Latest News
- Braille for Beginners Drop-In Session
If you are registered for our Braille for Beginners On Demand course, our next Office Hours session will take place on Tuesday at 7:30 PM. Please look out for a reminder email containing your unique joining link. If you have not received it by Tuesday lunchtime, please write to [email protected] for assistance.
If you are new to braille and not registered for Braille for Beginners, please consider signning up at www.braillists.org/beginners.
For people not following Braille for Beginners, your next session will be next Tuesday. Please see next week’s Newsletter for more information.
- Focus 14, 40 and 80 Blue 5th Generation Now Support HID
A new firmware update has been released for all fifth generation Focus braille displays, introducing support for the HID (Human Interface Device) braille protocol over both USB and Bluetooth.
Further information, including release notes, download links and update procedures, can be found on the Focus Blue 5th Generation Firmware Downloads page of the Freedom Scientific website.
- RNIB Personal Transcription Service Featured on IN Touch
In Touch recently ran a feature on RNIB’s Personal Transcription Service, amit widespread concerns about its future.
- New SD Card of Christian Braille Books Available from Torch Trust
We are pleased to announce that our braille SD card is now available to buy. The card contains thousands of books converted from our braille library, including hymn collections and even the latest edition of the NIV Bible.
It is designed to slot into an electronic braille display – a compact, portable device that converts digital text into tactile braille. These devices are growing ever more popular – they display one or a few lines of braille at a time using pins which can be raised or lowered by mechanical means and thus the braille can be endlessly advanced. In this way a whole book can be read on the device with the user pressing a button to scroll to the next line.
Sheila Armstrong, Torch trustee, writes: “Some people have suggested that braille’s dying out, as they can’t imagine heaving all those heavy volumes around – the forty-three volumes of the Bible, for instance. But what if you could have thousands of braille books on something the size of a postage stamp or even smaller? Well, it’s now possible, thanks to little SD cards which can be popped into electronic braille readers. Up comes the book you’ve selected and if you finish it, there are many, many more where that one came from. I have a lot of time for St John’s comment about there not being enough space in the whole world if all the books had been written about our Lord Jesus’ time on earth. If I owned all the braille books you can fit on an SD card, the house would definitely not be big enough to contain them!”
To purchase the SD card at a cost of £10, please call the Client Services team on 01858 438260 or email [email protected].
We hope that this project will reach braille users across the UK, enabling access to so many wonderful Christian resources at no more than the press of a button.
- Recommended Braille-Related Podcasts
<p>We are always delighted to receive Newsletter submissions from our audience. Here is one such article, from a devoted participant in our Tuesday evening sessions, recommending some interesting podcasts:</p>
<h4>Pro Braille. Worldwide Initiatives For Accessible Music</h4>
<p>The first one is a very engaging conversation about Braille music. It was recorded for my friend’s Youtube channel TifloInfo. He published it for the Russian speaking audience but he also published an original version in English. Here is the link: <a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJBnvn-AgDk&pp=0gcJCfwJAYcqIYzv”>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJBnvn-AgDk&pp=0gcJCfwJAYcqIYzv</a></p>
<p>Here is the description from the video page:</p>
<p>“It was only ten years ago that Braille music was in a crisis,” says Dr. Sarah Morley Wilkins. “However, through international efforts of dedicated people and organisations, this trend has been reversed.” To find out more and to explore avenues of international cooperation in promoting accessible music, we speak with Dr. Sarah Morley Wilkins (Project Manager of the DAISY Music Braille Project) as well as two other distinguished panelists:</p>
<ul>
<li>Jay Pocknell, Music Officer at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), and Project Manager of Sound Without Sight</li>
<li>James Bowden, Braille Technical Officer, RNIB)</li>
</ul>
<p>The show is hosted by Ksenia Blake, Yana Leschenko, and Andre Polykanine. Please note: This is the original version of a live interview, recorded for a Russian-speaking audience.</p>
<p>Release date: 8 October 2025</p>
<h4>Bridging Access to Braille: An In-Depth Look at Braille Access on iOS 26</h4>
<p>Next are two podcasts about Braille Access in iOS 26. The first one is from AppleVis. Scott Davert recorded it. Here is the link: <a href=”https://applevis.com/podcasts/bridging-access-braille-depth-look-braille-access-ios-26″>https://applevis.com/podcasts/bridging-access-braille-depth-look-braille-access-ios-26</a></p>
<p>It has a transcript.</p>
<p>Here is the description from the page:</p>
<p>In this episode, Scott Davert gives us an in-depth demonstration of Braille Access. New in iOS 26, Braille Access aims to offer an experience similar to dedicated braille note takers.</p>
<h4>What’s new in iOS 26</h4>
<p>The second podcast covering Braille Access on iOS, is Access On by Jonathan Mosen. Here is the link: <a href=”https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whats-new-in-ios-26/id1777481188?i=1000729563307″>https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whats-new-in-ios-26/id1777481188?i=1000729563307</a></p>
<h4>How JAWS Went Multiline and Playful Learning with Lego</h4>
<p>The next podcast I’d like to talk about is Raising the Dots. Dave had a great interview about support for multiline Braille displays in JAWS. Here is the link: <a href=”https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-jaws-went-multiline-and-playful-learning-with-lego/id1824662653?i=1000731184766″>https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-jaws-went-multiline-and-playful-learning-with-lego/id1824662653?i=1000731184766</a></p>
<p>Here is the description from the episode page:</p>
<p>Going behind the recent introduction of multiline braille support in the popular JAWS for Windows Screen Reader, this month we hear from Joe Stephen, a blind software engineer with Vispero, on the new Wrapped and Cropped modes and why they’re a breakthrough for tables, spreadsheets, coding, and even braille music.</p>
<p>Playful learning & research: Prof. John Ravenscroft from the University of Edinburgh, Scottish Sensory Centre and ICEVI Europe speaks with us from the Tactile Literacy Conference about his work with LEGO Foundation and LEGO Braille Bricks, highlighting the global push for braille and tactile literacy.</p>
<h4>An in-depth look at multiline Braille support in JAWS</h4>
<p>Here is another one about multiline Braille support. This one is an FSCast episode: <a href=”https://blog.freedomscientific.com/fscast-261-an-in-depth-look-at-multiline-braille-support-in-jaws-and-an-ai-user-survey-by-the-afb/”>https://blog.freedomscientific.com/fscast-261-an-in-depth-look-at-multiline-braille-support-in-jaws-and-an-ai-user-survey-by-the-afb/</a></p>
<p>This one also has a transcript: <a href=”https://blog.freedomscientific.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/FSCast261-August2025Transcript.htm”>https://blog.freedomscientific.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/FSCast261-August2025Transcript.htm</a></p>
<p>Here is the description from the podcast page:</p>
<p>On this episode, Joe Stephen and Rusty Kelly unveil some of the details of our upcoming support for multiline Braille.</p>
<h4>Monarch: The Future of Braille and Beyond</h4>
<p>And the latest one about multiline Braille support: <a href=”https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/monarch-the-future-of-braille-and-beyond/id1786384800?i=1000732154531″https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/monarch-the-future-of-braille-and-beyond/id1786384800?i=1000732154531</a></p>
<p>It has the transcript.</p>
<p>It’s See Things Differently with HumanWare.</p>
<p>The title of the episode is: Monarch: The Future of Braille and Beyond.</p>
<p>It’s quite an engaging, fast-paced and interesting conversation about different ways of using a multiline Braille display in educational and professional environment. The discussion was led by the Senior Braille product manager Andrew Flatres.</p>
<p>Here is the description from the page:</p>
<p>In this milestone 10th episode of See Things Differently, Rachel Ramos and David Woodbridge hand the mic to HumanWare’s Braille Product Manager Andrew Flatres for a deep-dive into one of the most exciting innovations in accessibility tech: the Monarch.</p>
<p>Andrew is joined by Chris Cooke, Scott Erichsen, and Allison Meloy, three early Monarch users who share how this groundbreaking tactile device is transforming the way people experience Braille and tactile graphics. From first impressions to classroom applications and the “wow” moments of exploring diagrams through touch, their stories highlight what makes Monarch so revolutionary.</p>
<p>Recently recognized by Time Magazine as one of the Best Inventions of 2025, the Monarch represents a major leap forward for digital Braille — and for the future of accessible learning.</p>
<p>Whether you’re a teacher, tech enthusiast, or just curious about what’s next in accessibility, this conversation will leave you inspired by what tactile technology can achieve.</p>
<p>Here is the link to the transcript: <a href=”https://see-things-differently-with-hu.pinecast.co/episode/276dfff2/monarch-the-future-of-braille-and-beyond”>https://see-things-differently-with-hu.pinecast.co/episode/276dfff2/monarch-the-future-of-braille-and-beyond</a></p>
<h4>Inside Apple’s Braille Access and the Future of Braille Literacy</h4>
<p>Podcast At Your Fingertips – Braille Then and Now has a new feed.</p>
<p>I’d like to bring your attention to the latest episode talking about Braille Access on iOS and about multiline Braille displays. Here is the link: <a href=”https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-apples-braille-access-and-the-future/id1841245814?i=1000731264761″>https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-apples-braille-access-and-the-future/id1841245814?i=1000731264761</a></p>
<p>Here is the description from the episode page:</p>
<p>Discover what’s new in Braille accessibility with Apple’s latest updates. From iOS 26’s “Braille Access” mode to creative uses of BRF files and multi-line displays like the Monarch, this episode of At Your Fingertips explores how technology continues to shape modern Braille literacy and why it still matters in 2025.</p>
<p>This episode dives deep into Apple’s new Braille Access feature in iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe, revealing how it allows users to create BRF (Braille Ready Format) files, take notes, perform calculations, and seamlessly switch between apps using a Braille display. Host Chris Cooke explains practical use cases—from writing Braille music to sharing specialized code—and highlights how iCloud storage makes Braille more portable than ever.</p>
<p>Listeners are also introduced to Seeing Hands (<a href=”https://www.seeinghands.org”>seeinghands.org</a>), a nonprofit distributing Braille books and dictionaries for young readers and developing Sudoku puzzles for multi-line Braille displays like the Monarch.</p>
<p>The show closes with reflections on the ongoing “Braille debate” discussed recently on <a href=”https://www.doubletaponair.com”>Double Tap</a>: whether Braille remains essential in a world of screen readers and AI. Chris Cooke offers a compassionate perspective, acknowledging both lifelong Braille users and those who struggle with tactile reading, while celebrating literacy, technology, and inclusion.</p>
- DAISY Board Webinar, Wednesday 12 November, 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
At their Board meeting in Geneva on November 12th, the wider DAISY community are invited to attend the free open session conducted via webinar to hear the latest developments on topics including:
- The eBraille Specification
- User Requirements for DAISY Reading Apps
- Artificial Intelligence for DAISY Members
- Updates from Member Organizations
- Transcription Production Assistant Vacancy, Gateshead
RNIB is advertising for a Transcription Production Assistant.
Closing date: 11 November 2025
The Braillists is a grass-roots community group offering high quality training and support to emerging and established braille users. We also work with family members, friends, colleagues and teachers of braille users, and connect braille users with braille technology developers and funders.
What Is Braille?
Braille is a simple code for representing written language. We believe braille has the potential to transform the life of any blind person who has the opportunity to learn it.
Discover more about braille on this page.
Learn Braille
We support hundreds of adults to read braille by touch in a few short weeks through our innovative and approachable Braille for Beginners course. Free of charge, it comprises hard copy resources through the post and a series of short pre-recorded lessons, supplemented by email and Zoom support from highly qualified and experienced tutors.
Find out more about Braille for Beginners and register here.
There are plenty of other courses available too, for both children and adults, reading by touch or by sight. We have made a list of these on our Learn Braille page.
Perkins Repairs and Other Braille Equipment
The Perkins Brailler is the most established braille writer in use today, and even machines from the 1950s can still be serviced and repaired. We have compiled information about Perkins repairs, places to purchase Perkins Braillers, and other types of braille equipment on our Braille Equipment page.
If you are looking for braille paper, you can find it on our Braille Consumables page.
Our Aims
- Promote the value of braille as a proven literacy tool that enriches the lives of blind people.
- Support efforts to make affordable braille and tactile reading technologies available to all blind people irrespective of education and employment status.
- Provide an open forum for the exchange of ideas about the development of future braille technology.
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Join our announcements only mailing list to receive our weekly newsletter.
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