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The following information was prepared for the AFB Solutions Forum.
From the Results of the National Survey Conducted by the American Foundation for the Blind Textbooks and Instructional Materials Solutions Forum's Training and Other Needs Work Group.
Dr. Robert Wall, Vanderbilt University and Mary Ann Siller, AFB
February 2002
The provision of braille materials for blind students has traditionally depended on the services of braillists who prepare the materials manually. The traditional braillist is a volunteer who types braille material on a manual braillewriter. This tradition grew out of centuries of charitable service to people who are blind and led to the acceptance of volunteerism as the principal means of providing services to blind people.
The AFB Textbooks and Instructional Materials Solutions Forum's Training and Other Needs Work Group conducted a national survey to determine the current state of braille transcriber availability and training across the country. Of 40 states responding, 40 percent were represented by the director of the state's Instructional Media Center or Instructional Resource Center (which often houses many of the transcribers in a state).
Three factors define braillists: whether they are paid or volunteer, whether they are certified or not, and whether they are full-time, part-time, or working under contract.
Across all of the responding states, the most common categories were:
Looking at the responses another way:
Long-standing reliance on volunteer braillists, whether through volunteer organizations or prison programs, has hampered overall braille production by not promoting the position of braillist as a viable career. A desire for more volunteer braillists, expressed by 40 percent of the states, indicates a reluctance to move beyond the traditional service delivery models.
While using volunteers for braille production may hamper the development of braillist as a career, a more serious limiting factor is the low standard of certification for braille transcribers. Of full-time transcribers, both employed and volunteer, only 51.8 percent are certified by the National Library Service. This is largely a consequence of the serious shortage of braille transcribers. To illustrate, 77 percent of the respondents reported insufficient numbers of braille transcribers to meet their need for production of special materials. Based on current demands, 380 full-time transcribers are needed in the United States. Based on the states' projected needs, within five years the nation will need 735 transcribers, and within ten years 1,020 additional transcribers will be needed. Presently only 20 funded positions are recruiting for transcribers.
Areas of certification in which states identified the greatest need are Nemeth (6.5 needed per state), Tactile Diagrams (4.8 needed per state), Transcription Software (4.0 needed per state), Literary Code (3.6 needed per state), Scientific Notation (3.6 needed per state), and Proofreaders (3.2 needed per state). Unfortunately, the certification process is not well understood, even by those who monitor the certification of braillists. The NLS standards are being used to rate the performance and ability of braillists in areas in which the NLS does not offer training or certification (e.g., tactile diagrams and foreign languages). The NLS certification covers only literary and mathematics transcription, proofreading, and braille transcription of music.
In recruiting experienced transcribers, states access the prison programs (20 percent), canvas aides in local schools (13 percent), or use word of mouth (13 percent). In recruiting potential transcribers, states often look to aides or teachers (40 percent), use word of mouth (31 percent), use newspaper ads (20 percent), access prison programs (11 percent), or work through other braille transcribers (9 percent). However, 70 percent of respondents indicated their recruitment efforts were ineffective.
When new recruits are obtained, 79 percent of the time they are provided training through the NLS course. However, only 30.7 percent of those beginning the NLS course actually complete it. Other avenues for training include matching a recruit with a local braillist (23.7 percent), providing training through a local transcribing group (15.8 percent), utilizing courses in a local college or teacher training program (7.9 percent), or training through the state IRC (7.9 percent). Despite the range of options available, 48.3 percent of respondents found no advantages in them for recruitment, training and continuing education of transcribers. Rather than having an array of options, 44.8 percent of the respondents would prefer a mandatory certification process administrated in conjunction with a recognized college course.
A revolutionary project to define a new career/occupation is being developed at Northwest Vista College in San Antonio, Texas. The textbook transcribing training program is a collaboration among AFB, Northwest Vista College in San Antonio, Texas, and the Texas Education Agency. The program is intended to increase the success rate in training and certifying braillists and to create a cadre of professionals with the skills needed to merit professional wages. The new career is aimed at creating a career-based curriculum that can be replicated at other community colleges across the United States. It is hoped that, with the creation of such training programs and the skilled personnel they produce, more funding will be attracted to pay for high quality braille transcribing services throughout the country.
To ensure optimal use of new transcribers' time, however, training and incentives must be provided for working with electronic files. To this end, electronic files must be created under a standardized rubric or "markup language." This need is currently being addressed through the Joint Technology Task Force.
American Foundation for the Blind
National Education Program
260 Treadway Plaza
Dallas, Texas 75235
214-352-7222
Fax: 214-352-3214
Complete Analysis of the AFB Solutions Forum Survey of Training and Availability of Braille Transcribers
www.afb.org/info_documents.asp?kitid=127&collectionid=8 and at www.tsbvi.edu/textbooks/afb/index.htm
American Foundation for the Blind
National Literacy Center
100 Peachtree Street, Suite 620
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
404-525-2303
Fax: 404-659-6957
For more information, or to order an AFB Press Publication, visit the AFB Bookstore or call: 1-800-232-3044 or fax: 412-741-0609.
In keeping with AFB's mission to achieve equality of access to information for people who are blind or visually impaired, this document is available, upon request, in one or more of the following formats: electronic file, braille, large print, and audio recording.
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