| CELEBRATING EIGHT DECADES OF SERVICE |
| 1931 |
The Jewish Braille Institute founded by Leopold Dubov, the blind son of a rabbi, with the help of Rabbi Michael Aaronson, who had been blinded in World War I. |
| 1932 |
JBI establishes the Braille Library and begins publishing The Braille Review |
| 1940 |
JBI develops Hebrew Braille Code. |
| 1950 |
First Braille edition of the Torah is published by JBI. |
| 1960 |
JBI begins recording Talking Books and inaugurates its audio magazine, The JBI Voice. |
| 1968 |
JBI moves headquarters to 110 East 30th Street in Manhattan. |
| 1975 |
JBI convenes first World Conference for the Jewish Blind in Jerusalem. |
| 1980 |
JBI is accredited as a Non-Governmental Organization by the United Nations. |
| 1983 |
JBI establishes first Low Vision Clinic in Israel. |
| 1987 |
JBI publishes first Large Print edition of the Torah in English and Hebrew. |
| 1988 |
JBI launches Audio Cultural Series. |
| 1991 |
JBI sponsors recording complex for blind students at Hebrew University. |
| 1992 |
JBI begins recording in Russian, Romanian and Hungarian and extends its program to the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, thus providing thousands with access to cultural materials that they had been denied for so long. |
| 1993 |
JBI establishes Wolfson Recording Studio at the Central Library for the Blind in Tel Aviv. |
| 1998 |
JBI begins recording major Jewish journals, now known as The FJC Periodicals Series. www.jbilibrary.org brings library catalog on-line. |
| 1999 |
JBI begins sponsoring summer recreational retreats for blind and visually impaired elderly Jews in Russia. |
| 2000 |
JBI opens first of 80 NYC "mini libraries" in UJA-Federation agencies with a matching grant from the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.
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| 2001 |
U.S. Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped names JBI one of only two "Affiliated Libraries."
JBI establishes the first of over 50 Book Clubs for the visually impaired.
JBI records the first Jewish Library in Russian for blind children. |
| 2002 |
The Jewish Braille Institute officially renamed JBI International.
JBI Low Vision Clinic begins its Mobile Screening Program to bring free access to first-rate eye examinations and any follow-up treatment to elderly in Tel Aviv/Yafo area. |
| 2003 |
JBI establishes outreach program in Florida for the elderly visually impaired with the help of the Weinberg Foundation. The Barbara and Stephen Friedman Talking Books Endowment created. |
| 2004 |
JBI launches www.HebrewVisions.org now to give 24 hour/7 day a week access to downloadable Braille texts. JBI studios convert to digital recording. |
| 2005 |
JBI begins recording in Spanish and expands its programs into Latin America. |
| 2006 |
JBI creates dedicated Children's Low Vision Clinic at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv. |
| 2008 |
Renovation and expansion of JBI's East 30th Street international headquarters. |
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October 16, 2008 - JBI celebrates the ribbon cutting and official dedication of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Building of JBI International. |
