On the occasion of his 200th birthday, a twenty-panel traveling exhibit celebrating the life and achievement of Louis Braille will be on display from June 18 to July 12 in the lobby of Middleton Library.  In conjunction with this event, Special Collections in Hill Memorial Library invites you to view a new exhibit, on display in the library’s lecture hall, related to the history of disabilities.  This exhibit highlights a wide range of materials from LSU’s rare book and manuscript collections.  In addition to Braille, examples of early alternative writing systems for the blind, such as the Moon and New York Point Alphabets, are featured, as well as a map for the blind dating from about 1873.  Other materials, including a Helen Keller letter, trace the history of caring for the deaf, dumb, blind, and mentally handicapped from the eighteenth century to the present.  One exhibit case focuses on Louisiana history and includes photos and other materials related to state institutions for the disabled.