Evening star., 1936-03-21
By F. Jay Carmody.
EFT there be light"

IIY EFT there be light"
Well might that be the
slogan Of the enterprise
A which finds shelter In the
four walls of the modest building at
1925 Twenty-first street. Not light as
you know it, the gold and blue Of the
midday sun, the ghostly silver Of
moonlight, nor the purple Of twilight,
but light just the same. None Of these
but the light Of literature transmitted
into q type which the blind may read
through their finger-tips.
Blind are the paid workers in this
quiet shop where Braille books are pro-
duced. They do not see light as the
average person sees 1t, but there is no
darkness in their world. Serenity per-
vades the atmosphere where they go
about the making Of books that create
new, wider and enchanting horizons
for others similarly afflicted.
The National Library for the Blind,
the institution which occupies the
modest structure, Is thrilling place
to visit. 1t is full Of surprises.
One of the first of these is the rela-
tive scarcity Of books visible to the
seeing eye. Unlike most libraries, the
books on its shelves are not static
things. Books are the blind mans,
and woman's world. They do not re-
main on shelves to collect dust. Their
circulation is constant. mute but con-
vincing testimony that there are too
few books for the blind; that big
need remains to be filled. If the library
here is to fulfill the function it has
set for itself.
The books which are to be found
there, books which shortly will be
in the mails again with possibly an
address as remote as Istanbul, Turkey,
are in remarkably good condition.
The blind man, the library stan
tells one, is one Of the worlds truly
great book lovers. His love for the
volume he reads is all inclusive. It
covers not only the spirit of the books
story. the inspiration he derives from
1t, but the physical book itself. 1t Is a
thing of transcendant value to him,
a light in the world of all blind per
sons which he must be careful to pre-
serve perfect and intact. To dim it
in any way through careless handling
would plunge the whole fraternity OF
the blind more deeply into the dark
ness. 1t is a form Of treason which
the blind reader ever is careful to
avoid.
ONE needs but to see volume in
~ Braille to realize that its purely
physical value is far greater than that
of the average book. AS compared
with the volume printed in conven-
tional type, the Braille book costs ap-
proximately IS times as much. The
latter is made by hand, the equivalent
Of q collectors item.
Braille, combination Of raised dots
on a piece Of heavy paper-you can
get the effect by pushing pin through
a sheet OF paper and rubbing your
finger over the reverse side-neces-
sarily is larger than the type devised
for normal reading. One page OF
ordinary print transcribed into Brallle
usually makes three pages OF the lat
ter.
The average novel. therefore, be-
comes several volumes when made
ready. by hand transcription, for the
Library for the Blind. 1t would be
too unwieldy for handling otherwise.
The most mammoth undertaking
of fiction transcription, it is interest
ing to know in this connection, was
that of Hervey Aliens Anthony Ad-
verse" This work, which exercised
the same fascination for the blind
as for the general public, comprised
So volumes when put into Braille.
Many a reader will recall his own
slow but unremitting conquest over
the nearly 1900 pages of Aliens story
when he learns that, despite its recent
release to the blind reader, two al
ready have completed the 36 vol
umes, while a third Is on the thirty
first as this is written.
Promptitude that would shame the
person with normal vision Is shown
in the celeritous return of each OF
the So volumes as the individual blind
reader completes it. The blind read
er of the book does not need to be
told there is a long waiting list for
the two or three volumes which are
sent to him at one time. He reads
them as rapidly as possible and re-
turns them with the sure knowledge
that the individual who holds the
books next in line will do likewise.
There Is q depth Of sympathy and
understanding between patrons Of this
unusual library such as is rarely to
be found.
How rapidly does blind man read
- Braille? In the answer to this
question one finds one Of the most
amazing accomplishments Of those