Maryland Instructional Resource Center (MIRC)

The Maryland Instructional Resource Center (MIRC) is a centralized repository for braille and large print textbooks, and is a centralized searching, ordering, procurement and shipping facility for the textbooks.  The MIRC supports eligible students in prekindergarten through grade twelve enrolled in Maryland’s 24 local school systems and the Maryland School for the Blind.  The Primary purpose of the MIRC is to facilitate the timely ordering, delivery, and sharing of braille and large print textbooks for eligible students throughout the State of Maryland. 

The MIRC conducts the annual Federal Quota Registration of legally blind students in public schools across the state.  In addition the MIRC assist local school systems in providing accessible instructional materials to students with visual disabilities.

Join us for an Open House on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

 Information about the Federal Quota

Textbook request forms

APH forms

For more information about the MIRC contact:

Joyce Burwell, Director of the Maryland Instructional Resource Center

About Braille & Large Print

Braille is a system that enables blind and visually impaired people to read and write through touch.  It was devised by Louis Braille in 1821 and consists of raised dots arranged in "cells."  A cell is made up of six dots that fit under the fingertips, arranged in two columns of three dots each. Each cell represents a leter, a word, a combination of letters, a numeral or a puncutation mark.

Read more about braille basics here

For many individuals with visual impairments, braille is their primary method of communication. It may take some students several years to master braille.

Click here for a printable braille card
Click here to email your mailing address for a tactile braille card(s) with a message to decode or contact: Casey Joyce, Development Specialist at
410.319.1207     caseyj@mdschblind.org

The Library of Congress has conceded to begin the word braille with lowercase b when used in any context other than a title or as a name. Therefore, to maintain uniformity within this program, The Maryland School for the Blind now uses the lowercase b on the word "braille" in all written material pertaining to the braille literacy, unless the word is part of a title or indicates a name.