Braille, the system of raised dots that has enabled some blind and partially sighted people to read and write for over 200 years, remains essential, evolving alongside the advances of new technology, says the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).
January marks the anniversary of the birth of inventor Louis Braille (1809-52), the Frenchman who lost his sight aged four. His system is based on six dots, arranged in two columns of three. Variations of the six dots represent the letters of the alphabet, punctuation and groups of letters.
One champion of braille is Mike Howell, 77, of Oldham in Greater Manchester. Mike has a sight loss condition called retinal aplasia and is registered blind. He has been an avid braille reader for over 70 years and first started reading Enid Blyton’s Noddy books with his mother as a child. He now uses his Orbit Reader device to edit and create his own texts.
His latest project was a rewrite of the Charles Dickens classic Oliver Twist, carried out in just 17 days. He also recently completed a fresh version of all 27 books of the New Testament.
Mike said: “Transcribing the New Testament was a vast pleasure and a vast challenge at the same time. I gathered together as many versions of the Bible in braille as I could get my hands on and also some in audio book and studied them very fastidiously.
“I don’t find braille has got many limitations. It’s remarkable how durable it is. Lots of things come and go, but you can pick up a book from 100 years ago and read it as easily as you would something from today. And with modern portable braille readers, it’s possible to carry around many more books than would have been possible in the past.”
David Clarke, RNIB chief operating officer, said: “There are two million people in the UK living with sight loss and it is estimated around 20,000 are braille readers like myself. Braille can open the door to greater independence, knowledge and more personal choice, whether it’s the ability to read the latest novel or labels on bottles to distinguish household products.
“It continues to play an incredibly important role in RNIB’s work, from promoting the development of braille technology to extending the range of braille products, publications and services we provide for readers.”
RNIB has 10,900 files in its braille library. Readers can request a physical copy printed on demand, download a title from RNIB’s reading services platform, or buy an SD card with thousands of files available on it. The most popular authors requested in 2022 include JK Rowling, Anna Jacobs, Richard Osman, Lee Child, Elly Griffiths and Maeve Binchy.
The RNIB library also has around 2,500 music scores as well as various maths and science books, codes and maps. RNIB also transcribes magazines into braille – TV guides are the most popular titles.
Braille is practical too, offering a system for labelling items around the house, from food tins and medicines to CDs and DVDs, which increase independence for those living with sight loss.