From the Editor

The Department for the Blind has a rich and complex history. As with any history you read, there are events that can produce an outcome no one saw coming. Such an event happened in Iowa. Within this issue you’ll discover how the long, white cane came to Iowa and changed lives.
Inside you’ll learn how the cane is an intrinsic part of the Department’s philosophy and programs; read about how the IL program changed one woman’s life; and discover how the library is stepping into the future.
This issue of The White Cane will illustrate not only how the cane went from a basic mobility tool to a symbol of independence, but how the cane is a valuable part of the Department’s past, present and future.
  —Meredith Ferguson, Editor