The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is an American non-profit organization, specifically a 501(c)(3), for people with vision loss. AFB's objectives include conducting research to advance change, promoting knowledge and understanding, and shaping policies and practices.
AFB is especially known for its development of the Talking Book in the 1930s, and for having studios for recording these books in various audio technologies. The M.C. Migel Memorial Library, in existence since the 1920s, hosted one of the leading print collections of non-medical research regarding blindness and visual impairment. Throughout its history, AFB has put out a scholarly journal, at first called Outlook for the Blind, then The New Outlook for the Blind, and subsequently, the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness. Over the years, AFB has engaged in partnerships with the American Printing House for the Blind that have included transferring some of its programs to them, such as the Migel Library in 2009.
Eric Bridges, formerly the Executive Director of the American Council of the Blind, has been AFB's president and CEO since April 12, 2023. For most of its history, AFB was based in New York City. Since 2017, AFB's main headquarters have been in Arlington, Virginia.
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History
AFB, with the support and leadership of M.C. Migel, a philanthropist who was moved to help the large number of veterans blinded in World War I, was formed in 1921 to provide both a national clearing house for information about vision loss and a forum for discussion for blindness service professionals. Its founding, made official at the convention of the American Association of Workers for the Blind in Vinton, Iowa, was also intended to spur research and represent the needs of people with vision loss in the US government. It filed as a tax-exempt organization in 1922. Its role as a national clearinghouse for information began in 1923.
AFB's early accomplishments included taking the lead to standardize English Braille code and establishing the first professional publications program for teachers and administrators of programs for people with vision loss. In 1926, AFB's Directory of Services for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons was first published, compiled by social worker Lotta S. Rand. The directory continued to be used for decades afterward as resource for both professionals and for the blind and their families to locate services in their geographical areas.
In its early years, the foundation had its headquarters on East 46th Street in Manhattan. AFB hosted the World Conference for the Blind in New York City in 1931.
In 1932, AFB engineers developed the Talking Book and Talking Book Machine and set up studios for recording these books, marking the advent of the modern audiobook. AFB played a major role in persuading the federal government to include talking books in the National Library System for blind people operated by the Library of Congress. The development by AFB of the Talking Book made a large-scale difference in how services could be extended to blind patrons. The foundation engaged in fundraising campaigns to support thousands of talking book machines being distributed around the country. In 1936, AFB set up arrangements for two additional organizations to produce Talking Books, the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) and the British National Institute for the Blind. APH made extensive changes to its production facilities for this purpose. Within the United States, the Library of Congress gave lists of titles needing recording and AFB and APH split the lists between them.
In 1934, the foundation built a new headquarters at 15 West 16th Street in Manhattan, between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue,
M.C. Migel Memorial Library
The origins of a research library at the American Foundation for the Blind date to 1926, and by 1928 there were 800 volumes.
The building of the new AFB quarters on 16th Street in 1934 contained space for a library, which by then contained some 6,000 volumes.
This is a special library.
In particular, it is a print collection on blindness and visual impairment and was not intended as a repository of Braille works. In 1963, the library was renovated and named after M.C. Migel, the philanthropist who had helped form the foundation; at that point it had 25,000 volumes.
The library has one of the leading collections of non-medical research regarding blindness and visual impairment. The volumes in the library cover topics such as rehabilitation, orientation and mobility, education, employment, and aging.
There are also fictional titles and children's books related to blindness and visual impairment as well as a periodicals collection going back to the 1920s.
The library also has materials on the life of Helen Keller.
The M. C. Migel Memorial Library would come to be considered as one of the two most renowned American libraries in the field of blindness, with the other being the Samuel P. Hayes Research Library at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts.
By the early 1970s, the Migel Library had 30,000 volumes and several librarians on staff to manage it.
By later in the 1970s it had some 35,000 volumes. New acquisitions by the library were regularly listed and described in a column in the New Outlook for the Blind and Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness journals.
Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness and its predecessors
In 1923, the foundation took over publication of the journal Outlook for the Blind, which had been in operation since 1907.
In these early years the periodical had operated on a minimal budget, often reprinting articles from other sources.
The journal absorbed another publication in 1942, The Teachers Forum for Instructors of Blind Children, and became known as Outlook for the Blind and The Teachers Forum.
In 1951, the title of this journal changed to The New Outlook for the Blind.
It then was renamed to the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness in 1977. At this point it adopted a peer review process and fully assumed the role of a professional journal, one with international scope. It was available in print, braille, and recorded formats. It continues to be published under that name, in association with the American Foundation for the Blind. Access to braille readers is available via Braille-Ready Format (BRF) files.
Blind Leaders Development Program
AFB launched the Blind Leaders Development Program in 2019 with the purpose of increasing upward mobility and creating meaningful leadership experiences for individuals who are blind or low vision, who are already employed and in the beginning stages of their careers.
Every year, AFB selects a class of blind or visually impaired individuals: 50% emerging leaders as fellows and 50% established leaders to act as their mentors. [1]
Partnership with the American Printing House for the Blind
The American Foundation for the Blind has a long history of cooperative arrangements with the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), which was founded in the mid-19th century and is based in Louisville, Kentucky. In the 1930s, they collaborated on technical issues regarding the creation of Talking Books, and in the 1940s during the shortages experienced in the United States home front during World War II, they teamed up to find supplies of Vinylite and other necessary raw materials.
Cooperative arrangements continued with the transfer of the M. C. Migel Memorial Library from AFB to APH in 2009.
In 2018, AFB partnered with the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) to transition several AFB programs to continue under APH’s stewardship, including AFB Press, VisionAware, FamilyConnect, CareerConnect, and BrailleBug. With these programs under APH’s oversight, AFB said it would take its own work "to a new level by investing in policy and programs focused on creating stronger social systems, and ultimately a more inclusive, accessible society for people with vision loss."
Helen Keller Archive
In 2018, AFB launched the Helen Keller Archive, the first fully accessible digital archive collection, comprising more than 160,000 artifacts, dedicated to the life and works of Helen Keller. It is the largest repository of historical content about Helen Keller, whose iconic name is known in every corner of the globe for her groundbreaking work as an author, political activist, and humanitarian who played a critical role in changing public perceptions about people with disabilities.
VisionAware
In 2012, AFB added VisionAware to its family of sites in partnership with the Reader's Digest Partners for Sight Foundation. The site folded in content from AFB's Senior Site, with new information and resources for adults of all ages with vision loss.
VisionAware's stated goal is to help adults and their family members to cope with age-related eye diseases, a growing public health problem in the United States. According to research on vision problems in Americans over 40, rates of vision loss from diseases like age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy are expected to double by 2030, as America's 78 million baby boomers reach retirement age.
In 2018, VisionAware was transferred to the American Printing House for the Blind as part of the AFB-APH partnership.
FamilyConnect
In spring 2008, AFB and the National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (NAPVI) launched FamilyConnect, an online community for caregivers of children with visual impairments. NAPVI is an affiliate of Lighthouse Guild. In 2018, VisionAware was transitioned to the American Printing House for the Blind as part of the AFB-APH partnership.
Chief executives
The highest-ranking official at the American Foundation for the Blind has been variously referred to as the executive director, president, or chief executive officer.
Robert B. Irwin, executive director, 1929–1949
M. Robert Barnett, executive director, 1949–1974
Loyal Eugene Apple, executive director, 1974–1980
William F. Gallagher, executive director and later president, 1980–1990
Carl R. Augusto, president and CEO, 1991–2016
Kirk Adams, president and CEO, 2016–2022
Eric Bridges, president and CEO, 2023–present