Refreshable Braille and National Library Service (NLS)
In August a pilot program was announced with Perkins Library and National Library Services (NLS) to test the new Orbit Reader 20 with a group of 100 patrons. With a refreshable braille display, files can be downloaded to a computer, phone or a device like the Orbit Reader 20 that supports refreshable braille. Just like a digital book, a reader then reads the book for an electronic, paperless version.
This is even more significant for a braille reader, because paper braille often requires more volumes of a larger size for a comparable print book. For example, one of the Harry Potter books might be11 volumes of braille in a book measuring 11″ by 10.5.” Try carrying that around in your backpack!
Up until the Orbit Reader 20, it has been the cost of refreshable braille displays that has limited the migration of braille from paper to refreshable braille displays. Paper braille, like paper print, may be waning, but the relevance of braille, like print for that matter, is only increasing in the digital age!
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Day 12: 31 Days of Braille