Latest News
- History of Tactile Literacy: in conversation with Tilly Guthrie, Tuesday 18 February at 7:30 PM
Victorian Britain was a heavily visual era. Sighted people gained access to the Penny Post, and the ability to communicate with friends across the nation with relative ease in an alphabet which was already well-established. On the other hand, for the blind community, many different tactile alphabets were invented simultaneously to address their exclusion from this culture, and blind education was completely decentralised.
Tilly Guthrie is a PhD researcher in the history of tactile literacy, specialising in the period between the invention of Braille in the 1820s and its eventual adoption in Britain at the end of the nineteenth century. In this conversation with Braillists Chairman, Dave Williams, she will describe some of the tactile alphabets in use at that time, and show how their concurrence affected blind people’s access to culture and community and how blindness was perceived by the sighted.
To join by phone, please use these details:
- Phone number: 0131 460 1196
- Meeting ID: 840 2014 9850
- Passcode: 123456
- Braille Event at Limavady Library, Wednesday 19 February 2025 from 2:00 PM
5 Connell Street, Limavady, Londonderry, BT49 0EA
Braille enthusiast Mary Lea is hosting a braille-themed event at Limavady Library on Wednesday 19 February 2025.
Children from local primary schools will visit from 2:00 PM, and secondary school children and other interested people from 3:00 PM.
The event will provide a hands on introduction to braille, with a Perkins brailler on show, plenty of examples of writing systems and books, braille stickers and name badges, and braille moulds for arts and crafts.
For more information, please contact us and we will put you in touch with Mary.
- Invitation for music braille teachers to join an online Round Table on Teaching Braille Music, Friday 7 March, 11:00 AM-1:00 PM
The DAISY Consortium’s Music Braille Project and RNIB would like to invite teachers of music braille – blind and sighted – to an online Round Table on Teaching Braille Music.
- Description: An international forum for blind and sighted braille music teachers to share experiences, challenges and best practices around teaching braille music, and to plan for the future.
- Date: Online: Friday 7 March 2025
Time: 1100-1300 GMT/UTC- Hosted by: DAISY Consortium & Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).
- Event format: Short presentations followed by discussion, in English. Recorded.
Register by 5 March to receive joining instructions.
If you have something you’d like to share, or issues you’d like to see discussed at the Round Table please include this in the ‘ideas for topics’ field.
Sign up to the DAISY Music Braille Project mailing list if you wish to receive notes from the meeting.
Can’t make it? You can also register and sign up to the DAISY Music Braille Project mailing list to receive notes from the meeting and receive notifications of any future events around music braille. Use the ‘ideas for topics’ field to share any news or comments/questions you would like to be covered at the event.
We look forward to seeing some of you on 7 March for what we know will be a very fruitful discussion.
With best regards,
Sarah Morley Wilkins and Solveig-Marie Oma (DAISY), and Jay Pocknell (RNIB and Sound Without Sight).Aims
- Identify challenges in teaching braille music and share solutions.
- Review existing courses and digital tools for teaching braille music.
- Identify opportunities for sharing resources internationally, and/or future development of new tools, resources, and interventions.
- Capture sector requirements and recommendations in a report.
Background
The DAISY Music Braille Project has been successfully working to reverse the decline in braille music use and expertise, and now more braille scores can be made available than ever before. Furthermore, advances in notation and conversion tools, file format standards and opportunities for file-sharing, together with the publication of a list of available online teaching and learning resources, make it easier for braille scores to be produced and used.
The next challenge faced by the sector is to increase the number of teachers able to teach music braille, with access to effective resources, especially in smaller countries. Greater international collaboration can foster resource sharing and innovation. This Round Table is intended to start this collaboration.
Discussion Topics
- Approaches, materials, tools and courses for teaching music braille in different settings and in different countries.
- Ways to increase numbers of educators who can teach music braille.
- Keeping it fun – how to make learning music braille engaging, interactive and music-led.
- Gaps in resources needing to be filled.
- Requirements for an international working group and priority areas for action.
With thanks to our friends at Sound Without Sight for handling registrations and hosting the online meeting for us.
About the DAISY Consortium
DAISY is an international non-profit membership organization working with over 150 partners all around the world to improve access to reading for people with print disabilities. We work closely with technology companies, standards agencies and publishers to ensure that the reading and publishing technology of tomorrow provide an accessible future for all. We have a dedicated workstream around access to music braille and accessible music publishing.
About RNIB
RNIB, the Royal National Institute of Blind People, is the UK’s leading sight loss charity. We offer practical and emotional support to blind and partially sighted people, their families and carers. We raise awareness of the experiences of blind and partially sighted people and campaign for change to make our society more accessible for all. We want to change our world so there are no barriers to people with sight loss.
About Sound Without Sight
Sound Without Sight is a community-led initiative, supported by RNIB, aspiring to become the “one front door” for information related to music and accessibility. Its Knowledge Hub and Monthly Meet-ups provide space for blind and partially sighted musicians to share experience and solutions, including information about accessible formats for music notation.
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.
Find Out More
Join our announcements only mailing list to receive our weekly newsletter.
Join the conversation and meet other Braillists on our discussion forum.
Connect with us on Twitter (@Braillists) or like us on Facebook for up to the minute Braillists news.
Listen to some braille-related audio on Soundcloud (braillists).
Please see our Sponsors and Partners for information on organisations who are supporting us.
Get In Touch
Email [email protected] or call 020 3893 3392. Further details on our Contact Us page.