamp to indicate when it was published as part of this portfolio,
• some articles have been scanned and may contain typographical errors; consult the original source if you have questions about the information, and
• periodically, new information or changes to the Tool Kit will be available at www.afb.org/education.asp.

Acknowledgements

The AFB Textbooks and Instructional Materials Solutions Forum is the work of many stakeholders interested in this vital topic (see list of stakeholders in section I). The Communication and Collaboration work group appreciates the efforts of all these stakeholders, but we especially want to acknowledge those who contributed to this portfolio. Each article in the portfolio indicates its original source, and we appreciate that the authors and publications gave permission for us to reprint the information for your use.

The AFB Solutions Forum would like to thank the following individuals for their hard work in making this resource portfolio possible: Lorri Quigley and Carol Granquist, Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind; Marie Amerson, Georgia Academy for the Blind; and Mary Ann Siller, American Foundation for the Blind.

We'd like to give special recognition to Marie Amerson, Georgia Academy for the Blind, and facilitator of the Communication and Collaboration work group for her dedicated leadership in developing the Tool Kit's format, coordinating the development of the contents and leading the editing process to refine the resource portfolio.

We wish to extend our sincere thank you to Lorri Quigley, director of the Educational Resource Center at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind for her steadfast commitment in assisting the AFB Solutions Forum in delivering a quality product. The creative talents of Carol Granquist, graphic art specialist, in designing the art work and handling all of the graphic formatting provided an extraordinary Tool Kit for the AFB Solutions Forum. We are extremely grateful for her dedication to this project.

Special appreciation goes to Lee Robinson, superintendent of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind for providing the creative design, production and printing of the resource portfolio. He provided the key link to bringing this critical information to constituents across the United States.

Thank you!!!