It takes a lot of skilled people to get a braille textbook under the fingertips of a student on the first day of school. A certified braille transcriber uses braille translation software to manipulate an electronic file of a book, applying strict formatting guidelines established by the Braille Authority of North America. A variety of textured paper, string, and objects are used to turn pictures, tables, and graphs into tactile graphics to be felt by the reader. A certified braille proofreader checks for braille accuracy before the file is sent to a braille embosser which pushes and presses braille dots onto both sides of thick perforated paper which is separated and bound into volumes about 2 inches thick.
With significant funding from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), the Colorado Instructional Materials Center (CIMC), part of the CSDB Outreach Department, assists all Colorado school districts fulfill their requests for approximately 500 braille textbooks and novels each school year. The full transcription of a braille textbook populated with mathematic equations, maps, or scientific illustrations can take up to two years to complete and be comprised of up to 100 volumes.
