Broadening Our Braille Production Program
As we celebrate Louis Braille’s birthday this month, we also are celebrating the success of our Braille Production Program that we acquired in fall of 2022 and have been working hard to rebuild. After reengaging with clients of the previous program and taking on new clients, we are now reaching out to local businesses, state organizations and more to offer these services.
“As we talk to more potential clients, we’re hearing the same thing: We would love to offer braille documents, but where would we get it done? That’s where we come in,” said Shari Roeseler, executive director, Society for the Blind.
In just a couple of years, the program has taken on a wide range of clients who want to ensure their constituents who are blind and low vision have the same access to information as those who are sighted.
“It’s a question of how can we make our whole community more accessible to everyone, including people with vision loss and blindness, right here in Sacramento,” Shari said.
Shari said braille is as important a skill for people of all ages with low vision as cane travel and assistive technology.
“Braille is how children with low vision and blindness learn how to count, use the alphabet and gain the literacy skills they need to engage with the world around them,” she said. “It’s the same with adults. If someone goes to a restaurant and the wi-fi goes down, how will they read the menu? You need to have all the tools in your belt, and braille is an essential tool. That’s why we include it in our Core Skills classes for youth and adults who are losing their vision.”
Manager of the Braille Production Program, Jill Guilbeau, who also teaches braille at Society for the Blind, agreed. She had low vision as a child and could read large print books, however her mother advocated strongly for her to become literate in braille. As she grew older, and eventually lost her sight, Jill said braille became the key to her professional and personal success.
“It’s why I’m such a huge advocate for braille literacy,” Jill said. “I want my students to be able to read, spell and be literate. Reading is power, and it’s absolutely necessary for achieving their goals.”
Society’s Braille Production Program continues to produce braille playbills for the Sacramento Theatre Company, braille menus for restaurants, braille newsletters for the Braille and Talking Book Library, and braille lessons and textbooks for school districts, including math, history, foreign language, science and music.
“Most people don’t understand how involved it is to create braille documents,” Shari said. “Transcribers must have a specific certification in Unified English Braille. They also must be certified in a specific braille code for math and science to produce documents in those subject areas. Music and foreign language transcription also require additional certification. To be a proofreader, one must have years of experience transcribing. Fortunately, our program has a full complement of skills and certifications to make this an easy process for our clients.”
Society’s Braille Production Program has approximately 15 transcribers on contract with a wide variety of expertise and certification. Our program staff reviews each new project and provides a quote to create the electronic braille file and produce the embossed documents.
This year, we are reaching out to chambers of commerce and local businesses, including more restaurants who need braille menus for their customers, organizations that produce directories and manuals, construction companies who need braille signage proofread, and museums and art galleries that could provide braille signage for permanent exhibitions.
We are proud to provide our clients with a list of local restaurants and businesses that produce braille items, encouraging them to patronize those companies.
“It’s a win-win because more people who are blind and low vision have access to needed materials in real time, and companies see increased business for providing their customers with accessible store and product information,” Shari said.
Click here to learn more about our Braille Production Program or request a quote.