![[Valid Atom 1.0]](valid-atom.png "Validate my Atom 1.0 feed")
BBC MUNDO RADIO
Stacks of white books with black spiral bindings crowd the table in the already crowded office of the Connecticut Braille Association, an office tucked away in the basement of the Westport Woman's Club on Imperial Avenue.
Catlin, a Shelton resident and a very young 93 years old, has been volunteering with the CBA for 45 years. A certified Braillist, Catlin recalled the days when books were translated into Braille using a six-key machine.
Find Solutions for Enterprises, SMBs & Service Providers at the INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference and EXPO West, October 4-6, 2010. Los Angeles, CA."Each is called a cell, and a cell is made up of six dots," she said. "Everything in Braille is made up of these dots." And one textbook might encompass 20 volumes once it's translated into Braille, the system of reading and writing used by blind people that was invented almost 200 years ago.
In those days, Catlin said, the small office was busy with volunteers four days a week, since the task of transcribing the books -- mostly textbooks -- was more time-consuming. But Catlin found the volunteering was addictive. "We say that once you come here, you're stuck," she said, with a laugh. "It's wonderful for people like me." The introduction of computers and new software, however, has changed that. It's still time-consuming, said McCabe, the CBA Workshop director, because it's important to be accurate, but the process is less demanding than old manual machines.
A $25,000 grant from the Norma B. Pfriem Foundation recently awarded to the CBA will help the organization's volunteers keep up with changing technology, as well as pay for the latest in software and hardware systems.
These days, the books are translated using a computer -- a volunteer transcribes the book using the Word program, then either copy it to a disk or e-mail it to the CBA. There, a computer program translates the words into Braille and the pages of raised dots are printed and then bound by hand.
Another new piece of equipment to be purchased with the grant money will take perforated edges off the pages, eliminating that tedious task.
Most of the books produced by the group are used in the state's public schools, with the $40 per volume cost paid by the state, McCabe said, though they will fill requests from individuals.
"I've had people call me from California," she said. "One mother called because her kid was going to private school and the school didn't have any money to order the book." The grant will also be used in some instances, McCabe said, to provide books to those in financial need.
The grant funds will also be used to buy a new printer that will enable them to re-create much more detailed three-dimensional images, such as graphs.
"We don't have it yet, so I'm not sure it works," McCabe said, but she's hopeful CBA will be able to use it to give blind children a better understanding of the concepts of three dimensions.
There are about 17 or 18 active volunteers with the CBA, though not all are in the area, McCabe said. In fact, she said, they have one volunteer who lives in Maine. "She e-mails her files to me," McCabe said. "There's also a woman in North Carolina, who also e-mails me. They're all wonderful volunteers." A local Jewish temple has used its annual "mitzvah day" to bring a large group together to tackle typing books into the computer If a book is scanned, it has to be taken apart, and then put back together, so McCabe learned how to bind books.
To volunteer with the CBA, one doesn't really need any special skills, she said, nor does one need to be a fast typist. "With Braille, it's not speed, it's accuracy," McCabe said.
"Braille is world-wide," Catlin said, "and it has to be the same." To see more of the Connecticut Post, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.connpost.com/. Copyright (c) 2010, Connecticut Post, Bridgeport Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ 
Download ]
Download ] 
