Braille struggles to stay relevant in modern world
BOSTON — For nearly a century, the National Braille Press has churned out millions of pages of braille books and magazines a year, providing a window on the world for generations of blind people.
But as it turns 90 this year, the Boston-based printing press and other advocates of the tactile writing system are wrestling with how to address record low braille literacy.
Roughly 13 per cent of U.S. blind students were considered braille readers in a 2016 survey by the American Printing House for the Blind, another major braille publisher. That number has steadily dropped from around 30 per cent in 1974, the first year the organization started asking the question.
Brian Mac Donald, president of the National Braille Press, says the modern blind community needs easier and more affordable ways to access the writing system developed in the 1800s by Louis Braille.
For the National Braille Press, that has meant developing and launching its own electronic Braille reader last year — the B2G.
“Think Kindle for the blind,” Mac Donald said.
The venerable press has also looked beyond printing Braille versions of popular books and magazine titles. Educational materials like textbooks and standardized tests, as well as business-related publications like menus, instruction manuals and business cards, comprise an increasingly larger share of revenues, Mac Donald said.
“Braille isn’t dead by any means,” he said. “But it needs technology to adapt and evolve.”
Waning interest in braille has been a challenge since the 1970s, when school districts started de-emphasizing it in favour of audio learning and other teaching methods.
New technology has allowed people with visual impairments to live more independently than ever, but they’re also playing a role in eroding braille’s prominence, said Cory Kadlik, 26, who lost his sight as an infant.
Computer software reads aloud emails and other documents.
But while technology has opened up a new world not dependent on braille, it also presents its best chance at survival, said Kim Charlson, the library’s director.
Electronic Braille computers allow users to digitally store hundreds of Braille materials that would otherwise be large and unwieldy in print, not to mention access the internet.
“Technology is the key to making braille more relevant by getting it into the hands of more people,” said Charlson.