Roch Carrier, National Librarian of Canada, Salutes Canada's First Braille Day Skip navigational links. Development Canada's National Literacy Secretariat.
Literacy is fundamental to success in our knowledge-based society.
It is the key to independence and full participation for all Canadians. Today's celebrations recognise both the importance of Braille and the importance of literacy to all Canadians and will raise awareness of these essential tools across the country. Braille is a system of six raised dots which, used in various combinations can form letters of the alphabet, musical notations, chemistry symbols, numbers and punctuation. It was developed in 1829 by Louis Braille and has been used ever since by blind and visually impaired people to communicate. The National Library of Canada in partnership with Canadian libraries across the country is committed to finding the means to provide all Canadians with the information they need in the format they need it.