Tech Increases Braille Availability
This article about the 2018 rollout of the original braille e-reader pilot program with Perkins and the National Library Service (NLS) highlights both the decline in braille literacy and the increasing importance and access to braille in the digital age. Although the original e-reader, the Orbit Reader 20, was ultimately replaced with either a Humanware or Zoomax e-reader the National Library Service, now provides patrons the ability to download electronic braille books from the Library of Congress, or from a computer, and read from the refreshable braille display. There is no cost to patrons for the e-reader or to download the braille books.
In addition to the Zoomax and Humanware e-readers and the Orbit Reader 20, other companies are hard at work to create a tablet-size device, like the Monarch, with a full page braille display. Ironically, the technology thought for many years to be the demise of braille is reinvigorating it by making it more available in digital format, and this is critical for literacy skills among students with a vision impairment.
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