National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped

Library of Congress

The Future of Braille: NLS Braille Summit

Presentations and Outcomes

Watertown, Massachusetts

June 19–21, 2013

Prepared by 

Neil Bernstein, Research and Development Officer

and 

Judy Dixon, Consumer Relations Officer/Acting Braille Development Officer

Karen Keninger

Director

2014
i

Acknowledgments

The Braille Summit was a joint effort between the National Library Service for the Blind 

and Physically Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress, and Perkins School for the 

Blind, Watertown, Massachusetts. Under the general direction of Karen Keninger, 

director of NLS, and Steven Rothstein, president of Perkins, staff members from both 

organizations played key roles in planning and conducting the conference.

The core planning team that began work in the fall of 2012 included Judy Dixon, NLS; 

Steve Prine, NLS; Claire Rojstaczer, NLS; and Kim Charlson, Perkins Library for the 

Blind. Individuals from other organizations also played key roles, and their efforts are 

greatly appreciated. Mary Nelle McLennan, American Printing House for the Blind,

planned and directed all aspects of the facilitated sessions. The other three facilitators 

were Beth Caruso, Perkins; Frances Mary D'Andrea, American Foundation for the Blind; 

and Diane Wormsley, Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and 

Visually Impaired. Facilitated session scribes were Neil Bernstein, NLS; Edmund 

O’Reilly, NLS; John Bryant, NLS; and Vikki Hovell, Royal National Institute of Blind 

People, United Kingdom. Jennifer Dunnam, National Federation of the Blind, managed 

social networking communications.

Many other staff at Perkins and NLS assisted in countless ways, and their efforts are 

much appreciated.
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Executive Summary

True literacy for people who are blind or severely visually impaired—that is, the ability to 

read, to write, and to read what one wrote—was achieved with the introduction of the 

braille system nearly 200 years ago. As a direct corollary to print, braille provided 

complete access to text at every level. Since that time, braille has been universally 

recognized as the literacy medium for blind and severely visually impaired people 

throughout the world. Braille readers have the same level of access to the written word, 

mathematics, and music, in all their nuances, as do print readers.

However, significant changes in education, technology, and communication options 

require a thorough assessment of the current and future challenges and possibilities 

impacting full and universal access to the written word through braille. To that end the 

National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, 

collaborated with the Perkins School for the Blind to convene a Braille Summit on the 

Perkins campus in Watertown, Massachusetts, June 19–22, 2013. The purpose of the 

conference was to assess the present state of braille literacy, technology, and access 

and make recommendations that will shape braille programs and priorities for the future 

of the NLS library network.

More than one hundred participants gathered to hear speakers, including Peter 

Osborne, chief braille officer for the Royal National Institute of Blind People; Michael 

Yudin, acting assistant secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, 

Department of Education; and Janet LaBreck, presidential nominee for commissioner, 

Rehabilitation Services Administration. These leaders expressed the need for positive 

presentation of the medium in the public eye and for ensuring that braille instruction was 

available to everyone—children and adults—who would benefit from the skill. 

Participants engaged in breakout discussions covering policy, readers, selection, 

production, technology, literacy and promotion, and priorities. 

The objective of this summit was to determine the mix of NLS products and services 

that best meets the needs of today’s braille readers and supports an increase in braille 

literacy. Stakeholders discussed, debated, and recommended braille policies, products, 

and services in future program operations. The emerging concerns were the high cost 

of braille production, the availability of skilled braille instructors, the need for improved 

technology, and the necessity of improving the public perception of braille.

Participants looked to NLS for leadership in the area of library service as it has been the 

major provider of braille reading materials since its establishment by an Act of Congress, 

signed into law by President Herbert Hoover in 1931. They commended NLS for its 

foresight in convening the meeting and recommended that NLS could address the 

concerns raised by:

• providing a refreshable-braille display at no cost to patrons, 

• varying the quality and/or publication medium of books depending on their use 

and expected shelf life, 

• working with publishers to acquire source texts, 

• expanding the use of tactile graphics in its books, and 
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• building support for efforts to update braille technology, specifications, and 

methods for selection, production, and distribution, including production on

demand. 

Conference participants also suggested that NLS mount a public education campaign to 

raise awareness of the value of braille. These recommendations will be considered as 

NLS plans for the next generation of braille services. 

The Braille Summit also highlighted developments proffered by other organizational 

leaders in the field, many of whom were represented on the program. The U.S. 

Department of Education—which recently issued its “Dear Colleague” letter advising 

educators that braille instruction be provided for students as needed and included in 

their individual education plans—is working to ensure that the next generation of blind 

individuals will be equipped with the invaluable literacy skills braille provides. The 

National Braille Press Center for Braille Innovation (CBI) and the Daisy Consortium 

Transforming Braille Group are working on developing a cost-efficient braille display to 

make braille more affordable, portable, and thereby, available. In addition, the Braille 

Authority of North America has just adopted the Unified English Braille code, which will 

help to simplify the learning and usage of the code. Working together, all stakeholders 

of the braille-support community will help overcome the challenges of ensuring braille 

literacy for future generations.
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Table of Contents

Executive Summary .........................................................................................................ii

1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Background .......................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Goals of the conference ....................................................................................... 3

1.3 Structure of the conference .................................................................................. 3

2 Speaker presentations ................................................................................................ 3

2.1 Keynote address: Peter Osborne, Chief Braille Officer, Royal National Institute of 

Blind People, United Kingdom.............................................................................. 3

2.2 Special topic: Braille Policy................................................................................... 5

2.2.1 Speaker 1: Michael Yudin, Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education 

and Rehabilitative Services, Department of Education, Washington, D.C. .. 5

2.2.2 Speaker 2: Janet LaBreck, Presidential Nominee for Commissioner, 

Rehabilitation Services Administration, Washington, D.C. ........................... 7

2.2.3 Speaker 3: Steven Rothstein, Member, Council of Schools and Services for 

the Blind, Watertown, Massachusetts .......................................................... 8

2.3 Panel 1: Braille Readers..................................................................................... 10

2.3.1 Speaker 1: Daisy Russell, Student, Everett High School, Saugus, 

Massachusetts ........................................................................................... 11

2.3.2 Speaker 2: Haben Girma, Student, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, 

Massachusetts ........................................................................................... 11

2.3.3 Speaker 3: Deborah Kendrick, Writer, Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati, Ohio

................................................................................................................... 12

2.3.4 Speaker 4: Tommie Lussier, President, San Francisco Public Library 

Advisory Committee for the Blind and Print Disabled, San Francisco, 

California.................................................................................................... 14

2.4 Panel 2: Braille Selection.................................................................................... 18

2.4.1 Speaker 1: Danielle Miller, Program Manager, Washington Talking Book 

and Braille Library, Seattle, Washington .................................................... 18

2.4.2 Speaker 2: David Hyde, Chairman, Library Services Committee, National 

Federation of the Blind, Janesville, Wisconsin ........................................... 18

2.4.3 Speaker 3: Ed O'Reilly, Head, Collection Development Section, NLS, 

Washington, D.C........................................................................................ 19

2.4.4 Speaker 4: Paul Edwards, President, Library Users of America, American 

Council of the Blind, North Miami, Florida .................................................. 20
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2.5 Panel 3: Braille Production ................................................................................. 21

2.5.1 Speaker 1: John Bryant, Head, Production Control Section, NLS, 

Washington, D.C........................................................................................ 21

2.5.2 Speaker 2: Beth Hirst, Supervisor, Library Materials Production, Iowa 

Library for the Blind, Des Moines, Iowa...................................................... 22

2.5.3 Speaker 3: Betsy Beaumon, Vice President and General Manager, 

Benetech, Palo Alto, California................................................................... 23

2.5.4 Speaker 4: Tuck Tinsley, President, American Printing House for the Blind, 

Louisville, Kentucky.................................................................................... 24

2.6 Panel 4: Braille Technology................................................................................ 25

2.6.1 Speaker 1: Curtis Chong, Technology Specialist, New Mexico Commission 

for the Blind, Albuquerque, New Mexico .................................................... 25

2.6.2 Speaker 2: Jim Denham, Director of Education Technology, Perkins School 

for the Blind, Watertown, Massachusetts ................................................... 25

2.6.3 Speaker 3: Brian MacDonald, President, National Braille Press, Boston, 

Massachusetts ........................................................................................... 26

2.6.4 Speaker 4: John Freese, Design Director, Product Development 

Technologies, Newton, Massachusetts...................................................... 27

2.7 Panel 5: Braille Literacy and Promotion.............................................................. 28

2.7.1 Speaker 1: Kim Charlson, Director, Perkins Library, Watertown, 

Massachusetts ........................................................................................... 28

2.7.2 Speaker 2: Diane Wormsley, Ph.D., Professor of Special Education in 

Visual Impairment, North Carolina Central University, Durham, North 

Carolina...................................................................................................... 30

2.7.3 Speaker 3: Lenore Dillon, Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist, Alabama 

Department of Rehabilitation Services, Montgomery, Alabama ................. 32

2.7.4 Speaker 4: Frances Mary D’Andrea, Chair, Braille Authority of North 

America (BANA), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania................................................ 33

3 Results of breakout sessions .................................................................................... 34

3.1 Recommendations for NLS ................................................................................ 34

3.1.1 NLS should provide a refreshable-braille display at no cost to patrons or 

help make them more easily affordable. .................................................... 34

3.1.2 NLS should vary the quality and/or publication medium of its books, 

depending on their use and expected shelf life. ......................................... 35

3.1.3 NLS must work with publishers to acquire source texts.............................. 35

3.1.4 NLS should expand the use of tactile graphics in its books........................ 35

3.1.5 NLS should support efforts to update braille technology, specifications, and 

methods for selection, production, and distribution, including production on 

demand. ..................................................................................................... 35

3.2. Challenges for stakeholders and leaders of the broader community.................. 36

3.2.1 Address the deficiencies in braille learning resources (teachers and 

material). .................................................................................................... 36
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3.2.2 Improve the image of braille in mainstream life. ......................................... 36

3.2.3 All practical aspects of braille are hurt by high costs. ................................. 37

3.3 Individual breakout sessions............................................................................... 37

3.3.1 Panel 1: Braille Readers............................................................................. 37

3.3.2 Panel 2: Braille Selection............................................................................ 37

3.3.3 Panel 3: Braille Production ......................................................................... 38

3.3.4 Panel 4: Braille Technology........................................................................ 38

3.3.5 Panel 5: Braille Literacy and Promotion...................................................... 38

Appendix A: Raw Data .................................................................................................. 39

Attitudes about Braille by the General Public............................................................. 39

Braille Display............................................................................................................ 40

Writing Device ........................................................................................................... 41

Braille Literacy ........................................................................................................... 41

Jumbo Braille............................................................................................................. 42

Uncontracted Braille .................................................................................................. 42

Braille Production ...................................................................................................... 43

Braille Technology (General)..................................................................................... 45

Braille Reading Population ........................................................................................ 45

Braille Selection and Collection Content.................................................................... 46

Braille Instruction ....................................................................................................... 48

Braille Proofreading ................................................................................................... 49

Hard-Copy Braille ...................................................................................................... 49

Braille Embosser ....................................................................................................... 50

Braille Promotion ....................................................................................................... 50

Braille from Libraries.................................................................................................. 52

Braille Codes ............................................................................................................. 53

Braille Transcribing.................................................................................................... 53

Tactile Graphics......................................................................................................... 53

Training (General) ..................................................................................................... 54

Sharing ...................................................................................................................... 54

Web-Braille and BARD .............................................................................................. 54

Braille in Educational Settings ................................................................................... 55

Timeliness of Braille .................................................................................................. 55

DAISY Braille............................................................................................................. 56

Braille Labeling.......................................................................................................... 56

Braille Research ........................................................................................................ 56

Interface with Publishers............................................................................................ 57

Braille Delivery........................................................................................................... 57

Braille Music .............................................................................................................. 58

Miscellaneous/Global Thoughts................................................................................. 58

Appendix B: Online Resources ..................................................................................... 60

Appendix C: WTBBL Survey Results ............................................................................ 61
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1 Introduction

National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), a division of 

the Library of Congress, collaborated with the Perkins School for the Blind to hold the

first Braille Summit on the school campus in Watertown, Massachusetts, June 19–21, 

2013. Themed The Future of Braille, the two-and-one-half-day conference was attended 

by more than 100 librarians, technologists, braille producers, and braille literacy 

professionals as well as braille readers and parents of children who use braille. Topics 

included federal policy issues; the role of braille literacy in employment, education, and 

personal and community life; collection development; braille technology; braille 

production; and the need for a new, affordable refreshable-braille display technology.

The objective of this Braille Summit was to determine the mix of NLS products and 

services that best meets the needs of today’s braille readers and supports an increase 

in braille literacy. Stakeholders discussed, debated, and recommended braille policies, 

products, and services in future program operations. The summit also highlighted 

developments proffered by other organizational leaders in the field, many of whom were 

represented on the program. The U.S. Department of Education recently issued its 

“Dear Colleague” letter advising educators that braille instruction be provided for 

students as needed and included in their individual education plans. The National Braille 

Press Center for Braille Innovation (CBI) and the DAISY Consortium Transforming 

Braille Group are working on developing a cost-efficient braille display. And the Braille 

Authority of North America has just adopted the Unified English Braille code, which will 

help to simplify the learning and usage of the code.

The conference also featured the release of the third edition of World Braille Usage, a 

compendium of the braille codes and standards of 142 countries. World Braille Usage

was originally compiled by UNESCO in 1954 and later updated by UNESCO and NLS in 

1990. This third revision—a collaboration of NLS and Perkins—includes 133 languages 

that have been transcribed into 137 different braille alphabet and punctuation codes. 

(For more information visit www.perkins.org/worldbraille/.)

The Braille Summit highlighted the efforts of all stakeholders in moving braille forward in 

the coming millennium and beyond. Proceedings were streamed live on the Perkins 

website, and remote viewers were able to ask questions of panelists via e-mail and 

Twitter. Sessions were recorded and may be viewed at www.perkins.org/newsevents/news/first-ever-braille-summit.html#video. 

1.1 Background

The background for this event was presented in the Report of the National Library 

Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, September 2013, as follows:

Braille is universally recognized as the literacy medium for people who are blind or 

severely visually impaired. Unlike audio formats, braille is a direct corollary to print. 

Each letter, each capitalization and punctuation mark, each paragraph, heading, and 

emphasis mark is displayed in braille with the same fidelity as print. Text breaks, 

sections and chapters, footnotes, endnotes, references, and sidebars are all clearly 

portrayed. Mathematical symbols, equations, numbers, and notations are rendered 

plainly for the reader. Scientific notation, tables, charts, graphs, maps, flow charts, and 
2

related presentations can be rendered precisely for the braille reader. The braille music 

system contains all the notations that provide not only the notes but also the nuances of 

a musical score. This level of detail is not possible in audio renderings of text. Yet, this 

level of detail, gained through literacy in print or in braille, is critical for success in 

education, and in the pursuit of jobs in today’s information economy. Without this 

access, blind and severely visually impaired students and workers face barriers that 

significantly impact their ability to compete effectively in today’s information-dependent 

world. 

NLS has played a fundamental role in providing hard-copy braille materials since its 

inception in 1931. Braille readership has waxed and waned over the years, and a 

disturbing downward trend in adult braille literacy is currently a topic of serious 

discussion among consumer organizations, educators, and other stakeholders in the 

blindness field. 

For the most part, adults who read braille fluently learned to read it as children. But 

people who lose their vision later in life can and do learn to read braille with varying

levels of proficiency. Of the U.S. population of blind people who are employed (only 

some 30 percent of the blind population), approximately 90 percent are braille readers. 

Because of the vast importance of literacy in American society, the Individuals with 

Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) legislation recognizes braille as the first option for 

children who are blind or severely visually impaired. Students are using braille in 

different ways than they did just ten years ago. With increased access to devices with 

refreshable-braille displays, the demand for electronic braille has increased. However, 

hard-copy braille continues to play an important role for beginning and advanced 

readers alike.

Like print, the options for reading braille are changing. A braille reader can now read 

braille displayed on refreshable braille devices. These devices, which are usually 

connected to a computer or integrated into a portable system, consist of a line or more 

of braille cells made up of pins that correspond to the six dots of the cells. These pins 

change position, rising and falling as the display refreshes to display new lines of braille 

text. Thus the braille reader can read an electronic braille file in a manner similar to 

reading print on a computer screen.

NLS currently produces approximately 500 titles in braille and 40 magazines in braille 

each year. Production costs include two distinct phases: transcription and 

embossing/binding. Making braille eReaders available to all patrons will shrink the 

demand for hard copies of braille books and magazines, thus saving the cost of 

production. In time, some titles may not need to be produced in hard copy at all. With 

embossing and storage costs eliminated, NLS may be able to reintroduce large 

reference materials such as an unabridged dictionary or encyclopedia.

Hard-copy braille is bulky, requiring considerable space to store and maintain. Within 

the NLS network, states are consolidating braille collections and in many cases 

contracting with larger libraries to provide handling and storage services. Although 

electronic braille is not expected to completely eliminate the need for hard-copy braille, 

future production processes and reduced demand may in the long term lead to braille 

being stored digitally and produced in hard copy only on demand.
3

(To read the report visit www.loc.gov/nls/other/congressreport.html#priority.)

1.2 Goals of the conference

The goal of the Braille Summit was to conceptualize the best ways for libraries to 

promote and support braille literacy. Conference organizers created an opportunity for

braille users and experts to come together to assess the state of braille literacy, 

technology, and access to formulate recommendations that will assist in shaping braille 

programs and priorities for NLS and its network of libraries. The international group of 

stakeholders was encouraged to share ideas, observations, and expectations to

produce a single set of recommendations that could be used for future planning.

1.3 Structure of the conference

The two-and-one-half-day conference opened with welcome messages by NLS Director 

Karen Keninger, who also explained the purpose of the Braille Summit, and by Perkins 

School for the Blind President Steven Rothstein. Plenary and panel sessions were held 

as follows:

• Special topic: Braille policy

• Panel 1: Braille readers

• Panel 2: Braille selection

• Panel 3: Braille production

• Panel 4: Braille technology

• Panel 5: Braille literacy and promotion

• Final plenary: Setting priorities

Each panel session was followed by a breakout session, during which the entire 

assembly was separated into four randomly preselected groups. The groups were 

charged with discussion of the preceding panel, and recorders were appointed to 

capture resulting recommendations. Group discussions were conducted using a 

preselected, structured method designed to maximize attendee inclusion and produce a 

set of recommendations in the time allotted. The results of the four breakout groups 

were later combined into a single set of recommendations, which were presented to the 

entire assembly in the final plenary. These recommendations are presented in Section 

30, for which the raw data can be found in Appendix A.

2 Speaker presentations

Presentations covered braille from the perspective of its necessity and influence, policy 

concerns, learning and using, librarianship, production, technology, literacy, and need 

for promotion. Summaries of the presentations are provided by subject follow. 

2.1 Keynote address: Peter Osborne, Chief Braille Officer, Royal 

National Institute of Blind People, United Kingdom

Mr. Osborne, a braille user, noted that braille users should always accentuate the 

positive while talking about braille. Avoid using statements that devalue the medium, 
4

such as it is hard to learn, it is bulky and reading is slow, or it is expensive. Braille has

benefitted many, many thousands of people over its two-hundred-year history.

Braille is still the only viable way to read by touch. Mr. Osborne recently conversed with 

a deaf/blind individual via a refreshable-braille display. Braille cannot be valued highly 

enough for these and other users. He highlighted the following points in his discussion:

• The role of organizations. Organizations spend millions talking about coding 

and formatting in the provision of hard-copy braille, while spending precious little 

on promotion, innovation, and enabling learning. Compared to other formats,

spending is disproportionately high per beneficiary. Spending arranged around 

physical models leads to the perception that braille is expensive and elite.

Spending patterns need to change. Organizations should spend instead on 

promoting use, learning, and innovation. While expenditures per person are 

falling, the economics of braille production are also changing for the better. The 

expected norm will soon be reading via refreshable-braille display rather than 

hard copy, enabling access to millions of books.

These spending patterns need to change. Organizations must “liberate spending” 

to include the promotion of learning braille. Braille is for all, not just the elite.

• Braille production. Production methods are woefully outdated. Some changes 

are happening, but we are not making “huge global headway” in increasing the 

percentage of materials that make their way into braille. Too much emphasis is 

placed on achieving perfection. “Cordon bleu” production is appropriate in some 

circumstances, but it shouldn’t be one size fits all. Braille could use a fast-food 

option, as well. Consumers don’t want to wait for perfection; they’d rather have it 

immediately rather than perfect. 

Some global trends in braille production present models for consideration. Ondemand braille in Spain, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and other countries 

changes the service model radically. These countries are now doing to braille

what has been done for digital talking books for some time—a book is produced 

on request, bound simply, and sent directly to the client. Readers get the book 

they want when they want it. Some countries have abandoned the majority of 

their physical stock. They now produce quick braille on demand rather than 

maintain huge stores. 

Realized actual cost is in braille transcription, not in reproduction, which saves on 

storage as well. Most countries in Europe have abandoned plate production,

preferring to do the job of volume production with embossers. In India, sixteen

million pages are produced from four embossers every year. It’s about running 

inexpensive equipment 24/7 and getting the best value out of it. Plates add 

dollars per page, and nobody’s using them in printing any more.

Braille producers also find that proofreading is a bottleneck and needs to be 

curtailed. More are using published files, and some are using a single source for 

various outputs and getting better at creating good braille from it. Reprographics

(3D reproduction) or the practice of scanning in 3D and reproducing with a 3D 

printer has achieved great results and is being used to preserve rare braille 

manuscripts. (Some materials exist only in hard copy, and we stand the chance 
5

of losing them. Though the planet has been digitized, much attention has not 

been given to digitizing braille.) Good work is also being done on optical braille 

recognition (OBR). It’s not yet a mainstay for embossing but could become one.

In the future, computers will automatically translate standard text while 

transcribers will continue to address complex materials.

• Braille consumption. Braille books are expensive to prepare and difficult to 

handle. Using refreshable-braille displays would provide a more viable option.

The value in braille is in the transcription, not the physical copy. The prevailing 

reverence for the bound book may not be justifiable in the long term.

Braille use in Europe isn’t declining, but library use has fallen by 7.5 percent

annually in the UK. The problem is the mode of material that libraries are 

providing. Other countries have adopted using electronic braille. The NLS Braille 

and Audio Reading Download (BARD) system is to be commended in that 

respect.

• Technology. The world is going mobile. The lifespan of most technology is 

measured in months. Most daily consumables can be made by machines— even 

the parts of a gun can be printed using 3D. Digitally copying objects is here to 

stay. In 1991 the first scanners cost $15,000. Now they are almost throw-away 

technology. Yet still only a small amount of material is available in braille. Why is 

this particular technology so slow to develop? 

Braille production technology is archaic next to the massive changes in printing 

technology. The high price of refreshable-braille displays only holds things back.

A serious lack of organized innovation exists in this sector. The DAISY 

Consortium Transforming Braille project has considered more than sixty projects

in its efforts to produce an inexpensive, affordable braille display. The global 

effort, however, is not commensurate with the market, and innovation is scattered.

A vibrant future requires change. Braille can and must be liberated through refreshablebraille technology. Producing quantities of books in the low hundreds each year on a 

national basis is no longer acceptable. One could argue that by launching the Kindle, 

Amazon did in one day what RNIB would take three thousand years to produce. This 

community needs to innovate affordable solutions. Mr. Osborne advocated working

together to create braille that’s flexible and deliver it affordably.

2.2 Special topic: Braille Policy

2.2.1 Speaker 1: Michael Yudin, Acting Assistant Secretary for Special 

Education and Rehabilitative Services, Department of Education, 

Washington, D.C.

Mr. Yudin advised the gathering to make sure that all kids graduate from high school

with the skills to be successful in later education and in the workforce. Too many

students drop out or graduate without the necessary skills for college and careers. This 
6

is a moral imperative but also an economic imperative. The countries that out-educate 

the United States today will out-compete us tomorrow.

President Obama’s goal is that by 2020 the United States will lead the world in 

postsecondary certification/completion attainment. That is guiding the efforts of the 

Department of Education (DOE). The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative 

Services (OSERS) has started by formulating a set of values that inform its work. Briefly,

OSERS promotes the necessity of inclusion, equity, and opportunity as requirements for 

those with disabilities to be successful. Thirty years of research have proven that kids 

with disabilities do better when held to high expectations and given access to the 

general curriculum. So setting a culture of expectations is the starting point. Expect kids 

to graduate. Parents, kids, and educators all need to do this.

Start with high quality early learning. It is a very exciting time in this area. The president 

and [Secretary of Education] Arne Duncan have made this a priority for the second term.

They are making a $75 million investment in high-quality preschool access for all 

children. This is especially important for children in special education. But for many of 

these kids services are provided in segregated settings. We need kids to learn 

alongside peers in inclusive settings. This investment provides the opportunity to do this. 

This is a real commitment from the president and Secretary Duncan. In the K–12 space 

we are developing standards for what skills kids will need to have when entering higher 

education or the workforce. States are rolling these out now so teachers can teach to 

these standards.

The department has issued a series of No Child Left Behind waivers, which thirty-seven

states plus D.C. have applied for and received. A condition of the waiver is a 

commitment to show plans for how students with disabilities have access to the college 

and career readiness standards and how teachers are going to teach these kids to 

these standards, which should be available on state websites. The goal is to avoid 

having to retrofit the standards in five years.

Kids with disabilities are leaving high school with low outcomes. Too many are dropping 

out, resulting in lower postsecondary enrollment and success and lower employment 

rates for this population. They are earning less, and therefore more likely to live in 

poverty than their nondisabled peers. This is not acceptable.

For blind and visually impaired kids in particular, these outcomes are even less

acceptable. As many as 60 percent of blind students are dropping out of high school,

and 70 percent of blind adults are unemployed. This must change; they must have 

competitive and productive employment.

The National Federation for the Blind reports that only 10 percent of blind kids are 

learning braille. Everyone knows how effective braille is. It has so many tangible and 

intangible benefits, including employment and self-esteem. Congress required the 

provision of instruction in braille in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 

unless inappropriate for a child as determined by the Individualized Education Program

(IEP) team after a rigorous and thorough evaluation process. This applies equally to 

kids who are blind or who are likely to lose their vision in the future.

Despite this requirement (in effect since 1997) fewer kids are receiving instruction in 

braille. OSERS is concerned that the requirements of the law are not being 
7

implemented sufficiently. Mr. Yudin announced the release of a “Dear Colleague” letter 

providing guidance to states and reaffirming the importance of compliance and of braille 

as a literacy tool. It clarifies that IEP teams must ensure that kids who are blind or 

visually impaired receive the braille instruction they need and access to regular 

curriculum without undue delay. The letter, now available on the OSERS website 

(www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/brailledcl-6-19-13.pdf), also 

clarifies the scope of the evaluation that the IEP team must undertake to determine if 

braille instruction is or is not appropriate. It must be thorough and rigorous. Beyond

affirming what the law says, the letter identifies resources available from OSERS and 

DOE. A lot of funding supporting a variety of projects is available.

Timely access to accessible materials is also supported via the National Instructional 

Materials Access Center (NIMAC) and Bookshare. OSERS met with a group of students 

with print disabilities who were on the verge of dropping out of school before they 

discovered Bookshare. These students are no longer at risk of dropping out and in fact 

are taking college-level courses in high school and getting accepted into four-year 

colleges.

This is what happens when high expectations are set and kids and teachers are then 

given the tools and technology that enable them to reach their goals. OSERS hopes the

new guidance will spark some discussion and improve access to and use of braille.

2.2.2 Speaker 2: Janet LaBreck, Presidential Nominee for Commissioner, 

Rehabilitation Services Administration, Washington, D.C.

Ms. LaBreck was confirmed by the United States Senate as the commissioner of the 

Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration on August 1, 2013. At 

the time of her presentation she was the commissioner of the Massachusetts 

Commission for the Blind.

The Massachusetts Commission for the Blind is an adult services agency. We want 

those coming to us to be as prepared as possible to assume a new role outside of the 

educational system. This is difficult to do without braille literacy. When individuals come

in without these skill sets in place, they are difficult to acquire. 

Challenges and barriers in the adult services arena start immediately, with entrance 

exams. Individuals may need to have a preliminary exam if they are entering law school, 

social work, etc. They are already behind their peers if they do not have those skills.

You can rely on technology, but when it breaks down and you don’t have other skills, 

you are lost. Technology is expensive and slow to repair. It is critical to think about the 

position we place individuals in when they don’t have access to these braille skills. It is 

challenging to get a young kid to think about their own role in their education.

It is more critical today than ever that kids have these opportunities. I have been a part 

of discussions with parents and teachers about whether kids need braille. The sooner 

the better—they can grow with the skill and better position themselves for employment.
8

Math and reading literacy, if not sufficient, causes some to suffer with respect to 

technology. Reading is critical—if a child is poor at doing it, who takes responsibility? 

We all do. Discussion about braille literacy should start in preschool. We want the child 

to have access to as many skills as possible as early as possible.

We wouldn’t ask if it’s appropriate to teach a sighted kid reading! Why the blind kids? Is 

it really a burden, and, if so, what can we do to lessen it?

Early work experience for students is also important. It’s critical to helping think about 

career goals and putting goals into practice—something to focus on. Many students 

experience deficits here. Their peers get the opportunity.

The premise that braille is too expensive and time-consuming must be challenged. This 

does happen and resources are limited, but the bottom line is that without it we fail 

these kids, and they will then fail. They deserve to have this opportunity. These excuses 

cannot be used to support our failure to prepare kids for a future they are entitled to.

Youth are expected to come to the workplace with as many skills as possible. When 

they don’t, it delays their opportunity to enter the workforce or to move on to higher 

education. Kids without the skills have to start over.

Massachusetts has proclaimed itself a model employer. State agencies are required to 

provide access to employment for individuals with disabilities and the required 

technology (for example, refreshable-braille displays). The commission also has 

internship programs that start working with these kids at age fourteen to get them 

acclimated to the workplace. These kids are working in every aspect of employment 

around the state. We also had two international placements, including one with the FBI 

in Egypt. The latter had incredible braille skills and could access information that others 

did not—and the FBI didn’t have to worry about anyone else reading that information.

He also spoke three languages. The FBI is interested in his progress and is considering 

hiring him after he graduates.

This is an example of what can be expected when kids are provided the proper access 

to skill building that braille provides. It’s important to take advantage of any available 

funding and other opportunities. We need to increase the level of expectations all 

around.

2.2.3 Speaker 3: Steven Rothstein, Member, Council of Schools and 

Services for the Blind, Watertown, Massachusetts

Mr. Rothstein noted that many factors can impact the use of braille at this particular 

junction. These include the growth of globalization, explosion of new technology, the 

growth of older people losing their sight (called the Silver Tsunami), the expansion of 

inclusive education, and more. While braille is recognized as a code not a language, it is 

helpful to provide a context on the decline of languages and what is happening globally

to provide insight into the potential of the future of braille.

Of the six thousand languages spoken around the world, it is believed that 90 percent

will become extinct by 2050. The world’s language system has reached a crisis and is 

dramatically restructuring. While languages have always gone extinct throughout human 
9

history, they are currently disappearing at an accelerated rate, as a result of the 

processes of globalization and neocolonialism, where the economically powerful 

languages dominate others. No one wants braille to be extinct. 

Mr. Rothstein presented “The ABCs of Literacy through Braille" as a way of thinking 

about the possibilities of expanding braille usage and awareness:

A – American Printing House and the amazing products they provide across the 

country. We hope their federal funding grows.

B – Braille Audit and Bookshare. Just as businesses have a financial audit, it 

would be great if there was a standard “braille audit” that businesses could go 

through to determine how accessible they are for employees and clients. 

Bookshare for the access that they provide.

C – Congratulate the Braille Challenge and the important work through the Braille 

Institute to promote and make braille fun. Perkins has recently started an 

international version in Africa called the Braille Cup and is seeking partners to 

expand.

D – Data. Importance of having clear data that everyone in our field agrees to 

instead of the current situation with different perspectives on the rate of braille 

literacy for students.

E – e-Learning and Employment. Promote the use of e-learning tools that Hadley, 

Perkins, Carroll Center, and others offer. If we are serious about employment 

for people who are blind we need to be serious about increasing braille literacy.

F – Foreign Languages. The new World Braille Usage is important to promoting

braille in many foreign languages.

G – Graduate University Programs. Continued support for funding graduate 

programs for teachers of the visually impaired (TVIs), where braille is taught,

and continuing education programs.

H – Helen Keller. Focus on braille for individuals who are deaf/blind like Helen 

Keller was.

I – Inclusive Education and International. Support inclusive education as long as 

there are braille experts in the classrooms. International: Help to establish 

braille authorities around the world. According to the International Council on 

English Braille most countries do not have these important authorities.

J – Jumbo Braille. Continue to offer jumbo braille for people who find this useful.

K – Karen and Kim. Be thankful for leaders like Karen Keninger and Kim Charlson.

L – Lower-Cost Braille Equipment. Recommit to providing lower-cost braille

equipment in different forms.

M – Movies. Work with Hollywood, Bollywood, and other international entertainment 

centers to encourage more blind characters and the use of braille in 

mainstream movies and television shows. I would like to see more love 

interests, superheroes, and reality TV stars use braille for their access to 

literacy.

N – National Library Service. We all want to congratulate NLS for the vital role it

plays every day, the impact it has on braille resources, and for organizing this 

summit.
10

O – Obama. Start a letter-writing campaign to have braille put on business cards for 

his cabinet and ambassadors. This would send a powerful symbol across this 

country and internationally and is being done in other countries.

P – Politicians and Parents. Prepare a Literacy through Braille policy statement 

and ask elected officials to sign it. Parents: continue to engage and collaborate 

with this group of the ultimate educators.

Q – Quarrel. End the debates and quarrels about the importance of braille for 

students who are blind by increasing awareness of the necessity of braille to 

ensure literacy.

R – Refreshable Braille. Continue to seek options for lower-priced refreshablebraille displays through the Transforming Braille group.

S – Staples Corporation and SMART Brailler. Feedback was requested on the

prototype “Easy Button in Braille” that was circulated during the conference and 

slated for delivery to the office-supply store Staples. The new SMART Brailler is 

an exciting innovative educational tool.

T – Teachers and Technology. Highlight a national discussion about whether a 

national standard for braille literacy should be developed like the one held by 

the Washington State legislation. Technology: recognize the evolved role of 

technology as we offer hard and soft versions of braille.

U – U.S. Department of Education and UEB. As Michael Yudin said, the 

Department of Education has a vital role in promoting braille usage. BANA is 

leading the important transition to the Unified English Braille Code (UEB) in the 

United States.

V – More teachers of the visually impaired. We need more TVIs across the 

country to ensure that the next generation of braille users have the training they 

need and deserve.

W – WIPO. The World Intellectual Property Organization is debating a treaty that will 

make an enormous impact on the access to copyrighted material worldwide. 

Continued advocacy and support is critical. The United States is not where we 

should be on these issues.

X – Expertise. More braille code experts, transcribers, and specialized 

manufacturers are needed.

Y – Youth. Making braille cool, accessible to learn, and a priority for youth is critical.

Z – Zero Tolerance. For policies that do not encourage and support braille—from 

commercial products to IEPs for students to standardized testing.

Focusing on these ABCs and other initiatives will help to ensure that babies being born 

today and tomorrow will have access to literacy through braille and all that it provides 

and that braille will never become extinct.

2.3 Panel 1: Braille Readers

This panel features actual braille readers—people who use and depend on braille as 

their means of personal literacy.
11

2.3.1 Speaker 1: Daisy Russell, Student, Everett High School, Saugus, 

Massachusetts

Miss Russell’s comments were entitled “What Braille Means to Me and How I Use It.”

Miss Russell explained that she was not born blind, but suddenly lost her vision at age 

six. She knew nothing about blindness before then and had to learn a lot of things, of 

which braille was one. She said, “Braille is so important to me. It’s like a resort with 

everything for everyone. There’s music code for music, Nemeth for scientists and 

mathematicians, different languages, and literary braille.” She’s been reading braille for 

ten years and is thankful to her “wicked awesome” teachers.

Describing how she didn’t see the importance of learning braille at first, Miss Russell 

postulated that reading print was not a problem for a six-year-old, even though she was 

totally blind. However, she tired of depending on others and their sympathy and applied 

herself to four years of learning all the contractions and rules of braille. Then she read 

everything she could get her hands on, and now considers braille her best friend.

Miss Russell transitioned from audio to braille and participated in the Braille Challenge. 

She went from lagging behind classmates to excelling. Braille enabled her to become 

an A student. Because so many things are visual, in print, or just out of reach, braille is 

essential to bringing things closer.

She uses braille in lots of ways: Apex labels, hard copy, diagrams, and graphs. Braille is 

moving toward electronic, and she’s using it more. She gets homework on a flash drive 

or via e-mail and returns it the same way. Teachers can make edits and comments 

before sending them back. English is easier to find electronically. “I won’t ever 

completely switch to electronic braille. This would be like a sighted person only ever 

reading e-books.”

Miss Russell doesn’t think braille will ever disappear, but it’s scary that only 10 percent

of blind people can read it. Braille is her life. (Her sighted friend wants to learn it just 

because!) She hopes braille literacy increases for 100 percent of the visually impaired

and that more textbooks become available in electronic format. She hopes that braille 

technology continues to improve and that it makes a difference to the people who rely 

on it.

2.3.2 Speaker 2: Haben Girma, Student, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, 

Massachusetts

Ms. Girma is deaf/blind.

About three years ago Ms. Girma found a new exciting way to use braille: to avoid noisy 

places like restaurants. It was too loud to hear and she couldn’t converse. Three years 

ago she found that she could pair a Bluetooth keyboard to a braille display. In noisy 

situations people can type on the keyboard and she can read it! She can respond by 

voice. It opened up so many opportunities.

As a student in Boston at Harvard Law School, she uses this tool to get through classes, 

networking events, etc., and during summers interning at the Department of Energy and 

the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, she uses braille to communicate with 

people. Her accomplishments would not have been possible without access to braille 
12

growing up and improving her braille reading speed so she can read as fast as others 

can talk.

Ms. Girma started learning braille in Oakland, California, at age six when she was 

introduced to it as a game—“look at these dots!” It was fun and exciting. She wanted to 

be good at things, including the task of learning braille. Lots of different books were 

available. She mastered the alphabet and then moved on to elementary and middle 

school books. She attended a mainstream primary school with a resource room for 

visually impaired people. After mastering braille, she got into technology—BrailleNote, 

Braille ’n Speak—which she uses to access online books through Web-Braille (now part 

of BARD).

In her studies and work, Ms. Girma uses a combination of electronic and hard copies. In 

schools—high school, college, law school—it helps to have hard copy. She said she 

can then remember the information by its location (e.g., bottom right-hand side or just 

before a page turned). The ability to see headings and subheadings in hard-copy braille 

also contributes to her ability to learn materials. This may be due to the fact that she

started with hard copy and then moved to digital. She said that it could be different for 

kids who start with digital. Ninety-five percent of the time now she uses digital braille 

with BrailleNote, but finds it most useful to have hard copy when learning detailed

information.

Ms. Girma said she also reads faster in hard copy, a factor that she considers may be 

the result of her hands sliding faster. She pondered if she should research if increasing 

the firmness of the dots on the refreshable-braille display would increase her reading 

speed. There is an evolutionary display: Handitech has a display that autoscrolls based 

on the position of the user’s fingers. Could it increase her reading speed?

The law student uses braille all the time, every day. As she spoke, two typists typed into 

a QWERTY keyboard and she read on her display. For the deaf/blind person access to 

books is really important, so they can build up reading speed and then use that for 

communications where signing isn’t an option. She wants to make sure braille education 

is expanded to deaf/blind individuals.

2.3.3 Speaker 3: Deborah Kendrick, Writer, Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati, 

Ohio

Ms. Kendrick's comments were entitled “Braille Is Personal.”

In 1987 Dean Blazie introduced the first Braille ’n Speak, said Ms. Kendrick. It made him 

realize just how personal braille is for people. “Personal” seemed odd—it was quirky but 

it is exactly right. The description has stayed with her.

Braille is personal and essential. It’s personal when she’s touching e-mail on a 

refreshable-braille display or a comment from an editor. It’s personal when she grabs

the right credit card because it’s labeled, or when fishing around in the refrigerator

reading labels. When she brings in the mail and feels braille through an envelope, it’s 

the first envelope she opens. Braille thank-you notes change her attitude.

She lost her sight at age five, just in time for school. There was lots to do at home, but 

learning to read words and then stories and then to write happened at school and was 
13

better than climbing trees or roller skating. School was really a resource classroom in 

another school across town. By the end of first grade, she was with the “regular kids” or 

the “out classes.” She flew up to be one of the best readers in the elementary school 

right away.

At home her love of school and books was an anomaly. Nobody read much. Nobody 

learned much about braille, so it was personal. Books, however, gave an amazing 

limitless world beyond the working-class family. Though the school’s offerings were 

paltry—two shelves in the back of the room—she checked out more books for herself 

than anyone else and read them again and again. From them she learned how other 

kids played and dressed and interacted. She saw animals she couldn’t touch and

mountains and quaint little English streets.

At eleven she was sent to the neighborhood school because of overcrowding. There 

she met and loved her braille teacher, whom she saw on Wednesday afternoons. One 

day that teacher gave her a book that changed her life: Grade 3 Braille, which helped 

her to take notes rapidly in high school and college. She began writing a diary in grade 

3 braille. Again, personal.

Literacy and language are personal: What could be more personal to a twelve-year-old 

than writing your own thoughts and reading them back? Than reading a book that 

speaks to you and you alone? Audio is great—she admitted an addiction to BARD—but 

the narrator comes between you and the personal connection to the author.

In high school Ms. Kendrick bought spiral notebooks and used a slate and stylus and 

grade 3 braille. She did something different and yet the same. The school was illequipped to handle a blind student; there were no braille books.

Books from the library arrived “randomly.” Some were interesting, some not. She loved 

the class trips to the public library and loved the smell of books. Gradually she realized

she could request books from the library. She wrote long sappy letters to the librarian. 

Might you have this book in braille? Would you have time to send it to me? Catcher in 

the Rye under the covers at age fourteen made her glad her parents weren’t avid 

readers. Personal.

At twenty she was offered a teaching assistantship at Kent State University. She got her

first apartment, and her family couldn’t handle it. She was on her own to do apartment 

things. This was followed by her first time in a braille library. She thought she had died 

and gone to heaven and returned home with a carload of books. She learned to cook, 

clean, and decorate. She learned how to make baby food, garden, and crochet, all 

through braille. There’s braille on everything, including the books she reads to her kids. 

Now a freelance writer, Ms. Kendrick has published thousands of articles, plus poems, 

magazines, etc.—all in braille.

The tools of braille are also very personal. Ms. Kendrick recalled being terrified that 

computers would spoil her connection to literacy. That didn’t last. Her productivity 

quadrupled immediately, as she could now write four articles in the time it previously 

took to do one. She no longer needed any sighted intervention to look over her work.

Ms. Kendrick now moves from technology to technology and revisits this anxiety with 

each transition. It’s never a problem. Braille and language are personal and the 
14

technology doesn’t matter. It’s still the cherished, direct mind-word connection, the 

connection that can only occur when seeing words with her fingers.

Ms. Kendrick noted that she reads four hundred words per minute. She looks up facts 

as quickly as anyone and can read upside down and right-side up (but not with her feet).

She said she is grateful for these abilities but is not extraordinary. She doesn’t believe 

fluent braille readers are geniuses—they’re pretty smart, but have had the good fortune 

to have a teacher or parent who simply expected them to acquire literacy.

Braille needs a better marketing campaign, and all should be a part of it. A lot can be 

learned from the deaf community. Braille is not a language, but American Sign

Language is now considered cool, and the same needs to be done with braille. Sixyear-olds can learn braille, so it can’t be that difficult. Her teacher never indicated that 

she couldn’t or wouldn’t learn, just assumed she would. Reading was cool.

She has personally taught people in their twenties, thirties, and fifties to be fluent braille 

readers. She doesn’t consider herself a great teacher, but demonstrates her love of 

braille. The tools used to read braille are inconsequential. What matters are teachers, 

producers, and librarians—and techies finding new ways to put braille in the hands of 

readers.

Ms. Kendrick recalled entering a contest in 1982 in which she wrote an essay about the 

future of blind people in 2020. She wrote a science fiction story about “Mary Seymour.” 

In it there had been a blind revolution; blind people got militant and assertive, so the 

sighted gave them involuntary surgery but it backfired, and each received a different gift. 

Mary received the gift of hindsight: If she walked out the door of a room she could see 

what had been there. She became a cabinet member serving the president in the 

Department of Blindness. She had a huge library and she had a machine on her desk 

that converted print books to braille. The story won first place.

2.3.4 Speaker 4: Tommie Lussier, President, San Francisco Public Library 

Advisory Committee for the Blind and Print Disabled, San Francisco, 

California

Ms. Lussier's comments were entitled “Braille: A Low-Tech Solution."

Ms. Lussier relayed her experiences of becoming blind and being introduced to braille. 

At the age of 28, she had an accident that nearly took her life and left her completely 

blind. Prior to the accident she had published her first book and started a publishing 

company and had run a California resort for seven years before that. She recalled:

I will never forget the day a rehab counselor named Barrie came to my 

house and the three things he left with me: a white cane, a Perkins 

braillewriter, and my first book of grade 1 braille instruction. I didn’t think 

much of the cane at that time, since my family and friends would take me 

anywhere I needed to go. I certainly didn’t want to be seen with a white 

cane, and still did not use it for many years. That day, Barrie explained the 

principles of braille to me and seemed surprised that I caught on so 

quickly at the first lesson. Even so, I chose to not schedule another 

appointment for a while, since all of this adjustment would take some time. 

And I was unsure of my tactile readiness. 
15

When Barrie left, I promptly spray-painted the cane black, because black 

was the opposite of white. For me, the cane was an outward thing and the 

braille a private one. As a writer and literary person, the braille had piqued 

my interest, and I knew how much I needed it to pick up that pen and 

paper again. I began to study the braille book and would show it to other 

people.

I immediately started using the braillewriter to make notes and to facilitate 

phone conversations. If I couldn’t remember the correct letter in a word, I 

would just make one up to finish whatever I was working on and then I 

would look up the correct letter. I labeled everything from appliances to file 

folders, and in so doing, managed to feel more confident about my 

potential as a blind person. People started to remark as to my genius. I 

know without a doubt some of you must know what I’m talking about. My 

success was in the actual practice, without the fear of mistakes that

allowed me to learn it in this way.

I taught myself grade 1 braille within a two-month period and used it in the 

same way I had always used pen and paper as a sighted person. For the 

next ten years, grade 1 braille served me well, until my need expanded for 

a more concise approach. I also learned to use a computer and access 

technology, and this along with braille enabled me to write two 

screenplays and many other things. I actually made a good living as a 

writer and publisher during this time.

In 1997 my soul was crying uncle for more self-reliance with my travel, so I 

forced myself to attend the Orientation Center for the Blind in Albany, 

California, for a year to take my first orientation and mobility lessons. This 

is also where I formally studied and finally mastered grade 2 braille. The 

long-term benefits of learning braille far outweigh the short-term 

inconveniences of the learning process.

By the way, my cane is no longer black and I use it to travel independently. 

Then, now, and even before, nothing is better than independence. Braille 

equals independence for me. It also allows me to keep my finger on the 

written word, to virtually see the letters, the words, the composition, the 

lines, the paragraphs, the punctuation, and above all else, the spelling of 

words. In reading braille, I am more in touch with the pen and paper that I 

left behind.

There’s no doubt that audiobooks, voice recorders, and speech synthesis 

have served me well. But listening to audio is a passive function. Reading 

braille is an active function. When we read, be it braille or print, we are 

processing information, taking it in either with our eyes or fingers, and 

activating more of our senses and brain functionality.

Ms. Lussier noted that the digital age has brought unprecedented opportunities to 

people with disabilities. Yet when batteries die and there’s no electrical outlet
16

technology fails. So many things can go wrong. While conducting a Library for the Blind 

and Print Disabled Advisory Committee meeting in San Francisco, her laptop shut down, 

leaving her to rely on her braille hard copy of the agenda. Although it did not contain so 

much of the materials she had intended to reference, the braille hard copy allowed her

to continue with the meeting. That experience taught her the strength of braille. When 

technology failed, braille provided a low-tech solution. 

People learn braille for different reasons and the methods of teaching braille should 

align with individual goals. Students, parents of blind and visually impaired children, 

readers, professionals, laypeople, and older people with diminishing eyesight who have 

a functional need for a limited amount of braille may all have a reason to learn braille.

One curriculum cannot suit all of the various represented needs. Grade 2 is a must for 

students and full-time users, but some people just want to know enough braille to use 

an elevator, use an ATM machine, read a bathroom door, make labels, take notes, or 

read a restaurant menu. Grade 1 braille could serve many of these purposes and could 

probably be learned within a few months. More flexibility and innovation in the teaching 

braille methodology, though some rigidity is necessary, will produce more braille users.

For example, jumbo braille, the equivalent of large print, may serve people whose level 

of sensitivity prevents them from learning standard braille. The more the learning 

process can be tailored to individuals and their purposes, the more receptive they will 

be.

Ms. Lussier’s recommendations for improving braille literacy are as follows:

• Modernize the braille curriculum. Some of the materials she checked had not 

been updated since 1991 and contained outdated and politically incorrect 

material. The braille curriculum will be more literary and attractive to potential 

users of braille when the vocabulary is elevated to contemporary standards and 

when the content reflects current-day pop culture, social media, current events,

and history. A more motivational braille curriculum will attract more users and, in 

turn, will greatly improve an individual's chances of obtaining gainful employment.

• Upgrade the braille-writing equipment. Nothing speaks to the word “literary”

more than the written word. The manual braille-writing machine serves as pen 

and paper to blind and visually impaired writers. As to the written word in braille, 

there is a missing link somewhere between the slate and stylus and the Perkins 

braillewriter. Imagine a quiet, compact, and lightweight version that allows its lowtech users to effectively operate using this reliable low-tech solution wherever 

they go. Many braille users would welcome a much smaller version of the 

Perkins braillewriter.

Myths and stereotypes

Blind people and their supporters must dispel the many myths and stereotypes that 

exist about blindness. They must show the world, by example, the ability of blind 

individuals to contribute to society and to perform extremely well in many job markets. 

The myth about braille is that it is elite, academic, and very difficult to learn. Unlike 

many other curriculums, braille instruction can be defined by the needs of users, and 

each group needs a different level of braille and a different way of learning. Grade 1 
17

braille can serve the needs of many people. Grade 2 braille works well for students and 

frequent users of braille.

Of four braille teachers of adults in California, Ms. Lussier explained, two discouraged 

the use and learning of jumbo braille. The third teacher uses mostly jumbo braille and 

has more jumbo braille writers in her classrooms than the standard users. She does 

teach an inordinate number of students with neuropathy and older people whose fingers 

have lost sensitivity. The fourth braille teacher often uses jumbo braille as a bridge to 

teaching normal braille, if the student chooses to do so. Who best knows that person’s 

needs—the instructor or the person who is willing to learn using jumbo braille? If jumbo 

is a means to an end, why not allow a student to make that call. Jumbo braille can work;

it just depends on the needs of the individual.

Different types of braille readers/users 

The needs of braille readers and writers vary according to purpose. For example, the 

traveler wants to use an elevator, ATM, bathroom, restaurant menus, and airline safety 

handouts. Then the labeler wants to label the laundry machines, kitchen appliances, 

and food. The note taker uses grade 1 braille without a computer to write notes, make 

lists, keep a phone and address Rolodex file, maintain a calendar, and label hard copies 

and files. And the expert reads and writes grades 1 and 2 braille with efficiency and 

speed. The astute traveler, labeler, and note taker can lead to a greater braille 

experience. Given the opportunity to focus on these practical curriculums, they may

develop a desire to learn grade 2 braille.

What role can NLS play in this braille curriculum? NLS can publish scintillating practical 

guides for public speaking; for labeling files in an office environment; and for labeling 

items in the home, the kitchen, and the laundry such as dials on equipment and

appliances, to be distributed through the library network and sold in bookstores. 

Consider such titles as:

• Where to Look for Information in Braille 

• How to Use Braille and Related Symbols for Navigating an Elevator 

• How to Use Braille and Related Symbols in a Restroom 

• How to Use Braille and Other Symbols to Use an ATM 

• How to Read a Restaurant Menu in Braille 

• How to Read Music Using Braille and Braille Music Notation . . .

And the last recommendation: NLS can mount a public relations/marketing campaign to 

promote braille literacy and use its network of libraries to distribute updated and other 

braille learning materials.

In closing, Ms. Lussier thanked NLS and Perkins School for improving the quality of her

life. “To NLS, I thank you for sending me the books that have comforted my mind, in 

good times and bad. To Perkins, I thank you for putting that pen and paper back into my 

life in the form of the braillewriter. It never occurred to me to spray-paint it black.”
18

2.4 Panel 2: Braille Selection

2.4.1 Speaker 1: Danielle Miller, Program Manager, Washington Talking 

Book and Braille Library, Seattle, Washington

Ms. Miller explained that the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library (WTBBL) has 

a local Braille Production Department that is responsible for producing the library’s

braille materials. Its Collection Development Committee uses journals to make selection

decisions. The library focuses on Pacific Northwest award books and recently did a 

book of poetry from the first state poet laureate. Production is linked with local events.

The library accepts patron requests, but it first consults reviews and considers whether

anyone else would want to read the recommended book. Books that are of interest to 

only one person will not be added to the collection.

The library sometimes takes on big jobs, e.g., a long book about the Holocaust. This 

requires a lot of proofreading. One staff member and seventeen active transcribers 

have been provided with software to transcribe from home. Eight proofreading teams

have been partners for eight to ten years. The braille reader reads out loud to the 

sighted copyholder to catch errors. Speed depends on the transcriber and the content. 

A young adult book might go faster. Poetry has difficult formatting.

Once finished, the book’s file is used to emboss a copy, and it is added to the collection. 

But physical circulation is less than large print—1.2 percent and 3 percent of circulation 

respectively—so now books are embossed on demand. This has been a good switch. 

Eleven books have been produced in the past seven to eight months, five of which have 

been produced on demand (45–50 percent). These books are shelved upon their return.

Braille, as well as audiobooks, may be downloaded from the WTBBL website. Not 

embossing has saved money. Keystone Library Automation System (KLAS) is set up so 

that a patron reserve triggers the braille coordinator to emboss a copy. It is assigned 

and then goes out to the patron.

The library conducted a survey of 334 people to learn why braille circulation was low 

and about other issues important to braille readers. The survey indicated that speed of 

reading is central to readers’ preference for braille, while the required storage space 

impacts the amount of braille books requested. Seventy-five out of 107 participants

indicated that accuracy of braille material was most important. Seventeen said speed of 

getting publications was most important. Many said that the level of accuracy depends 

on the type of material—for example, while a technical manual needs to be perfect, 

novels do not. (For the complete survey and results see Appendix C.)

2.4.2 Speaker 2: David Hyde, Chairman, Library Services Committee, 

National Federation of the Blind, Janesville, Wisconsin

Mr. Hyde performs professional development with teachers of blind children. He also 

works with parents of blind children and is a member of the NLS Collection 

Development Advisory Group.
19

Though a braille collection should include the full range of available materials, Mr. Hyde 

noted that primary consideration should be given to those things that braille does best

and to the needs and preferences of braille users.

He said that more braille material is available now than ever before and summarized the 

discussions of the May 2013 NLS Collection Development Advisory Group

(representatives from network libraries, constituency organizations, and the network of 

NLS cooperating libraries who gather biennially) meeting in Washington, D.C. 

Committee members posited the following:

• Braille makes it easier to read aloud. Recordings do not permit this. Plays, 

hymns, songbooks, and stories for kids should all be included.

• Things that require attention to detail need braille. Tables of numbers, 

cookbooks, how-to, crafts, home improvement, crocheting and knitting. Braille is 

best when instructions have to be followed in sequence.

• Reference materials need braille. Dictionaries, atlases, and maps—audio 

doesn’t cut it for these.

• Materials to encourage new braille readers to read are needed. Some in 

uncontracted braille, some composed of short pieces, (e.g., collections of 

columns, poems, and quick mysteries), and designed for adults learning braille or 

who have learned and need to practice.

• Science and math materials are needed. NLS doesn’t do textbooks, but some 

adults want to learn or refresh knowledge in these areas. Things change quickly 

in science; people need to keep current. Raised-line drawings are becoming 

expected in textbooks. 3D printers produce models.

This is a time in the life of braille that can hardly be grasped. Mr. Hyde said, “At the end 

of all things we stand at the door of abundance of something that we’ve always lived 

with—scarcity. Help us go through the door and make braille available to everybody.”

2.4.3 Speaker 3: Ed O'Reilly, Head, Collection Development Section, NLS, 

Washington, D.C.

Dr. O’Reilly opened his remarks by noting that Kim Charlson sent an e-mail stating that

the NLS braille collection is not meeting the needs of today’s readers. She suggested a 

consultative process of braille selection through the NLS Collection Development 

Advisory Group (CDAG), but something more than an annual meeting. She suggested 

that electronic-only materials be included in the collection. She also posited that NLS 

should begin to work collaboratively with other agencies on the “Braille Transition,” 

analogous to the NLS Digital Transition. She also suggested an inexpensive braille 

reading device would be a great help. That letter is bearing fruit in this conference.

Dr. O’Reilly noted that NLS is working to update its policy and guidance on the braille 

collection. Four selection librarians select all the books for the national program. One 

specializes in children’s and young adult books, including print/braille.

NLS’s goal has been to produce 2,000 audio and 500 to 600 braille titles per year. 

Those numbers as targets was an evolutionary process, given costs and capacities, 
20

inputs, and requests, among other things. Through the 1980s selection evolved, 

especially over the inclusion of popular materials. The selection policy was codified by 

the early 1990s but by then the recorded cassette (RC) had taken command: the brailleto-RC ratio was 1:5.

The NLS braille collection, however, represents a very good public library collection in 

the traditional sense. It includes nineteen thousand braille books produced by NLS,

eleven thousand of which are available for download from BARD. 

NLS selection replicates selection for the audio collection in the same proportion of 

subject codes: 60 percent/40 percent fiction/nonfiction, 70 percent/30 percent

current/retrospective, and 80 percent/20 percent adult/juvenile. External requests are 

never statistically significant. The last meeting of CDAG was the first with really focused 

braille suggestions.

One current challenge of NLS is the consideration of the inclusion of textbooks, 

scientific, and professional works. While educational materials are not excluded in 

general, materials associated with coursework are not covered by the recreational 

reading mandate.

Inclusion of braille material in the collection is ultimately a cost-benefit algorithm among 

content, size, complexity, and cost. The librarians adhere to a slightly higher standard of 

“worthiness” based on time; information that is quickly outdated is generally passed 

over, as is very ephemeral fiction. Light fiction has finally been added but it is still a 

small consideration. For example: Stephen King's novel 11/22/63 contains 1,576 

transcribed pages in eleven volumes. NLS produced forty-three copies of 7,768 braille 

pages each, which cost $23,300. The cost for twelve hundred audio copies was

$11,000. Another popular title The Joy of Cooking cost $88,380 to produce. 

Abstruse pricing results in a 40- to 50-percent price hike, or even higher; for example,

How the States Got Their Shapes. This book would be a great test case for tactile 

graphics, but even the standard abstruse pricing was not enough. The producer wanted 

a separate contract just for this book. NLS has been considering a dictionary for a while. 

The American Printing House for the Blind declined even before a bid package was 

posted. It just was not something they were willing to take on because of the scope. It 

wouldn’t justify the effort they would have to make. It would have taken a company-wide 

effort, requiring all of their people and equipment. This is generally true of all reference 

materials.

NLS has a hard-copy requirement. In the past, hard-copy circulation to all of the lending 

libraries has been required. Perhaps a few electronic-only titles have made it to BARD.

But the creation of electronic-only would cost a fraction and enable production of 

materials with a shorter shelf life. But there NLS must consider the digital divide, that is,

the number of patrons who have access to the electronic tools necessary to use such 

materials.

2.4.4 Speaker 4: Paul Edwards, President, Library Users of America, 

American Council of the Blind, North Miami, Florida

Mr. Edwards considers himself a congenital braille reader. It’s different when you start 

out as a braille reader. You get to be good at reading dots but not so good at tactile 
21

graphics. Good at reading out loud but you don’t comprehend shapes effectively. 

Adventitious braille readers can do this better. Materials that make no sense to produce 

in audio must be considered. The hard questions so far have not been asked.

Where is it written that it’s not appropriate for braille books to include pictures 

and picture descriptions? Many books for kids and young adults ought to have both. 

Part of the inability to understand pictures is because nobody teaches that skill. Don’t 

buy into the notion that price should preclude this.

Many use Web-Braille, but it has limitations. Ask BANA or NLS to take a leadership 

role in developing standards for the production of linear braille. Every refreshable-braille

display has a long line of braille from the beginning of document to the end. It’s difficult 

to effectively translate material that’s in tabular form in a braille book into a format that 

can be understood in linear format. But it’s not impossible to develop an approach to 

that. How about two separate standards? One would be for more complex books that 

allows the conveyance of formatted information.

There is value in diagrams. They don’t need to be complex. For example, in The 

Armchair Guide to Cricket, diagrams very effectively explain positions and strategy.

Blind people’s ability to spell is becoming questionable. This is very visible in email. And it’s scary! It has a huge impact on the ability of these people to find and retain 

employment. Statistics uniformly suggest that braille reading and employment are 

directly related. A focus is needed on materials that enable blind individuals to see 

words related to current events, which will make them better spellers.

It is crucial to look beyond the present. Many books are being produced in various 

text formats that can be made easily accessible in braille. The audio collection is looking 

at pre-produced audiobooks. An agreement should be established with publishers who 

produce e-books to develop methods of direct translation that would significantly alter 

the costs, to the point that only “special” books be produced in hard copy.

NLS needs to develop and offer a braille display as part of its services. Over the 

next five years something will come along that will make that possible. The notion that 

hard-copy braille is anything more than a specialized format for those books that won’t 

work electronically must not be accepted.

Two-thirds to three-fourths of braille comes from non-NLS sources, and it’s available 

more quickly. Translators do a credible job of producing braille. Tear down the doors 

and windows and allow a hurricane of fresh air into the collection-development policy.

2.5 Panel 3: Braille Production

2.5.1 Speaker 1: John Bryant, Head, Production Control Section, NLS, 

Washington, D.C.

Mr. Bryant’s talk focused on NLS braille book and magazine production.

Mr. Bryant explained that the NLS mission is given by law: To provide free library 

service for U.S. citizens who cannot read print. To fulfill this mission NLS must keep its 

limitations in mind; limitations, however, are also opportunities. Here’s the box NLS

works in:
22

• Funding. Only so much money is available for production, but this amount has 

been very steady over the years. Sequestration is not affecting braille production 

as much as audio production. But the budget is flat. More is not coming in the 

current environment.

• Selection. Selection librarians are told how many braille books NLS can make in 

a given year. They are asked not to choose books that are more expensive to 

produce, so they have chosen very few with tactile graphics. These add a lot of 

cost, almost to the point that they are forbidden. Abstruse books fall into a 

separate category because of their expense.

• Number of readers served. Ten years ago NLS produced 600 titles at an 

average of 60 copies each. Five years ago those numbers were 500 and 50, and 

now they are 467 and 40. Readership is not demanding increased production.

• Technology. Duxbury was a wonderful thing when it came around. It kept costs

down. Advances today focus on distribution, not on production. Now NLS can 

distribute on the Web, but it doesn’t have a refreshable-braille display to 

distribute. Many NLS patrons are not online, and NLS must provide service to 

everyone. 

• Capacity. Each yearly solicitation is placed on the Web along with NLS 

specifications. Bids are received from the usual suspects. Sometimes 

newcomers submit, but their samples invariably do not pass quality-assurance 

testing. They can’t produce to NLS quality standards, so fewer books are 

produced because the capacity just isn’t there. Technology can help here.

NLS can change its requirements to mitigate some of this but not as much as people 

think. Though proud of its product quality, NLS recognizes the need to increase the 

speed of production. Management and staff want to leave here with the seeds of 

change to enable the provision of more service to more people in a more accessible 

manner.

2.5.2 Speaker 2: Beth Hirst, Supervisor, Library Materials Production, Iowa 

Library for the Blind, Des Moines, Iowa

The Iowa Library for the Blind has produced several hundred titles now available on the 

NLS BARD.

According to Ms. Hirst, the Iowa Library for the Blind has a small but mighty staff. The

staff includes a coordinator, a transcriber, and a production clerk, as well as a few

braille contractors and volunteers. Some are certified.

Significant changes have been made in the paradigm for collection management over 

the past several years. There are differences between hard-copy braille, digital braille, 

and braille-on-demand. The library once had the largest collection in the United States

but that’s no longer the case because of storage space. Older titles were stored off-site, 

but the state decided to tear down the building. The collection is being weeded, and the

mindset has changed from keeping any book to considering what needs to and can be 

kept. Some books have not been circulated in twenty-five years, and their pages are 
23

cracking and disintegrating, therefore unusable, and out-of-date material is thrown away.

All files produced since the beginning of the program, however, are being kept and can 

be copied on request. When the book is returned, it is put on the shelves, but for the 

most part hard copies are not being produced to put on the shelf before a book is 

requested.

The ideal set-up is a climate-controlled storage facility with more staff, more money, and 

higher-speed embossing. The staff is leery of changes associated with the Unified 

English Braille code. It will affect transcribers and proofreaders most.

2.5.3 Speaker 3: Betsy Beaumon, Vice President and General Manager, 

Benetech, Palo Alto, California

Ms. Beaumon spoke about the Benetech Literacy Program and using technology to 

make tactile accessibility faster and less expensive.

Ms. Beaumon explained that Bookshare, operated by Benetech, now has a quarter 

million users in forty countries, of which most are U.S. students. The collection has 

more than 197,000 books. It served 222,000 braille file (BRF) downloads in 2012, not 

counting periodicals.

Volunteers contribute lots of books, and many are now doing image descriptions. 

Benetech primarily scans materials in-house. It does take student requests and will add 

any book that is requested by a student, which is hard to do. Every single scanned book 

is proofread prior to processing and spot-proofed on the braille side. Book quality is 

reported for every book. Books are stored in DAISY format and pumped out in multiple 

formats, including BRF. Individual preferences are stored in their user profiles. They do 

not produce any hard-copy braille but work with transcribers who do. 

More than two hundred publishers directly give Benetech their books. These are the 

same digital distributors from which Amazon, Apple, and others receive materials. Once

a publisher is signed up, the materials are put through a digital quality check (for 

formatting), and then the books start flowing in. 

Over the next few months Benetech will engage in fixing a punch list of items. The 

process may never be perfect, but the staff is always making improvements. They have 

completed their first tests of the Unified English Braille code, which they will use in 

production.

Images and graphics are a huge expense issue which requires the tactile-graphics 

research working group to make a lot of decisions. Which graphics should be left out, 

just described, or fully produced? How can technology be used more so that experts 

can do the expert stuff? How can the crowd be leveraged? When is a tactile graphic 

required? How can they be produced more easily? How can changing technology

become be a part of the answer? How can the process be moved upstream? The group 

is working on a decision tree based on the BANA guidelines and is trying to automate 

that. 

Electronic files need to have the right attributes to become a good tactile graphic. 

National Braille Press conducted good evaluations of Scalable Vector Graphics

software. The promise of 3D printing is also being considered, as it is now a big 
24

commercial trend and becoming cheaper. The difference between raised 2D and actual 

3D is being examined, and 3D printing in schools is being considered.

The community can share tactile graphics by making use of shared image descriptions. 

For example, why describe a diagram of a heart more than once? Benetech is looking 

at ways to share metadata at a below-book level. It has a diagram content model, POET, 

that can help compose image descriptions faster and easier. It also supports converting 

math into MathML.

Another interesting new technology is haptics, which is the use of meaningful buzzing 

and other sound feedback. The goal is to produce smart images that react to touch.

Bookshare can’t keep up with three thousand books a month while adding accessibility 

after the fact. Publishers must publish accessible books in the first place. Benetech is

talking to partners about publishing accessible e-books. DAISY and NCAM have tools 

and standards to share with publishers. Materials must be produced that are born 

accessible.

2.5.4 Speaker 4: Tuck Tinsley, President, American Printing House for the 

Blind, Louisville, Kentucky

American Printing House (APH) is the largest braille-production house in the world.

Mr. Tinsley began his remarks with a brief history. The American Printing House (APH)

was founded in 1858 to produce tactile materials and textbooks. Small raised letters 

known as the Boston line were used first, then the Philadelphia line came along, and 

then these were combined. 

In 1879 Congress named APH the official source of embossed materials for 

schoolchildren. Even in 1900 very few books other than textbooks were available to 

blind individuals. APH used five different formats, and then more—multiple systems—all 

of which were finally replaced by Standard English Braille, adopted in 1932. Meanwhile, 

in 1931, the Pratt-Smoot Act established NLS. APH did fifteen titles in the first year.

APH usually underwrites the NLS book program, as it cannot break even on it.

Braille materials form 10 percent of APH sales. Zinc plates are by far the best quality 

way to produce braille materials, but thermography and other technologies are also 

used. APH produced eighteen million pages of braille last year. It also does covers and 

five types of bindings: stitch, plastic spiral, plastic fingers, metal rings, and flexispiral 

(the most expensive). APH also produced 1,100 exams, 90 percent of them in braille.

The company employs fifteen literary transcribers, three Nemeth, eight textbook formats, 

and so on. They do not have music transcribers. Still, the volume of the work requires 

outsourcing. APH has worked with 1,343 literary transcribers and many others. Much 

has yet to be achieved to have access equal to the sighted population.

Graphics are by far the biggest challenge. The Department of Education is discussing 

the ramifications for educational materials as textbooks are becoming extremely visual, 

which makes the braille conversion that much harder.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) texts are very timeconsuming. Literary books are easy unless they have graphics. Six math books are 
25

awaiting transcribers. As an example, a pre-calculus textbook of 1,098 pages required

6,500 braille pages and 1,500 graphics—58 volumes in all. It cost $35,000 to produce 

but retails for only $1,400. What’s the solution? A dream device, like an iPad with a 

polymer skin that could display a full page of braille and tactile graphics simultaneously

would meet the need.

2.6 Panel 4: Braille Technology

2.6.1 Speaker 1: Curtis Chong, Technology Specialist, New Mexico 

Commission for the Blind, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Mr. Chong noted that his presentation notes were on hard-copy braille. 

Mr. Chong’s experience with braille dates back to the 1970s when he converted a 

printer to produce braille. After noting that the first contact that people have with braille 

is on paper, he discussed braille technology.

The high cost of technology has led to a general acceptance of the idea that one line of 

braille on a braille display device is okay. A multi-line display, however, would be more 

useful. Imagine the difficulty in learning subtraction on a single line of braille and trying 

to understand how the numbers line up.

In addition, braille embossers, which start at $1,500, are also too expensive for most 

braille readers. Inexpensive multi-line braille displays would provide a viable alternative. 

Piezoelectricity is popular as a technology for refreshable braille because it’s quiet and 

fast. Any new display technology needs to meet this bar. It also should be modular. 

Mixing graphics and text is a problem: spaces between cells hurt graphics. A uniform 

matrix is needed. What about mathematical problems? For hard copy, is punching a dot 

through paper better? Is there a quicker, cheaper method? For some characteristics the 

slate and stylus are hard to beat. A rugged, portable, reliable, and cheap device is 

needed.

In the very distant future: Can the brain be fooled into thinking you’re feeling dots or 

raised images? Could a smooth surface with the capability of rising and falling be 

produced? The options for innovation and creativity are immense.

2.6.2 Speaker 2: Jim Denham, Director of Education Technology, Perkins 

School for the Blind, Watertown, Massachusetts

Mr. Denham works with teachers and students to make sure they have the technology 

they need. A braille user, he prefers refreshable-braille displays, especially when giving 

speeches. Refreshable braille is also easier to produce.

Mr. Denham described how students on and off campus use braille in a wide variety of 

ways, from early learners just learning to read a book and onward. Braille embossers 

are available on campus, some networked, for student use. Teachers can send 

documents to an embosser down the hall to produce hard-copy braille. Some students 

use PDAs to take notes during classes or labs. Some parents claim their kids don’t 

need to learn braille. Those same students later find they can’t do some things with 

synthetic speech (for example, editing a document) and find it is much easier using 
26

refreshable braille. Such moments where students learn and embrace braille literacy are 

the high points of his career. More and more students are learning braille at Perkins 

every day. It’s a major part of life.

What will a student fifteen years from now be like? How will a child born today interact 

with braille when in high school? He will be able to get a new version of a textbook just 

by downloading it to a portable device. He will open a full page or multi-line display on a 

device that costs less than $1,000, including graphs and equations. He will participate

right alongside his sighted peers. Then he will drive away in his driverless car, with a 

tactile GPS inside so he can look at a map of the area—but only if we continue to stress 

the importance of braille.

Even in the past six years things have changed dramatically. iPads are a big factor. 

They support refreshable-braille displays. The fact that Google and Apple include builtin screen readers with braille support indicates how strongly they understand the 

importance of braille. Amazon’s new Kindle app opened up a whole new world of braille

books.

Paper braille will never go away, but the ability to get materials quickly in refreshable 

braille is so important. Students need to be empowered to embrace a future with braille.

2.6.3 Speaker 3: Brian MacDonald, President, National Braille Press, 

Boston, Massachusetts

Mr. MacDonald explained that the National Braille Press (NBP) produces braille books 

for NLS and many of their own publications. Technical books have been very popular, 

as well as texts for the education market.

Four and a half years ago NBP founded the Center for Braille Innovation (CBI), 

described as “a hub for imaginative new ideas, inventive tools, and professional 

expertise.” The initial objective was to develop a lower-cost refreshable-braille display. 

Apps and games were added to encourage blind students to practice braille on their 

own time. The first call for support was to Dean Blazie, a pioneer in refreshable braille.

He has volunteered his time for the past four years and has recruited people to CBI. 

The Holy Grail was a full-page display. After six months of meeting with people around 

the world, the team found that not much had changed in the last twenty-five years, but 

that lots of promising technology is on the horizon, including electroactive polymers, 

belts and wheels, fluids, pneumatics, skin deformation, and other innovations. So they

decided to back off on the full-page display and started working on a new note-taker—a 

twenty-cell, Android-driven computer, the b2g (Braille-2-Go), which is planned for 

release in the near future for a lot less money than current displays.

Two and a half years ago NBP met with Dean Blazie, Tuck Tinsley, Marc Maurer, and

others to figure out the future of braille tech. Mike Romeo had an idea that was never 

implemented: to make a lower-cost actuator of a braille dot. Last July at the NFB 

conference private demos of a five-row by forty-cell display were held. It was still a bit 

slow and a bit noisy but received great reactions, prompting further action. Devices 

have a shelf-life. Some are intermediate solutions. 
27

The common core is going all digital. The ACT test in 2015 will be all digital with the 

SAT to follow. Still one state isn’t doing any testing in braille—it is still giving tests on 

screen readers. NBP will seek to prevent that.

So now a second-generation tool is in progress: A five-row by forty-cell braille 

component with a twenty-row by forty-cell graphic display. It uses nitinol, a nickeltitanium, shape-memory alloy. Electric current causes it to shrink, and then it keeps its 

shape. It is durable and low cost.

New materials are emerging all the time. For example, a quantum physicist in Japan at 

the University of Tokyo was working on a robot skin but realized the material could be 

used to actuate braille dots.

Haptics is being used primarily for gaming (vibrating and nonvibrating). IBM thinks touch 

is one of the five technologies that will change the world. At the Google I/O conference 

a touch product was demonstrated with a six-string guitar simulation that allowed the 

vibrations and the strings to be felt! It can do a resolution smaller than a braille dot. If 

these haptic designs can be put into a mainstream tablet, a universal design can be 

produced that brings the cost down for everyone.

2.6.4 Speaker 4: John Freese, Design Director, Product Development 

Technologies, Newton, Massachusetts

Mr. Freese is a mechanical-design engineer for Product Development Technologies, a 

consulting firm specializing in developing rugged mobile electronics.

For the past three years, Mr. Freese has been working with Perkins and the 

Transforming Braille Group. Improvements to the refreshable-braille display have been 

constrained for the past thirty years for a number of reasons. 

Aside from the fact that the current piezoelectric dots perform really well, the following 

critical factors must be considered:

• Cost. Everybody wants to lower it.

• Size. The biggest issue. Haptic QWERTY keyboards are emerging, but these are 

fifty times larger than a braille dot. Braille dots are very small, so it needs to be

scaled down, but it’s too big a leap right now. The smallest tactile switches and 

keys are five times the size of the braille dot. Tiny mechanisms are expensive.

• Power consumption and portability. The successful technology needs to be 

low-power, portable, and cool and can’t include a heavy battery or require a main 

outlet.

• Reading speed. Piezo can react very quickly. Maximizing speed requires power, 

higher temperatures, and increased noise. All are too sensitive to noise,

especially when it comes to reading in a group.

• Reliability. Piezo requires a lot of care and maintenance but can provide millions

of cycles when kept in good condition. Most other technologies cannot meet that 

bar.

• Development costs and low production volumes. These can keep new 

concepts from getting to production. It takes lots of up-front capital to develop
28

new technologies. Refreshable-braille displays are still too much of a niche 

product to have a big payoff when released, so a solution is needed that rides on 

the coattails of other advancements. But most advances can’t be applied to 

something as tiny as a braille dot.

But everything else has improved since the piezo braille dot was invented. Why not 

braille-cell technology? Compare it to all of these other advances. Take, for example, 

iOS devices like the iPod touch. It’s got no moving parts, which is a huge advantage in 

all of the areas we have talked about. With no moving parts there is less to break. It 

operates on very low power (and so less heat), with no noise, and it’s made in massive 

volume. A refreshable-braille display still has to move dots around.

The reality of product development is that most products fail to catch on and are 

forgotten. All of the many well-meaning efforts need to be remembered, built on, and 

learned from. Some ideas have been tried and failed repeatedly.

So now what? What can be expected in future developments? There are three likely 

paths:

1. Cost reductions in products that use existing piezo cells. Push lower cost in 

other components and use fewer cells to lower overall price. Piezo costs will only 

come down with competition from other types of cells.

2. Novel use of existing materials and new mechanisms. These will tend to be 

complex workarounds. They are prone to compare badly to piezo in some areas, 

but may be overall acceptable as long as users understand the trade-offs. The 

focus here should be on multi-line or full-page displays.

3. Those based on new materials science: electronically controlled polymer 

actuators. Electroactive polymers (EAPs) have been around for a while now. 

Some are getting closer to market. That’s because of demand for high-volume 

mobile haptic devices. These will have patent protection and still cost quite a bit. 

But prices will come down if they are produced in large volume by major 

manufacturers like Apple.

In the longer run something else could be developed that doesn’t fit into these three 

general categories but still promotes braille literacy.

Could the braille code be used in new ways that are not dependent on tiny dots on 

paper? Is there any way to move to solid-state components? Could a large braille cell 

with existing haptics felt by the palm be used, or even built into a glove that responds as 

you point to letters on a screen? 

2.7 Panel 5: Braille Literacy and Promotion

2.7.1 Speaker 1: Kim Charlson, Director, Perkins Library, Watertown, 

Massachusetts

Ms. Charlson began by asking, “In what ways can libraries promote braille literacy?”

Public libraries do a lot of promotion, and thus present a lot of lessons to glean from.

Two aspects of braille promotion should be considered: braille to the public and braille 
29

to blind individuals. Perkins has held reading events to promote braille for the public as 

well as blind readers. 

Many blind people in this country don’t think that braille is important. Strategies are 

needed to reach them with the message of braille’s role in increasing literacy. One

method is a campaign featuring successful braille readers.

Perkins also promotes via Braille Literacy Month, coming up in January. Readers are 

then encouraged to participate in mainstream reading events using braille books, like 

charity events, read-a-thons, and other events. For example, the staff took the braille 

version of Shelter Island to an author signing for the One Fund Boston featuring Dennis 

Lehane, and he was fascinated. They were able to take advantage of photo ops.

Another thing that’s useful is to have all business cards use braille—including

government officials, supervisors, and anyone else.

Serving the needs of the youngest braille reader is a concern. NLS provides great 

print/braille books, but they don’t always address the literacy needs of the youngest 

reader. How might your collections be able to add appropriate titles for the youngest 

readers? What issues surround contracted and uncontracted braille for the youngest 

readers? Try to add tactile books to the collections—kids absolutely love these. Obtain 

pre-braille readiness materials and promote pre-reading, especially with parents. 

Address family literacy. Getting parents reading to children is key for all populations.

One dilemma is that early literacy materials are somewhat expensive (especially tactile 

materials). A toy-lending library is a possible option for promoting braille. Add tactile 

toys to your collection. Perhaps friends groups can assist with this effort.

What about for older braille readers? How much instruction can we support for older 

readers and blind adults?

Regarding instructional activities, librarians should collaborate with private and public 

rehabilitation agencies and consumer organizations, because they have instructional 

talent and expertise that libraries may not have available. Add high-interest/lowvocabulary braille materials for the older adult blind. Encourage libraries that are 

producing in audio to also produce in braille. Encourage teachers of the visually 

impaired to utilize the braille library’s services and to sign up their students.

The community must work together to keep braille relevant. Its relevance is pivotal to its 

promotion among blind people. The importance of braille is evident in public signage 

and on elevator controls, which emphasize braille’s role. In addition, some braille 

advocacy will be seen on packaging, especially over-the-counter pharmaceutical

products and some grocery products. Europe is way ahead in that area.

The print concept of “wild text” should be taken to heart. That’s the idea of “print 

everywhere.” So why not “wild braille”? Start putting it everywhere, so kids start to feel it 

everywhere. Read Label It! by Judy Dixon to learn how to label the world.

Perkins does some specific things: 

• For several years the staff has had an alphabetical list of all the contractions 

produced in uncontracted braille, which is sent to those needing to brush up.
30

• Perkins has a braille mentorship program that matches readers to help others 

learning braille.

• The staff circulates playing cards (donated used from a casino) labeled by middle 

school and high school kids with a slate and stylus.

• Perkins operates a brailler loan program and a brailler repair program for 

individuals.

• The staff distributes a braille-awareness packet in print. It’s good for kids doing 

biographies of Louis Braille.

• And it has a braille-awareness kit. It's a suitcase full of braille-related items, such 

as a bingo game, timers, books, toys, and other objects.

What can NLS do to help libraries promote braille? They should:

• Investigate the development of a braille curriculum.

• Help by preparing articles to promote braille—about readers, technology, etc.—

for libraries to use in newsletters.

• Promote transcribers and proofreader programs.

• Create software to label cartridges and containers.

• Do more promotion of braille music. 

What has been emphasized here is the need to be braille evangelists. Braille needs to 

be promoted and marketed. Let’s develop a campaign and get braille off life support!

2.7.2 Speaker 2: Diane Wormsley, Ph.D., Professor of Special Education in 

Visual Impairment, North Carolina Central University, Durham, North 

Carolina

Dr. Wormsley’s comments focused on braille and children.

Dr. Wormsley emphasized that braille must be talked about in a more positive way.

Some teachers will say “I’m afraid we’ve got to bite the bullet and teach him braille.” 

Nobody says that about print! There’s simply an assumption that a child will learn to 

read print. Braille must be thought of in the same way.

One of the most important steps in this journey is to set up a literacy environment that

will promote reading. Educators know how to teach reading but need to make some 

modifications for braille readers. Don’t leave anything out just because it’s braille.

Sighted kids are shown things, not told: “Look at the print!” But with braille readers, the 

braille is overemphasized and made a big deal of. Too much focus is placed on the 

medium and not the message. So what should be in a literacy environment for children? 

What is it that makes a good environment for young kids?

Interest in and curiosity about written language must be fostered. It’s different from 

spoken language, and kids need exposure to it. Kids’ efforts to become readers and 

writers must be supported. Sixty percent of visually impaired kids are multiplehandicapped. So the expectations for these kids becoming readers must be kept high. 
31

It’s up to the teachers, parents, and other significant persons with a high regard for 

reading to help make early readers thrive. 

Braille must be ubiquitous. Learning to read is strongly associated with positive learning 

environments. Easy reading materials in the home and visits to libraries will support this. 

They must read everything in their environment. Four factors important to producing 

readers are associated with the home. They are as follows.

1. Access to print (braille) and books, including writing materials

2. Adult demonstrations of literacy behavior; that is, parents as role models 

3. Supportive adults

4. Storybook readings

A lot needs to happen for this to become a reality. 

• The first issue to deal with is teaching braille. It must be assumed that kids will 

learn it. This shouldn’t be a question. Make the determination early on. Err on the 

side of kids becoming braille readers. Put braille in their environments.

• Teach braille early. Ordinary parents are scared of braille—it’s an admission of a

problem. Help them to get over it. It would be great if part of the elementary 

school curriculum was learning the braille alphabet.

• Set up a braille-rich environment using labels and extend the invitation to explore 

the environment. Get fingers on braille. This is not the same as looking at print—

a child needs to read these labels over and over.

• Model the uses of reading and writing, including iPads, with preschoolers. Have 

books in print and braille. Create meaningful storybooks for kids based upon their 

own experiences. Reading has to be a meaningful activity.

In addition, promote the spoken language by making conversation, acknowledging kids’ 

comments, and asking questions that require more than yes or no answers. Give 

explanations. Expand kids’ vocabulary. Read nursery rhymes. The five essentials are

talking, singing, playing, reading, and writing.

Literate classrooms must be created in the same way. Involve braille-reading kids in all 

literacy-creating activities.

Challenges

Parents must understand what’s needed for their kids, and teachers—preschool through 

secondary school—must understand literacy.

Think about reading. No one talks about pre-reading or reading readiness. Instead they 

talk about building literacy skills. Kids must not think they need to do one thing before 

they can do another. Roadblocks must not be put in their way.

It’s conceivable that a child could get to school without having been exposed to braille.

The earlier it’s taught as the reading medium the faster the reading speed. When they 

have to wait until third or fourth grade, the reading rates are slower, and if they wait 

longer, it takes even more time for them to achieve fluency.
32

The ABC braille study (funded by APH and Canadian Literacy Foundation) looked at 

contracted and uncontracted braille. It looked at two groups divided based on how 

teachers said kids had started reading braille—with contracted or uncontracted braille—

and found that out that this isn’t the main issue. Reading with contractions, however,

was related to higher braille reading achievement. The study suggests starting with 

contracted braille right from the beginning unless a child has special circumstances.

For kids with additional disabilities, introduce whole words right from the beginning. 

Letters are more abstract. Start with contractions so kids learn the whole word. Also, 

spelling errors are not related to contractions. Reading achievement positively related to 

the number of contractions learned. No correlation was found with reading ability.

Isolation can distract from the process of learning to read and write. Reading is more 

than just the letters. It’s the meaning derived from it. What one brings to the reading 

process determines what one takes away.

2.7.3 Speaker 3: Lenore Dillon, Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist, 

Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services, Montgomery, Alabama

Ms. Dillon’s comments focused on braille and adult learners.

Ms. Dillon noted that adult learners face many of the same concerns as children.

Everyone must be aware of the importance of braille to literacy, especially the following:

• Medical professionals. Many don’t have a lot of knowledge about braille and 

think of it as the last resort. They see learning braille as a negative. Some 

rehabilitation facilities tell people they don’t need to learn it. They say, “It’s not a 

tool for today.”

• Educators. Vision rehabilitation therapists and teachers of the visually impaired 

need to understand the urgency of braille and the independence it brings people. 

It can be challenging, but we need to get through those challenges. Adults can 

learn braille well. 

• Those who influence public opinion. Stand-up comics, for example! We’ve all 

heard the braille-on-the-ATM joke. Sometimes people take comedians seriously. 

If everyone were educated about braille, it would be easier to approach adults about 

their learning it when they need to.

Kids encounter a more positive attitude about learning braille. They are more willing to 

try things than adults, who wonder what’s in it for them. Adults want immediate 

gratification. They want to see immediate results of their study. They often quit if they 

don’t immediately succeed. To teach them, braille must be made interesting; boring 

repetition of simple words doesn’t cut it. Incorporate applicable information immediately, 

such as signage, labels, and numbers. This helps adults see the value in learning it right 

away.

Prepare for two groups of adult learners: the “vocational crowd,” who have been 

adventitiously blinded, and the over-55 macular degeneration crowd, most of whom 

have some usable vision. The first group is going to go out and work, either in continued

employment or even in new employment. They will have a far greater vocational 
33

opportunity if they are braille readers. Ms. Dillon said her organization is seeking to do 

learning medium assessments with adults, as it had with children, and expects to find 

more braille readers. 

The second group, the macular degeneration crowd, might not be reading a lot of braille 

books but should be introduced to “survival braille.” The final goal would be learning 

uncontracted braille, but better still if it goes on to contracted. The first thing to teach is 

numbers, then signage, etc. It’s certainly healthier to touch the braille than to stick their 

faces up to the elevator buttons.

Librarians and vision rehabilitation therapists should work together, which helps both 

consumers and future braille readers.

2.7.4 Speaker 4: Frances Mary D’Andrea, Chair, Braille Authority of North 

America (BANA), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Ms. D’Andrea’s comments focused on the adoption of the Unified English Braille (UEB) 

code.

Ms. D’Andrea outlined the purpose of the Braille Authority of North America (BANA)—to 

promote and facilitate the uses, teaching, and production of braille. It now has

seventeen member organizations, including NLS, the American Council of the Blind, the 

National Federation of the Blind, the American Foundation for the Blind, the National 

Braille Press, the Canadian National Institute of the Blind, Blind Industries, Associated 

Services for the Blind, the National Braille Association, the Council of Schools for the 

Blind, and the Hadley School. One representative from each serves on the board. The 

board includes transcribers, producers, educators, and readers.

BANA also has eighteen active committees of volunteers—readers, transcribers, and 

educators—working on guidelines and rules to ensure that braille properly represents 

reading materials for education, leisure, and work. 

It is because of BANA’s commitment to the future of braille that Unified English Braille

(UEB) code was conceived more than twenty years ago. It was initiated in the United 

States by readers who were concerned that the number of codes and numerous 

symbols were becoming a hindrance to literacy. It became more difficult to add new 

symbols that were needed and to represent print exactly. Students had trouble backtranslating so they could turn in work. Exceptions to rules were making transcription less 

accurate.

In the early 1990s UEB became an international effort. Readers from seven countries

developed the code. In 2004 UEB was judged to be sufficiently complete by the 

International Council on English Braille (ICEB). Individual countries then had the 

opportunity to adopt the code.

The United States is monitoring the adoption and discussing implementation with those 

countries that have already done so. The success stories about the increased interest 

and vitality UEB brought to reading led to the United States adopting UEB in November 

2012, along with Nemeth, Music, and IPA. BANA immediately started planning the 

transition, looking at immediate needs, intermediate objectives, and long-term goals.
34

Many devices are already UEB-ready, including PDAs and refreshable-braille displays. 

iOS can also handle the new code. 

UEB contains fewer exceptions. It is based on current literary codes, so existing readers 

will find it quite readable. New readers will be able to read old books. Some other 

countries have simply switched production and circulate the old code alongside the new.

There are no formatting requirements in the standard. These decisions are left up to 

individual countries. So that is one area that doesn’t need to change from current 

practice.

A successful transition in the United States will take some time and require coordination 

and preparation. The timeline will take into consideration various aspects of using,

learning, teaching, and producing braille. Still, many issues must be explored and 

decisions made in order to ensure a smooth transition and implementation. Preliminary

discussions are underway with NLS regarding certification issues and the training of 

new transcribers. NLS is relied on to continue its role in developing and providing 

training and certification materials.

BANA is also developing materials. It has developed a ten-page overview of UEB and 

other materials in the past few months. It is presenting at sessions, hosting 

opportunities to gather input and ideas from users and communities such as materials 

centers, prison programs, and state departments of education.

The most complete source of information is the BANA web site, www.brailleauthority.org.

Sample documents in BRF and PDF can be found there. Tutorials, resources, and the 

UEB rule book are all also available there. The information is updated periodically, so 

please check back often. This is an exciting time for braille in the United States and 

around the world. Everyone’s participation and enthusiasm is invited. Those who have 

questions can post them on an online form.

3 Results of breakout sessions

During each topical breakout session, which followed the panel discussions, the entire 

assembly was broken into four randomly selected, pre-assigned groups. Structured 

conversations in each group resulted in a set of ideas that were then prioritized by vote. 

The top five ideas from each group were presented in the final plenary session.

3.1 Recommendations for NLS

The following is an amalgamation of the top five recommendations for NLS distilled from

the breakout sessions on multiple topics. A summary of each topic of the major ideas 

supporting the concept is presented below followed by the list of contributing groups.

See Appendix A for a more detailed presentation of themes and comments.

3.1.1 NLS should provide refreshable-braille displays at no cost to patrons 

or help make them more easily affordable.

Participants from multiple groups expressed a need for NLS to produce and distribute a 

low-cost, good-quality braille display with at least forty cells and a number of rows. It 

should have adjustable-size dots with the capacity to translate to contracted and/or 

uncontracted braille, and should have Internet capabilities and a built-in dictionary. 
35

(Literacy, group 1; Literacy, group 2; Production, group 1; Production, group 2; 

Production, group 3; Production, group 4; Readers, group 1; Selection, group 1; 

Selection, group 3; Selection, group 4; Technology, group 1; Technology, group 3; 

Technology, group 4)

3.1.2 NLS should vary the quality and/or publication medium of its books,

depending on their use and expected shelf life.

Participants recommended that NLS mitigate its policy of requiring libraries have a hard 

copy for every book in the collection and that it develop criteria for determining 

producing hard copy vs. soft copy. They also suggested that NLS relax standards and 

specifications for production without compromising quality. NLS should adopt varying 

levels of quality depending on the material and require proofreading as appropriate for 

audience and text. NLS should throw away output for popular items like paperbacks and 

use Jiffy-Braille/Cheetah. (Production, group 1; Production, group 2; Production, group 

3; Production, group 4; Selection, group 1; Selection, group 3)

3.1.3 NLS must work with publishers to acquire source texts.

Participants recommended that NLS work with mainstream publishers to acquire e-pub 

and file access for transcription and/or make available braille copies from publishers

without limits when a book is released in print. It should also establish a standard by 

which to transform print book files to braille instantly and ensure that specifications for 

braille book production are aligned with mainstream publishing formats, leading to 

greater availability of books/materials. (Literacy, group 2; Production, group 2; 

Production, group 3; Production, group 4; Selection, group 1; Selection, group 2; 

Selection, group 4; Technology, group 3)

3.1.4 NLS should expand the use of tactile graphics in its books.

Participants recognized that access to images in hard-copy braille is difficult and more 

costly to produce and nonexistent in electronic braille. They suggested that NLS should 

produce more books with pictures, picture descriptions, tactile graphics, maps, and 

tabular materials. NLS should explore the use of 3D printing in braille production and 

explore ways to make tactile graphics and braille more available through capacity 

sharing. More books related to math, including tactile counting books, should be 

included in the NLS collection. (Literacy, group 4; Readers, group 2; Selection, group 1;

Selection, group 2; Selection, group 4; Technology, group 1; Technology, group 4)

3.1.5 NLS should support efforts to update braille technology, 

specifications, and methods for selection, production, and distribution, 

including production on demand.

Participants recognized that technology is limited. They recommended NLS automate 

title selection (e.g., based on bestseller list) and develop an infrastructure to support ondemand production. They suggested NLS consider adopting a model that uses one file 

to make multiple formats—braille and audio; leverage the advantages of DAISY 

structure with contracted braille content (“DAISY braille”); investigate haptic (touch) 

displays that go beyond dots on paper or current refreshable-braille technology; and 

sponsor an innovative technology competition. They suggested that devices should use 
36

the mobile network to send and receive information, with NLS funding users’ 

connectivity (like E-Rate). They would like to see better navigation capability in BARD 

(Web-Braille) books, DAISY with braille and speech in combination, and multi-format 

file-delivery capability: different size dots, contracted and uncontracted braille. They 

suggested that NLS develop software that is smart enough to take any electronically 

published material and put it into properly formatted and encoded braille and establish a 

standard to transform print book files to braille instantly. NLS should also develop a 

specification for braille book production to be aligned with mainstream publishing 

formats, leading to greater availability of books and materials. (Literacy, group 2; 

Production, group 1; Production, group 2; Production, group 3; Readers, group 4; 

Selection, group 3; Technology, group 1; Technology, group 2; Technology, group 3)

3.2. Challenges for stakeholders and leaders of the broader 

community

The following is an amalgamation of general issues distilled from the breakout sessions 

that attendees felt that the community serving braille readers must address. The groups 

from which these ideas were gathered are identified in parentheses at the end of each 

note.

3.2.1 Address the deficiencies in braille learning resources (teachers and 

material).

Participants noted that the insufficient numbers of braille teachers and inadequate 

quality of training contribute to the lack of effective instruction and low numbers of braille 

readers. Recommendations for overcoming this issue included partnering with 

organizations to rigorously understand why only 10 percent of blind individuals learn to 

read braille, recruiting braille teachers, and improving staff and volunteer training to use 

available existing technologies. They also called for developing braille learning materials

and making more braille instructional material, such as learning basic braille, available 

in the public domain. A braille literacy kit was suggested as a way to help potential 

readers get started. The participants suggested creating a learning device, similar to 

Leapfrog, for young children to learn braille and training transcribers in and promoting 

braille music code. (Literacy, group 2; Literacy, group 3; Literacy, group 4; Readers, 

group 2; Readers, group 3; Readers, group 4; Selection, group 2; Technology, group 3; 

Technology, group 4) 

3.2.2 Improve the image of braille in mainstream life.

Participants noted that a lack of knowledge about braille exists in the mainstream. The 

general misperception is that braille is only for totally blind people. The community must 

take a proactive role in encouraging all companies and organizations to provide 

materials in braille. To overcome this issue, a national public relations/marketing 

campaign must be mounted to demonstrate the importance of braille literacy in daily life. 

NLS network libraries could offer Braille 101 to the general public. Government 
37

agencies should be encouraged to have braille added to all consumer packages.

(Literacy, group 1; Literacy, group 4; Readers, group 1; Readers, group 2)

3.2.3 All practical aspects of braille are hurt by high costs.

Participants opined that there is not enough money in the braille ecosystem and that the 

cost of producing braille materials is high. In addition, devices for reading braille are 

expensive. As a result, low-cost options are causing braille to be marginalized in favor 

of audio. One group proposed that one cent for every book sold should go to NLS to 

help mitigate the cost of braille production. (Readers, group 2; Readers, group 3; 

Readers, group 4; Production, group 4)

3.3 Individual breakout sessions

The following items represent the recommendations of the conference participants that 

appeared most often across all the groups during a given topical breakout session. In 

many cases the same idea was expressed slightly differently. The wording here 

attempts to reconcile these variations into a single representative thought. The raw data 

from which these items were collated appears in Appendix A.

3.3.1 Panel 1: Braille Readers

Breakout session goal: To identify factors, both positive and negative, that currently

impact the usability and availability of braille by people who are blind.

1. A lack of effective instruction has resulted from a limited number of qualified 

teachers.

2. Devices for reading and writing are expensive or inconvenient. A low-cost, goodquality braille display with at least forty cells is needed.

3. There is a lack of available transcribers.

4. Misperceptions about braille, including that it is intended for totally blind people, 

prevail.

5. Cost of production causes braille to be marginalized in favor of audio.

6. More braille instructional material is needed in public domain.

7. Access to images in hard-copy braille is difficult, because they are more costly to 

produce, and is nonexistent in electronic braille.

3.3.2 Panel 2: Braille Selection

Breakout session goal: To identify factors that could be changed to improve the 

effectiveness of braille title selection.

1. Make available braille copy from publisher without limits when a book is released 

in print.

2. Provide cost-effective braille displays with Internet capability, making it easier for 

those without computers to access braille content.

3. Select material based on mainstream popularity. Drop library model and produce 

material that is peer-normative.

4. Mitigate policy of requiring hard copy for every book in the collection.

5. Produce more books with pictures, picture descriptions, and tactile graphics.

6. Provide instruction books on learning braille.
38

7. Develop braille learning materials and age-appropriate materials for late adopters.

8. Develop an infrastructure to support on-demand production.

3.3.3 Panel 3: Braille Production

Break-out session goal: To determine how NLS can produce braille that is more flexible, 

affordable, and practical.

1. Need a portable refreshable-braille device that is capable of displaying grades 1 

and 2 (uncontracted and contracted) braille with translation in the device and a 

built-in dictionary.

2. Recommend that NLS sponsor an innovative technology competition for 

refreshable braille technology.

3. Adopt varying levels of quality depending on the material.

4. Engineer affordable low-cost full-page braille display with graphics capability.

5. Create a system that will enable braille production on demand.

6. Work with mainstream publishers for e-pub or source file access.

7. Recommend community take a proactive role in encouraging all companies and 

organizations to provide materials in braille.

8. Recommend NLS receive one cent for every book sold.

9. Develop a universal design.

10.Work with mainstream manufacturers to incorporate braille.

3.3.4 Panel 4: Braille Technology

Breakout session goal: To determine how the braille services of NLS and its network of 

libraries can be improved by new uses of technology.

1. Develop an inexpensive, quick, durable, and easy-to-use refreshable-braille 

display for patrons with built-in dictionary and capacity to translate 

contracted/uncontracted braille

2. Provide one device for patrons to handle audio and braille and receive materials 

via the cloud, with NLS funding mobile connectivity.

3. Leverage the advantages of DAISY structure with contracted braille content 

(DAISY braille).

4. Develop software that can take any electronically published material and put it 

into properly formatted and encoded braille. 

5. Align specifications for braille production with mainstream publishing formats.

6. Explore ways to make tactile graphics and braille more available through 

capacity sharing.

7. Explore the use of 3D printing in braille production.

8. Develop multi-format file (contracted and uncontracted braille) delivery capability.

9. Develop a device for young children to learn braille (like Leapfrog).

3.3.5 Panel 5: Braille Literacy and Promotion

Breakout session goal: To determine how NLS and its network of libraries can impact 

the future of braille.
39

1. Recommend that NLS launch a “braille is cool” or “got braille” marketing 

campaign, partnering with celebrities and YA authors to promote braille, 

demonstrating the importance of braille literacy in daily life.

2. Help bring low-cost refreshable-braille technology to market.

3. Develop accurate and positive statistics with all stakeholders about braille literacy 

(children and adults).

4. Develop a braille-literacy kit to help potential readers get started. 

5. Develop practical guides for “survival braille.”

6. Recommend that NLS be the government printing house for braille.

7. Work with government agencies to have braille added to all consumer packages.

8. Encourage NLS libraries to involve their patrons in community library programs to 

model braille literacy.

9. Recommend that all libraries dust off image and reinvent themselves as modern 

information-access centers and become more electronic.

Appendix A: Raw Data

This appendix includes a complete list of all the comments made during the facilitated 

breakout discussions, collated into thematic clusters. Letter codes indicate the breakout 

session from which the comment was collected, as follows:

B: Braille readers (panel 1)

S: Braille selection (panel 2)

P: Braille production (panel 3)

T: Braille technology (panel 4)

L: Braille literacy and promotion (panel 5)

(Numeric notations are provided for administrative reference.)

Attitudes about Braille by the General Public

B102. The process or continuum of going blind; what do people need? Fear.

B103. The image of braille; can be positive or negative. There needs to be real outreach 

before rehab. Misconceptions.

B106. Lack of knowledge about braille in the mainstream

B120. The obscurity factor; difficult for the sighted to understand how blind people read 

braille

B121. Need to admit to the fact you are losing vision and need to learn braille, 

especially among aging

B122. Employers need to understand differences between print and braille

B125. Why doesn’t one device fit all? Isn't speech sufficient? Funding, stigma, etc.

B132. Employers who question need for braille technology 

B134. Belief that it's harder for child to learn braille compared to print 
40

B205. Misperception that braille is only for totally blind people

B323. Generational change, which will change nature of learning

B328. Stigmas against learning braille especially in vision change

B348. Professionals working with blind people not aware of positives of braille

B407. Stigma of braille

Braille Display

B112. Need low-cost, good quality braille display with at least forty cells

B126. What does “low cost” really mean?

B129. Refresh rate of braille displays; pairing via Bluetooth can lead to sluggish refresh

B222. Inexpensive multi-line braille-display device

B313. There is perceived risk in abandoning methods that have worked in the past

B325. Web-Braille is fine if you have computer and refreshable braille but expensive

B335. Tremendous amount of material available for refreshable-braille displays

B346. Sacrifice of formatting issues from not having full-page braille display

B347. Refreshable multi-linear displays not available

L109. Help bring low-cost refreshable-braille technology to market

L207. Put braille display in home of every person who wants to learn braille

L324. Free or affordable refreshable-braille displays with dictionary

P103. Need a portable refreshable-braille device capable of displaying grades, with 

translation in the device and a built-in dictionary

P104. Mobile, tactile display that could render both text and graphics

P111. Investigate haptic (touch) displays that go beyond dots on paper or current 

refreshable-braille technology 

P206. Engineer affordable low-cost braille display

P209. Engineer affordable low-cost full-page braille display with graphics capability

P213. Provide Internet access to support book download for braille displays

P220. Braille displays provided to public libraries for availability to public

P301. Produce refreshable-braille display free for NLS patrons

P407. Flexible one-page braille display

P414. Use more Web-Braille by using older displays

P418. Use current digital player to download books and connect to Bluetooth display 

P421. Provide refreshable displays for all

P423. Mainstream national contest for refreshable display
41

S114. Have NLS provide braille devices with Internet capabilities 

S236. Refreshable-braille display device with built-in dictionary should be available to 

all patrons on request

S321. Provide cost-effective braille display

S414. Make it as easy as possible for those without computers to get refreshable braille

S425. Refreshable-braille display device (affordable)

T105. Develop new NLS player that includes braille display. Should have multiple 

connectivity options/“braille media center.”

T112. NLS develops a braille display that can function as an accessory to the DTB 

player 

T205. Braille display to notify patron of arrival of new magazines

T206. Provide WiFi capabilities to connect to braille display

T212. Customizable braille output in device

T303. Provide multi-modal device for users (audio and braille)

T305. Less expensive, quicker, durable and easy-to-use refreshable-braille displays for 

patrons with built-in dictionary with capacity to translate to 

contracted/uncontracted braille with adjustable size dots and number of 

cells/rows 

T314. Call on the brightest in the technology field for new ideas to lower cost, improve 

service, and use international contest with meaningful prize money

T413. Refreshable-braille display with dictionary (OED), braille translation, etc. 

Writing Device

B101. No good portable, mechanical writing device

B426. Lack of compact writing device

L411. Promote low-cost braille writing instruments

Braille Literacy

B105. Too few literacy tools/games/toys for blind children

B133. Low literacy rate

B337. No right to read braille mandated

B352. Literacy is great

B353. Can’t get toys that have braille

B402. Lack of family support

L108. Early learning kits with braille books and real objects (storyboxes) 

L113. Develop practical guides for survival braille and distribute through the network of 

libraries 
42

L115. Require all NLS network librarians to learn braille 

L301. Network librarians partner with school librarians to have braille materials in public 

schools

L302. NLS develop braille literacy kits for adult learners that network libraries distribute 

to adult learners

L303. Coordinate with concert, theatre organizations to produce braille programs

L311. NLS to create curriculum for sighted kids to learn the braille basics

L323. Network librarians to learn braille at some level to better understand the needs of 

patrons

L330. Network libraries foster relationships between new learners and experienced 

learners; mentoring

L331. Encourage Librarian of Congress to establish a Braille Literacy Council

L332. Partner with organizations to rigorously understand why only 10 percent of blind 

individuals learn braille

L405. Braille literacy kit to help potential readers get started

L406. NLS to become stronger reference source for braille

L416. Develop accurate and positive statistics with all stakeholders about braille literacy 

(children and adults)

Jumbo Braille

B107. Lack of availability of jumbo braille for those learning at later age

P315. Produce various formats for each title (jumbo, contracted, uncontracted)

S221. Add jumbo braille

T207. Multi-format file-delivery capability: different size dots, contracted/uncontracted 

braille

Uncontracted Braille

L102. Publish more uncontracted braille

L209. Offer a choice between contracted and uncontracted braille

L318. Create more uncontracted braille for adult learners that is high interest and low 

vocabulary and provided in digital format

P212. Produce more in uncontracted braille

P315. Produce various formats for each title (jumbo, contracted, uncontracted)

P318. Use uncontracted braille

S104. Availability of both contracted and uncontracted braille

S121. More books in uncontracted braille (for beginning readers; keep subjects 

appropriate; not just for children)
43

S231. More uncontracted braille

S426. Uncontracted braille for older readers and children

T207. Multi-format file-delivery capability: different size dots, contracted/uncontracted 

braille

Braille Production

B108. Cost of production of hard-copy braille

B219. High cost of production of braille materials

B225. High cost of braille production equipment (personal)

B229. Low-cost options causing braille to be marginalized in favor of audio

B230. Not enough money in braille ecosystem

B324. Current model of braille production results in over production and poor utilization

B344. Many application alternatives are cheaper and easier to use

B359. Production costs for braille, especially tactiles, are very high

B401. Expense of production equipment 

B411. Can’t produce enough to meet diversity of demand

B414. Various levels of acceptable quality

B415. Crowd sourcing to check quality

B416. Limited production and device technology

B418. Cost of math and science books

B420. Durability of materials

B423. Braille on demand

B425. Sloppy and broken braille

L110. Produce more braille

L116. Provide financial support for an emboss-on-demand program

L119. Develop LSTA grants to local public libraries to teach and produce braille

L205. Offer custom braille production through regional libraries

L215. Produce more braille

L218. Modify existing equipment for download and translation into braille of all books 

offered by NLS

P107. Adopt varying levels of quality, depending on the material

P109. Federally funded government agencies should fund production of their 

documentation in braille, with NLS as the production partner 

P110. Produce hybrid electronic/hard-copy items, e.g., with graphics and tables as 

supplementary material 
44

P113. All organizations should work together to avoid overlaps in production 

P123. Work to have these capabilities made universal

P201. Produce braille on demand.

P202. Apply proofreading as appropriate for audience and text, [combined with] relaxed 

standards/specifications for production without compromising quality

P204. Flexibility in production values based on consumer options

P207. Separate components of book according to requirements of reader and text

P208. Provide different types of braille media for different needs

P210. Use mainstream 3D printing technology

P211. Longer commitment between NLS and producers to support production flexibility

P215. Put 3D printers in commercial/public venues

P303. More electronic files to cut down on cost, more technical materials to be handled 

by transcribers

P304. Update technology NLS uses to accept master files

P305. Revise NLS specification to produce less formalized braille

P308. Specification should allow for more flexible proofreading options

P309. Placing items onto paper rather than holes; surface mount device (SMD) 

placement machines

P312. Consideration of adopting model that uses one file to make multiple formats,

braille and audio

P314. Create system that will enable braille production on demand

P317. Good definition of current costs to be able to evaluate and compare

P325. Agree on approach to digitizing rare braille masters so [they] can be more widely 

available

P405. Adjust standards of quality to reflect print book quality

P406. National and international planning to eliminate duplication

P409. Provide embossers to all regional libraries for duplication on demand 

P412. Use Jiffy-Braille/Cheetah (chosen on recount)

P415. Learn from and use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scanning systems 

worldwide

P417. NLS access digital files from other sources (Amicus) 

S112. Quality of books should be impeccable

S120. Develop an infrastructure to support on-demand production

S122. Focus less on selection and more on ways to make mainstream 

production/conversion available in braille
45

S304. Quality books; good braille

S305. Quality of transcription

S417. Different tiers of quality requirements depending on content

S429. Braille on demand

T311. Use optical braille recognition to digitize all valuable braille masters

T410. Audition for braille on demand

Braille Technology (General)

B110. Current limitations of braille technology, especially with respect to science, 

graphics, etc.

B220. Expand use of mainstream technology, processes, and formats

B308. Technology lacks ability to withstand/outstand meetings/accidents

B312. Devices for reading braille are expensive

B350. Technology is difficult for some people

B355. Technology is expensive

L121. Work with regional libraries to make sure there are accessible technologies 

available to patrons in the library, including embossers for personal material

L214. Establish standard by which to transform print book files to braille instantly

L408. Use current technology to target certain groups (e.g., middle school boys) to 

encourage reading

P112. Universal/off-the-shelf design that allows blind people to access information in 

braille

P119. New technology for braille cells/dots

P404. Device to send braille directly to brain

P416. Glove to turn page to braille

T401. One device for patrons to handle audio and braille and receive materials via the 

cloud

Braille Reading Population

B111. Effort divided over too few braille users

B339. Wide cross section of users have not been involved in refreshable-braille 

displays

B360. Lots of braille readers who aren’t very good at it

P124. Focus on young blind people—help them fall in love with braille. Peer group 

involvement

P125. Don’t forget the over-55 population
46

Braille Selection and Collection Content

B114. Availability of titles in braille

B330. High-interest/low-vocabulary braille materials, especially for adult learners

B333. Lack of availability of factual books

L316. Print/braille books that are geared towards success stories of blind people

L319. Produce local voting guides in braille

L325. Produce books on local history by local authors and local attractions

P316. Items on Bookshare should be able to go into NLS collection

P319. Make better selections based on users’ interests

P324. Acquire more content from other international organizations

P402. National database of patrons who want the same title

P419. Evaluate book collection to determine which books do not “deserve” hard copy

S105. Children’s and youth selections are on-target. Print/braille and magazines for kids

S106. Regional libraries also contributing to the collection

S108. Wide variety of books

S109. New braille books available digitally

S110. Selection operates in the same way national public library would; no censorship

S111. Know what’s available; access to Braille Book Review and BARD

S113. There is still a place for fiction in braille—readers like to read just for fun, too

S115. Policy of requiring hard copy for every book needs to be mitigated

S118. System for patron requests/recommendations, with feedback/status (no more 

black hole!)

S119. More young adult and high school/transitional selections

S124. Remember not everyone has Internet access— don’t stop selecting across all 

title areas until everyone does

S125. Selection should not be based on cost; include definitive works despite their 

length or cost

S126. Plays and libretti of major composers should be included

S201. Lots of good classics

S202. Good broad selection

S203. CDAG with diverse membership

S205. 100 Words series (good for young people, new braille readers)

S207. Good production of ephemera (sports schedules, magazines)

S209. Print/braille collection is good as are children’s materials in general
47

S211. Allocate more money for more materials

S212. Lack of completeness in series should be remedied

S213. Purchase books from smaller agencies/make process more transparent

S214. More current career information

S215. Collections of shorter pieces for new readers (e.g., columns)

S218. Improve business-related titles, such as improving management skills

S219. Develop crowd-sourcing model for braille selection

S220. Add braille specialist to CDS staff

S222. Consider limiting the length of books/fewer long titles

S223. Exploit multiple formats for certain titles (multimedia products)

S224. High-interest/low-vocabulary books that are age-appropriate

S227. More tutorials/how-to books on technical topics

S228. Produce more nonfiction informational books for children

S229. Change ratio of nonfiction/fiction in hard copy, increasing nonfiction

S232. Bilingual Spanish/English books

S234. Cookbooks

S235. Do more weeding

S303. Titles including rarer/lesser-required books

S307. Have some large books, e.g., The Joy of Cooking

S308. NLS does better selection of books than in the past

S310. Good collection of magazines/“lap reading”

S311. Attempt to have a broad selection, e.g., medical reference books

S316. Engage consumer more in selection process

S318. Select material based on mainstream popularity; drop library model and produce 

material that is peer-normative

S325. Automate title selection, e.g., based on bestseller list

S326. More process and direction in cookbooks and how-to books

S328. Don’t wait for title selection until the book is published

S331. Provide more mixed-media books/braille appendices

S335. Consider international selection of titles in specialist areas

S402. Keeps current with titles

S404. Use input from CDAG

S405. Print/braille
48

S407. Quality of books chosen remains high

S408. Combination of braille and audio on same site

S413. Same title in both audio and braille

S415. Add more titles

S418. More instruction manuals for appliances and products

S420. Age-appropriate material for late adopters

S422. More Spanish braille

S423. List books available in both formats

S424. Create supplemental indexes 

S427. More reference materials

S428. Fill holes in series

T106. Flexible or multi-format content on a single cartridge

T110. Integrate search to find other accessible books

T304. Customer can request any book/material that is currently not accessible by any 

method and have it deposited into a device in the reading mode of choice

T312. Remote reference services using technology to enhance access

Braille Instruction

B115. Current pedagogical practices need to encourage braille speed reading

B118. Impact of Individual Education Program teams’ decisions on whether to teach

braille or not to a student

B123. Teachers of Visually Impaired training/standards for teaching braille

B128. Not enough reinforcement for learning/not enough places to use it in everyday 

life; isolation

B130. Promote early adoption of braille; educate parents to start this early

B137. Motivation to learn is lacking—needs to be a priority

B203. Training and education should be more widespread; include sighted

B206. Everyone receiving rehab/educational vision services shall be encouraged to 

learn braille

B208. Insufficient numbers of braille teachers; inadequate quality of training

B209. Braille teachers do not need to be TVIs

B212. Refine/intensify state certification requirements

B213. Uniform national requirements

B214. Students receive inconsistent braille instruction

B217. Difficulty of instructing people who lose sight later in life: materials, time
49

B218. Fund development of improved training materials/qualified trainers

B231. Not enough material for adult braille learners

B232. Time constraints to teach braille students (adults)

B304. Lack of effective instruction due to number of qualified teachers

B310. Online braille training courses for self-education; need to be created/more 

available

B315. Early functional vision assessment to make sure young people don’t fall through 

the cracks

B316. More braille instructional material in public domain

B322. More training for youth on braille technology 

B334. Amount of support and guidance in value of learning braille

B354. NLS doesn’t have much in way of braille instruction material online

L105. Develop braille instruction at the national level and promote through the NLS 

network of libraries

L210. Offer online courses to libraries to learn braille

L211. Promote learning tools for young children through regional libraries

L221. Increase range of materials for learning braille

L412. Make use of low tech tools we presently have to teach braille

S116. More books of easy reading for adults learning braille

S230. Instruction books on learning braille; develop braille learning materials

T402. Develop a device for young children to learn braille, like Leapfrog

T411. Provide embossers to network libraries to create braille instruction curriculum

Braille Proofreading

B119. Proofreading time creates a big bottleneck

Hard-Copy Braille

B116. Need to keep the paper braille in the face of emphasis on electronic braille

B117. Space constraints for libraries and borrowers

B127. Challenging to return books via the post office because of bulk

B136. Delivery of hard-copy braille, USPS is cutting back; cost is high

B221. Hard-copy storage difficult to manage

B301. Braille volumes are large and heavy and many needed for one book, so space is 

needed 

B340. Lack of content specific to people’s interests in hard-copy braille
50

B421. Amount of space that hard-copy braille takes up

B422. Thinking more carefully about which books are on paper

P101. Find a medium other than paper

P108. Produce braille on thinner paper with less sophisticated binding/covers

P306. Throw-away output for popular items, e.g., paperbacks

P307. Book bindings that are easier for the user to handle

P310. Larger books—circulate and produce in parts

P320. Look at and amend specifications to allow for other producers and binding 

methods

P322. Continuous-feed braille; scrollable paper, not on a single line

P401. Look at different paper or materials for disposable braille

P425. Go to forty- or forty-two-character line to save paper

P430. Bind books less expensively

S401. Hard-copy braille is useful for review

S412. Durability and reliability of materials

Braille Embosser

B135. More portable/affordable braille embossers

B305. Paper dust mucks up interpoint printers

Braille Promotion

B207. Practical applications stressed

B306. Blind people need to use braille in public and ask for facilities without shame

B311. Promoting resources that exist, e.g., national library service

B320. Spreading information about braille and what is around out there

B331. Librarians unaware of materials

B336. Braille is not an either/or—make braille cool

B403. Vigorous campaign to promote braille

B404. More braille in public view (movies, etc.)

B406. Limited marketing of usability to adults

L101. TV commercials to promote literacy that include braille

L104. Provide a speakers bureau service promoting braille

L106. Mount a national PR/marketing campaign to demonstrate the importance of 

braille literacy in daily life

L107. Work with consumers to encourage them to ask for braille everywhere they go
51

L111. Hold NLS 5K runs around the country promoting braille reading and writing (like 

the Dot Dash) 

L112. Braille Challenge for adults

L114. Have the NLS network offer Braille 101 to the general public

L117. Advocate for braille in Congress

L118. Braille reading contest for beginners

L120. Sponsor legislation to have all government employees have braille on their 

business cards

L124. Develop a touring display that network libraries could place in local public 

libraries promoting braille

L125. Partner with state blind services agencies to promote the teaching of braille to 

clients

L127. Partner with bakeries to provide braille cakes and cookies

L128. Sibling and peer reading program; blind kids and sighted siblings/peers read 

books together

L129. Braille reading theater; mix braille and print readers to perform plays

L130. Encourage NLS libraries to involve their patrons in community library programs to 

model braille literacy

L202. Promote awareness of braille in all public libraries

L203. Promote braille awareness week

L204. Develop relationship with celebrities (including YA authors) to promote braille

L208. Use social media to promote braille, especially to young people

L213. Take a significant role in promotion of braille nationwide by using braille clubs 

and kits

L216. Start a competition for innovation

L217. Form partnerships for promotion of braille and braille library services

L222. Emphasize braille usage for elderly patrons

L223. Start ad campaign for braille literacy with national saturation

L225. Make braille sexy

L226. Conduct regional braille conferences similar to Braille Summit

L304. NLS harness business world through community organizations to educate 

general population about braille literacy and blindness

L305. NLS have small kits to include braille board book to give to any blind/visually

impaired child who is born at the hospital

L306. NLS should launch a “braille is cool” or “got braille?” marketing campaign
52

L307. Promote braille in the mainstream to as many routes as possible

L308. Promote braille at national medical conventions 

L309. NLS should produce with PBS a one-hour show on braille literacy and blindness

L310. Braille needs to be available everywhere; partner with American Sign Language, 

foreign languages, and braille 

L312. NLS could find a high-profile spokesperson to do advertising for braille

L313. NLS should establish outreach programs, e.g., with libraries; create bookmarks 

with braille, posters with braille—more braille promotion

L314. Partner with children’s shows to incorporate braille, e.g., with letter of the day on 

Sesame Street

L317. NLS outreach to universities to ensure classroom teachers get braille component

L320. NLS to create a program to invite families of braille students or readers to 

understand impact of braille

L327. NLS develop tools to help regional libraries see ways to promote braille to their 

patrons

L328. Close gap between special and public libraries by having demo/showcase of 

books and get braille into community libraries for all to borrow

L402. Run TV ads to promote braille; Bill Cosby ad

L404. NLS develop a promotional item that teaches braille alphabet; pop-up cell

L409. Business cards for Obama and cabinet and other well-known folks; want APH to 

make them

L410. Give impressers as honorarium gift

P105. Community must take a proactive role in encouraging all companies and 

organizations to provide materials in braille

P216. NLS to sponsor innovative technology competition

S327. Heavily market digital/Web-Braille

S409. Outreach efforts and surveys

T108. Reach out to users and educators on how to incorporate new technology in 

teaching braille

T109. Sponsor a nationwide contest for tactile technology innovation

T316. Reward technology innovation in production process for braille books; give favor 

to producers to bring down costs

T403. Randomly highlight braille titles at BARD login weekly for each person to 

encourage braille

Braille from Libraries

B131. Interlibrary loan still has barriers to service
53

B210. Elimination of regional boundary limitations

L122. All network libraries should carry a small braille browsing collection

L123. Braille reading book clubs

L403. Libraries need to circulate braille books; keep it local

Braille Codes

B215. Clumsy, incompatible braille-translation software

B224. Incentives for training in specialized codes; professionalize; regional centers

B338. Contractions used in grade 2 are not intuitive

B341. Adapting from print to braille sometimes very difficult (and braille to print)

B424. Textbook vs. literary format

P102. Too many codes/formats

P426. Develop more complex software to reduce or eliminate transcriber and 

proofreader need

S217. Develop standard for linear braille

T313. Develop software that is vastly smarter to take any electronically published 

material and put it into properly formatted and encoded braille

Braille Transcribing

B223. Lack of braille transcribers

B302. Lack of available transcribers 

B321. Lack of college-level training for transcriber “professions”

B327. Limited number of volunteers

B357. NLS doesn’t accept volunteers unless they have passed official braille exams

L212. Make braille transcribing and proofreading courses relevant (upgrade)

P106. Streamline the certification process for braille transcription and proofreading

P311. List of work currently being worked on by transcribers

P313. Contract with independent transcribers

P410. Develop and implement live courses for training transcribers and proofreaders

P424. Harness the power of crowd sourcing to transcribe

P428. Hire cheap labor to transcribe or other lower-level tasks

S309. Where no structure, human can put structure in (transcriber)

Tactile Graphics

B227. Access to images in hard-copy braille is difficult/more costly to produce; 

nonexistent in electronic braille
54

B228. New technology to produce properly spaced braille cells and uniformly spaced 

pixels for graphics; training operators in tactile graphics issues/complexities

B234. Time to create quality tactile graphics is too great

B349. Braille graphics are impossible to get

L401. More books related to math, including tactile counting books

P321. Explore 3D printing to produce masters for tactile graphics

P411. More options—contracted, tactile, descriptions, etc.

S117. Books should include maps and graphics

S226. Produce more books with pictures/picture descriptions/tactile graphics

S233. Improve selection of atlases and maps

S315. Provide titles that lend themselves to necessity of tactile graphics, pictures

S330. When pictures must be described or be omitted

S332. Books to direct blind readers how to learn graphic material

S419 More graphics and tabular materials 

T111. Explore the use of 3D printing in braille production

Training (General)

B233. Lack of training in technology for consumers (e.g., download)

T209. Training for regional library staff about technology

T302. Improve staff/volunteer training to use existing technologies that are available

Sharing

B238. Should be more collaboration among braille producers

B351. Braille is great for sharing info 

B356. More for school setting—ability to share braille/graphic files so not recreating

P323. Develop system that allows for coordinated sharing for network libraries

T409. Explore ways to make tactile graphics and braille more available through 

capacity-sharing

Web-Braille and BARD

B329. Magazines and short books are in multi-volume files rather than one file

B345. Ability to add locally produced materials to BARD

L321. NLS should collaborate and develop worldwide to maintain API standards for 

download deliveries

P420. Older users with e-mail only can order books for download only

S101. More availability has increased over time; online availability
55

S107. Can get materials quickly—braille book within a week, BARD in seconds

S204. Web-Braille accepts things from other libraries

S317. Add additional sources of braille books onto BARD

S319. Better formatting for electronic files; mark up electronic files

S324. Develop criteria for determining producing hard copy vs. soft copy

S403. Web-Braille author list is helpful

S406. Web-Braille itself is helpful and “cool”

S430. All recent braille postings to BARD announced in Braille Book Review

T202. 24/7 customer hotline for BARD

T211. One file per book, not one per volume (or allow option)

T404. Add non-NLS braille content to BARD

T405. Add consumer ratings

T406. Use podcasts to let folks know what’s hot in BARD (with description) 

T407. Use something similar to Goodreads; BARD social networking

Braille in Educational Settings

B236. Time lag in production (educational settings)

B309. Education curriculum materials are inaccessible

B342. Lack of braille production at college level

B358. Teachers sometimes reluctant to promote braille instruction; national standard for 

teachers

B405. Attitudes of school personnel

B417. Recruitment and funding braille teachers

B419. Ramifications of more complex textbooks for braille readers

L126. Help get technology into the hands of non-TVI teachers to help jump-start braille 

learning in young students

L220. Add teaching basics of braille to curricula around country

L326. All colleges should have programs for TVIs and create braille-refresher courses

L407. Partnerships with educators to refer students and parents to libraries (all ages)

L414. Add braille to the alphabet and number lines on elementary school desks

L415. Local libraries go to schools to prepare teachers 

Timeliness of Braille

B303. Time to produce/turnaround time to produce

B307. Focus on accuracy makes it a long time to get produced
56

B326. Small quantity of current materials available

B343. Braille moves too slowly; decisions and changes

B408. Availability of current books in timely manner

S411. Nonfiction choices seem timely

DAISY Braille

B332. Current digital-braille formats not navigational

T104. Leverage the advantages of DAISY structure with contracted-braille content 

(DAISY braille) 

T201. DAISY with braille and speech in combination

T204. Full audio and text in all DAISY books for transmission via electronic means to 

device

T208. Better navigation capability in BARD (Web-Braille) books

Braille Labeling

L224. Create guidance and resources for braille labeling of consumer products

L322. Engage corporations to do more braille labels

L413. Work with government agencies to have braille added to all consumer packages

S312. Improved labeling of volumes—content and adhesive

Braille Research

B216. R&D money for compatibility (speed, accuracy, etc.)

B226. Funding for R&D

B235. Not enough R&D in braille production

L103. Assist with research and updating of braille technologies

P114. NLS should have active R&D in these areas

P118. Clear explanation of what’s already known and what still needs to be invented

P120. Carefully scope the problem; engage the community to define the problem

P121. Put major resources into R&D 

P122. Start with a task force defining why this is important/worthwhile—need to justify 

the costs/strong advocacy. Explain the fundamental nature of reading and writing 

to ALL.

P427. Survey current patrons on what they need

S216. Conduct national survey of patrons re: future of collection

S329. Invest research effort into on-the-fly translation systems (braille file causing 

problems)
57

T101. NLS needs to be leaders and innovators of new technology through R&D

Interface with Publishers

B319. Lack of cooperation from mainstream publishers to put braille into workflow when 

making a book

B409. Working with publishers to make all available

P219. Work with mainstream publishers for e-pub access

P302. Getting publishers to provide files for transcription

P408. Work with publishers to get digital files when book is published

S123. Develop connection with publishers for file access (NBP scans approximately 90

percent of titles)

S225. E-pubs from mainstream publishers

S322. Greater awareness of publishers’ workflow at an earlier stage; influence of 

younger people 

S323. Lobby publishers to break down international barriers to book sharing

S416. Make available braille copy from publisher without limits when book is released in 

print 

T210. Automation to produce BRF files and acquire files from publishers for instant 

conversion to BRF

T306. Specification for braille book production to be aligned with mainstream publishing 

formats, leading to greater availability of books/materials

Braille Delivery

L329. Method to receive/deliver books should be easier/user-friendly 

P205. Equip regional libraries with embossers and training

P218. SD/USB storage apparatus through USPS for patrons without Internet access

P327. Provide braille embosser for everyone

P422. Provide braille embossers and scanners for all

S208. “New” containers are useful

S313. Some libraries do special requests

S314. Need to improve delivery options, e.g., U.S. post office, and not be treated as 

fourth class

S421. Different distribution models

T102. Devices should use the mobile network to send and receive information; NLS 

funding users’ connectivity (like E-Rate)

T103. Use profile selection and push materials directly to your device

T203. Provide braille embossers to all regional libraries
58

T307. Easier, smoother content delivery to patrons

T308. Less expensive braille embossers for heavy use for libraries and patrons

T309. Send braille files on SD cards or USB drives to patrons

T315. Access on mobile services to get new technology into remote areas

T408. Encourage use of titles to non-tech patrons by an automated telephone directory, 

etc.

Braille Music

L201. Take a role in training transcribers and promoting braille music code

S210. Good music collection

S333. International braille music selection through World Braille Council

S334. Select more braille music titles aimed at supporting adult amateur users

Miscellaneous/Global Thoughts

B104. APH 

B109. Braille is an afterthought

B113. Society’s opinion that technology makes things faster/quicker/easier, so why use 

braille?

B124. Speed of technological advancement

B201. Braille is not ubiquitous

B202. All print should have braille equivalent present

B204. Braille on Sesame Street

B211. Increased federal funding

B237. Braille producers reluctant to change/advance

B314. Consumer products do not include braille

B317. More speaking traffic lights

B318. Not enough fun in braille

B355. Availability of braille does not affect linguistic diversity

B410. Access to information quickly

B412. Explosion of information in general

B413. Availability of content

L206. NLS should be government printing house for braille

L219. Give equal time to developments in braille at national conferences

L315. All libraries dust off image and reinvent themselves as modern informationaccess centers; more electronic
59

P116. Apply for government grant for technology school grant for solving this problem;

need a good grant writer. Find the people who want to spend their time solving 

the problem.

P117. Need to have those who will use it providing the requirements

P203. More government funding

P214. Better utilize systems already in place (e.g., education)

P217. Raise funds from corporate sector

P326. Flexible distribution

P403. Build a braille endowment to start

P413. Get rid of paperwork for NLS 

P429. One cent for every book sold goes to NLS 

S102. Consumer involvement

S103. Opportunity for feedback

S206. Easy to contact NLS staff

S301. We have books

S302. We have Web-Braille

S320. Provide mutual database—one large database for all

S410. Braille Book Review/Talking Book Topics and consumer input

T107. NLS should partner with video-game producers for software and hardware 

development

T301. NLS circulate list of requirements for technology labs in libraries serving blind 

and visually impaired people to include accessible PCs, CCTVs

T310. Link libraries for the blind to access more community library services to all using 

technology

T412. Pool investment resources
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Appendix B: Online Resources

1. Conference website: 

www.loc.gov/nls/conferences/braillesummit/agenda.html

2. Archive of conference video recordings:

www.perkins.org/news-events/news/first-ever-braille-summit.html

3. World Braille Usage can be found at www.perkins.org/worldbraille/.

4. The conference on Twitter: 

https://twitter.com/BrailleSummit

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23nlsbraille

5. U.S. Department of Education “Dear Colleague” letter on braille: 

www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/brailledcl-6-19-13.pdf
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Appendix C: WTBBL Survey Results

To improve the local braille-production process at the Washington Talking Book & 

Braille Library, the following survey was conducted by telephone to active braille 

borrowers in April 2013.

Statistics (April 2013)

Number of braille users represented: 334 

Number of patrons reached (6/10/2013): 115 

Number of patrons on survey suspended: 52 

Number of patrons that declined to participate: 5 

Number of voicemail messages: 102 

Number of bad phone numbers: 42

Questions and answers: 

How do you use braille in your daily life? (115 participants)

Hard copy mentioned: 67 times 

Downloads or Web-Braille: 23 times 

Labeling or Notes: 35 

Doesn’t use (much): 8 

How often do you read books or materials in braille? (113 participants)

Daily: 55 

Weekly: 19 

Monthly: 24 

Never or not much at all: 5 

Prefers audio: 2 

What sorts of books do you prefer to read in braille? (89 participants)

Nonfiction mentioned: 26 times 

• Nonfiction; books that provide information 

• Braille allows for better learning and seeing numbers and how things are 

spelled

• Fiction and nonfiction. Read braille for enjoyment.

• Fiction and nonfiction

• The Bible; shorter books

• Mostly fiction; mysteries, Christian books, history
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• Both fiction and nonfiction; metaphysical, psychology, inspirational

• Biblical books, both fiction and nonfiction

• Nonfiction; recipes. Reads in a variety of genres—mystery, romance 

inspirational.

• Prefers fiction, science fiction

• Knitting and crochet patterns

• Fiction. The reading goes quicker.

• Technical materials—anything with difficult language/something that needs 

to be absorbed

• Short fiction, or grade 3 manual he owns. Fiction is easier to read as he 

reads slowly.

• History, Native American tribes, animals, Jewish concerns

• Mysteries

• Magazines, sports or diabetes books

• Information, cookbooks

• Thrillers, crime; fiction. Biography.

• Mostly fiction

• Romances, adventure; fiction

• Fiction preferred, but either is interesting. She reads braille for relaxation,

and fiction is more relaxing.

• Fantasy books, magazines

• Both fiction and nonfiction

• Fiction; romance, adventure, Christian

• Fiction 

• Anything is fine—no time to read books when he is in school

• Nonfiction; cookbooks, easier to read, children’s books to read to her kids

• She likes nonfiction but is happy to read anything

• Nonfiction only

• Does not apply (NOTE: this patron said in Q1 that he reads braille 

magazines and uses for recipes)

• Mystery

• Religious books; nonfiction

• Didn't have a clear answer. Prefers cartridges for most things, but does read 

The Daily Word.

• Used to read quite a few westerns
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• Anything. Same as listening to audio.

• Nonfiction; mysteries, medical books

• Nonfiction; business

• Braille isn’t that good, so mostly use it for daily use stuff, not for reading

• Christian materials; more fiction than nonfiction. 

• Does not read much braille

• I process information well auditory and though I am a fast braille reader by 

braille standards, I am a faster listener. So the bulk of my reading is auditory.

Braille is reserved for important nonfiction; religious, reference, and foreignlanguage reading.

• Fiction; shorter, more lighthearted books

• Would like to read all materials, especially biographies

• No preference; she especially likes children's books she didn't get to read 

when she was younger

• No preference; fiction slightly preferred, does not read books in braille 

presently

• Nonfiction 

• Does not read books in braille

• Fiction; her reading is all fiction

• She will read anything, even dictionary and encyclopedia!

• Reference materials, the Bible, sci-fi or fantasy or books recommended if 

not in other formats

• Fiction

• Likes a variety

• Magazines, the Bible

• Fiction; history. Will read any way he can.

• Likes both; mysteries, biographies, informational books, plays

• Inspirational books, maybe read the Bible

• Fiction; fun to follow a story. Doesn’t want to read serious material when 

she’s not at work

• Does not read books, likes to read the Mariners schedule in braille

• Does not read books, but he would read nonfiction if he did

• Nonfiction

• Biographies of classical musicians
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• Both fiction and nonfiction; definitely would read more technical things, like 

computer magazines

• Short stories. Not much time to sit and read a novel, so short stories are 

easier to get through

• Magazines

• Does not read books in braille

• A wide variety. Religious, conservative Christian, western (Louis L ‘Amour) 

sci-fi, fantasy.

• Does not read books; just not fast enough. Would like more religious texts,

Bible commentaries.

• Science fiction, adventure stories

• Fiction; interesting books

• Anything that looks good

• Fiction; mysteries, classics, romance novels

• Nonfiction; Christian books, history

• Fiction; adult books that are short

• Does not read books in braille

• Study materials, legal briefs, legislative drafts

• Nonfiction; biography, how-to books, computer reference

• Both fiction and nonfiction; metaphysical, psychology, inspirational

• Nonfiction preferred, but has purchased many children’s books lately, 

mainly classics

• Does not read books

• Fiction; interesting books

• Magazines, sports, or diabetes books

• Whatever is not in cartridge or tapes. Both fiction and nonfiction.

• Romances, fantasy; nonfiction, some general fiction

• Novels, whatever is of interest

• Mainly novels or other fiction

• Fiction; interesting books

• Magazines, short stories

• Nonfiction and science fiction

• Children's books

• Braille is her preferred medium for books of any sort; nonfiction is her main 

interest
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• The Bible, magazines

• Almost anything that’s available; has a wide range of interests

• Cookbooks, how-to books

• Both fiction and nonfiction

• Nonfiction; technical, do-it-yourself books

• Nonfiction

• Still learning

• Short fiction or nonfiction; also reads the Bible

• Inspirational, Bible, study books, magazines

• Medieval, historical, mystery

• Any book I'm interested in; romance, medical books

• Libertarian philosophy, politics, music, biographies

• Short stories

• Nonfiction; self-help, cooking, spirituality

• Prefers nonfiction; recipes, magazines, poetry

• Does not read braille books 

• Prefers nonfiction; animal stories, religion, inspirational biography; likes 

nonfiction reading generally; also reads braille music

• Fiction

• Anything; preference is nonfiction because it’s better for retention

• Nonfiction; recipes. Reads in a variety of genres—mystery, romance,

inspirational

• Nonfiction; biographies, history, religion, personal growth

• Fiction; science fiction, mysteries, westerns

• Craft books, cookbooks, politics

When the library is choosing material to transcribe into braille, what do you wish 

they would concentrate on (107 P)? 

No opinion/did not care/not sure: 14 

• Books on metaphysics. Not much of a collection at the moment

• Informative things, local interest, history of the Northwest

• More magazines that are not available elsewhere, foreign language or math

textbooks, TV schedules

• Would love to learn to become a braille transcriber

• Even more J.A. Jance books, instruction manuals for devices
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• Materials on request, Unity Church materials

• Just love everything—they do a pretty good job

• Science fiction, romances, urban fantasy, paranormal fiction

• More books for the younger people and school children

• Mysteries and espionage, science fiction

• Technical materials, computer magazines—particularly with a more 

technical bent

• He does not feel braille is of any use now that everything is audio

• Cookbooks. Much easier to navigate and check back

• Magazines

• Informational books, cookbooks

• Series of books, more suspense!

• Really do not know

• No real idea

• No opinion

• More practical how-to guides specifically addressing blindness

• Music

• No opinion

• Local restaurant menus

• Bus schedules, menus

• No opinion

• Lists of local restaurants, restaurant menus

• Cookbooks, she is trying to learn to cook on her own; would like to see more 

braille menus in restaurants

• He would like more cookbooks, especially if he could own a copy for not too 

high a cost

• Fiction; something to keep me interested. Not much of a nonfiction reader.

• No opinion

• Focus is fine, just likes digital better

• Letters they send out

• Books with tactile graphics

• Biographies, educational books, mysteries

• No preference; reads too slowly and gets easily frustrated

• More stuff for younger patrons
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• Lots of Christian fiction, church history, animal books

• Manuals, technical materials

• Locally based nonfiction, particularly sports, alternative health, and radiorelated. A word, collection size: Bookshare has 192,000 books and grows 

rapidly. If I want to buy something, Amazon is now accessible. All this I can 

read in braille or with 

• General interest fiction and non-fiction

• Would like Deepak Chopra books, other health-related materials

• Special-needs requests from individuals, including textbooks

• Anything about nature, geography, cultures of different countries

• No opinion

• More religious and inspirational materials; she likes the WTBBL collection 

generally, but wishes they would start at the beginning of series

• Fiction, nonfiction; she “inhales books”

• More braille children’s books

• No opinion

• Have not found anything that was not useful

• More magazines, more variety

• Things that are not available from other libraries

• Menus, more books about baseball and other sports, current events, books 

about what’s happening in Seattle, ads for tours

• Popular current novels, (she would like the latest in the Song of Ice and Fire

series by George R.R. Martin), menus and local restaurant guides, 

children’s books should be a priority

• Would like the women's basketball team schedule, other sports schedules, 

cookbooks written locally for beginning cooks, braille calendar

• Public information, government documents, chain-restaurant menus,

vocational materials such as conference handouts, support materials for 

meetings, etc.

• More politically conservative books, books about rock music and (Metallica, 

Alice in Chains!)

• Academic books

• Specialized content

• Educational materials for kids would be important, but that’s not relevant to 

him

• Local publications, primary interest to Northwest
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• Menus, travel schedules (train, airlines, bus)

• Academic materials, concentrate on higher-education textbooks

• Common lectionary in braille

• No opinion, wishes we had a braille calendar

• Fiction

• History, local interest

• Restaurant menus

• Anything that has to do with the Civil War—the individuals involved, 

autobiographies and biographies

• Book about the iPhone, other tech manuals

• More sports schedules, notification letters such as the overdue notices

• Cookbooks, technical manuals. Keep doing what they are doing.

• More sports schedules, college football,

• We did a book for her once of instructions for her typewriter; other 

instruction manuals would be helpful

• Mo opinion

• Cookbooks—much easier to navigate and check back

• They are doing a fine job. Fashion magazine.

• Medical reports, personal documents

• Locally produced books are awesome—anything by local authors! It is 

important to support local talent!

• Whatever they have

• Not sure how to answer that

• Classics (To Kill a Mockingbird, Tale of Two Cities)

• More magazines, things that are shorter and more current

• No opinion

• More short children’s books!

• Informational books, how-to, vegan cooking, practical life improving books,

• Just more stuff in hard copy

• Medical books, books that are related to age groups that might be 

discovering the library

• Mysteries

• Cookbooks
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• Current technical information in books and magazines, for instance, books 

on Windows Eight 

• Satisfied with material received

• I would like to see more religious-related materials, books by religiousoriented authors, books that would be used for Bible study

• Local interest, adventure

• Directions, manuals, news and information about the library itself

• Not sure

• Don't care. Needs are being met elsewhere.

• More short stories, easy books for new braille readers

• Local sports schedules, chain-restaurant menus, theater programs, braille 

opera librettos, information about nutrition

• High-interest/low-vocabulary books for adults to use in teaching, instruction 

for braille learning, YA literature, books for small children, plays

• No opinion

• Menus 

• More fiction

• Keep focusing on the Northwest stuff, regional authors

• No opinion

• Cookbooks, instruction manuals

• Current bestsellers

• Daily living stuff, crafts, cooking, home repair, and etc. Things you can refer 

back to.

What would you say keeps you from borrowing braille (108 P)? Reading speed: 29 

Size of braille, storage: 49 

Selection: 12 

Prefer Audio: 26 

How important is accuracy of braille transcription to your reading experience (107 

P)? 

Accuracy: 75 

Speed: 18 

Depends on Material: 11 

What improvements or changes in braille do you imagine for the future (106 P)? 

• Convert single-sided books to books with braille on both sides of the page

• Adjustable braille that would respond to a sense of touch
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• More use of online braille 

• UEB

• Braille should be sharper on the pages

• Braille in danger of dying out, maintaining status quo for costly braille 

production will be an achievement 

• More personal requests 

• No opinion, most of the books she wants are in audio a lot sooner than 

braille, readers should be able to get requests in braille quickly—Bookshare 

has become very unresponsive to personal requests 

• Everything is going digital, becoming more obsolete, which she thinks is 

unfortunate

• They should concentrate on kids and young adults to encourage them to 

read

• More print/braille books. Haven’t thought about this.

• More digital, improvements in the BARD site. More reliance on accurate and 

informative braille.

• He has seen books brailled on Mylar; they are not as thick and bulky as 

traditional braille on card stock, and he thinks the impressions of the dots 

were more durable

• More books on computer programming

• More variety

• More magazines, more electronic selection 

• Nothing should be changed, things are fine as is

• Hopes we will do more contemporary books; current collection has too 

many classics

• Putting in more graphics, softcover instead of hardcover. They should bring 

back thermoform.

• Get material that is current transcribed more quickly

• Braille displays will improve and get cheaper, most braille will be digital;

hard copy should not disappear, no batteries required to read it

• He is worried that the new code will make books very inconsistent 

• She would like to see more braille literacy, but audio is much more prevalent

• The new braille code will have an effect 

• The weight of the jackets on the books; some are heavy. Needs some 

balance between lightweight jackets and strong bindings. Lighter books 

would lessen weight for postal carriers.
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• Advances in technology means braille could be produced faster, more 

material readily available for students

• Cannot think of improvements, wishes books were less bulky 

• Perfectly happy with the collection as it is 

• Braille will become obsolete because of other electronics (iPhone) 

• Doesn't want to go to audio, is afraid it might go obsolete

• I imagine it will disappear due to funding constraints, given that it is so small 

and slow. Some ideas: Librarians could generate a list of books, 

comparatively unlikely to be produced elsewhere, and ask readers to vote 

on which one(s) should be added. Dump the transcription model except for 

rare circumstances, using instead OCR, spell checking, skimming, and 

intelligent proofing.

• Would love a refreshable-braille display

• Keep the classes going, keep spreading the importance of braille literacy; all 

WTBBL staff should have knowledge of braille 

• No opinion but she hopes braille will survive a long time

• No opinion, mostly uses audio materials, her physical disabilities prevent 

her from reading more braille

• Books should be produced more quickly in braille in the electronic era; more 

books produced and brailled more accurately 

• Better accessibility

• Not sure. Does acknowledge that Braille is important and will never be 

obsolete

• She finds lots of fiction she wants in our braille collection, keep them coming! 

Braille is a good way to get older books by her favorite authors in relatively 

good condition.

• Don't foresee any changes

• It will be easier to access material; web pages will improve and searches 

will get better

• Worried about the new braille code; will it make the books even bigger? Will 

it make braille harder to produce?

• More titles should become available; continue to advocate for braille literacy

• Any book that is available in print should be available in braille; braille 

displays should be available on loan to patrons 

• Faster turnaround for production, more people aware that we have a braille 

service

• Braille is fine just the way it is! 

• More picture books for children
72

• Lower-cost braille displays, which will rekindle an interest in braille users

• Probably be able to mostly download things, more digital

• Cannot really answer

• Library should consider producing Washington state historical documents 

• UEB is being pushed, but he thinks braille should remain the same

• UEB will be a change

• More magazines or current news, newspapers 

• UEB might change things

• Will be interesting to see what happens with UEB 

• She sees little future in hard-copy braille, but braille is an important reading 

tool 

• More books on history, educational rather than entertainment

• Library should be a leader for advocating for braille—braille is a necessity 

for employment 

• Library could do more to help access material through the state—anything a 

person can get online should be produced by the library.

• She wants braille to survive as a reading medium and as a writing tool

• Better publicity for the braille service, books that would be more appealing 

to all patrons 

• Not really sure. Service is good as is 

• Does not really know

• If they use grade 3, might cut down on space

• More electronic braille, more room to grow in digital

• More kids books with raised pictures, descriptions of pictures

• Maybe improvements in finding out what is available

• It will go digital. It would be cool to get Amazon books translated into braille.

• More books available electronically—it would be cheaper and more portable 

• More books should be available, especially for deaf readers

• Blind people, she likes the way Bookshare and other sites have braille as an 

option for all titles 

• Thinks it is excellent, sees no [need for] improvement

• Library should move to trusting volunteers to do the initial data entry and 

then letting the software do its job. Production process should speed up. 

Bookshare.org and National Braille Press should be our models.

• More braille access, more books
73

• Lots of changes in how things are done electronically. Does not want to 

learn new skills. Not a fan of the UEB code changes.

• Not sure. Does acknowledge that braille is important and will never be 

obsolete.

• Very satisfied

• More electronic braille, which would save space 

• Happy with the library and what they are doing.

• More braille books available 

• Nothing is wrong with it

• Hard-copy braille is expensive to produce. We need to take advantage of 

Bookshare, working out deals with publishers for greater speed in getting 

books

• More emphasis on simple books for older people learning braille

• Braille on all consumer products—braille should be a standard default 

choice; all TVIs should be required to teach braille; cost of braille reading 

and writing devices should come down; better braille support from Apple 

and Microsoft

• She hopes will we produce more hands-on children’s science books, 

including kids’ cookbooks 

• Make braille available faster; worried about the new code, seems to take up 

more space

• Not sure. Does acknowledge that braille is important and will never be 

obsolete.

• Faster production thanks to technology, producing more braille on demand, 

very little hard-copy braille

• Anything to do with health, “some of that crap they’ve got on PBS”

• We are doing a good job, cannot think of any improvements

• Larger variety of books

Additional Comments from Patrons 

• He really does not like the new braille code; taking away contractions away 

will make books bigger and more costly, and he thinks they should contract 

braille more and introduce more contractions

• He really liked the Braille Trail in Boring Oregon, where the braille was 

embossed on stone

• I hope NLS chooses to put resources into a lendable refreshable-braille 

display 

• She raises and shows Nigerian goats, [does not have] as much time as she

would like to read braille 
74

• The library is relevant for everyone from a child learning to read braille to a 

senior citizen who has lost their vision and thinks they will never be able to 

read again! 

• Loves the library and its services! 

• Tries to send books back when she can

• Talking to me inspired her to get back on BARD and learn to download 

braille 

• Mr. ________ is very irritated—he says BARD changed some time last 

November and now he cannot get books to download