Rothstein is president of the Perkins School for the Blind, which has just embarked on a partnership with Washington’s Martin Luther King Jr. Library that will enable the blind and disabled to borrow its Braille books. Last month, the Perkins Braille and Talking Book Library was named library of the year by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
What is the demand like for Braille literature? For somebody who is blind, Braille means literacy. For most people, it is a critical part of their lives. You can’t go to a bookstore to buy Braille books.
Is it hard to learn to read Braille? Think of Braille as any language. It’s tactile, you are feeling the dots. For some people it is easy to learn and for some it is harder. For instance, someone who loses sight as an adult, an Iraq war veteran, for instance, it might be harder because it is harder to learn language as an adult.
Has the demand for Braille diminished because of audiobooks? For some people, they prefer to get Books on Tape but others like the book. A Book on Tape uses someone else’s voice. It’s a different reading experience; it’s not better or worse, it’s just different.
Why doesn’t the Washington library have its own Braille collection? They have a relatively small number of people, in the hundreds, who are Braille readers, so to maintain a full Braille catalog would be very expensive for them. We already have one of the largest Braille collections in the country. We have 18,000 titles in Braille, from novels to biographies to history.
How can someone from Washington take out Braille books? You can call us or the library at 202-727-2145, and it is a free service. You have to either be legally blind or physically challenged. It’s a door-to-door service.
