On Saturday, September 14, 2019, the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) will kick off its free braille transcription course. Students will learn to transcribe print text into braille for blind and low-vision readers. Class will be held 9:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Saturday mornings, and will end on April 4, 2020.

Braille is critically important to the lives of those who are visually impaired or blind as it provides the ability to read and write. Literacy ensures intellectual freedom and supports equal opportunity and personal security. WTBBL’s Braille Production Department produces books written by local authors from the Pacific Northwest or books set in, or about the Pacific Northwest to add to its collection, increasing access for readers throughout the country. The course provides WTBBL an opportunity to both advocate for braille literacy and recruit volunteer transcribers to create books for the library’s network.

If you love to read, and want to help promote literacy, you could learn to transcribe books into braille! For more information call 206-615-0400, email [email protected], or register at http://tinyurl.com/wtbbl-class.

The Washington Talking Book & Braille Library is a program of the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State. WTBBL provides services statewide, at the library and by mail, to any Washington resident unable to read standard print material due to blindness, visual impairment, deaf-blindness, physical disability (cannot hold a book or turn pages), or reading disability.