Focusing on Braille Readership in the United States and the Distribution of Braille Materials.

 

It is nigh impossible to estimate the braille-reading population in the United States. Louis Goldish has made H a couple of stabs and so have others including the Library of Congress, Division for the Blind and Physically «) Handicapped. Neither Mr. Goldish nor we have done much ' more than scratch the surface: the sources for his figures « were secondary sources, and DBPH's most recent effort in i assessing braille readership arose from a loosely constructed survey with limited objectives. If one attempts an honest estimate or projection of **] this readership by looking at a variety of national sources, one can see, I believe, that the braille reader- **] ship appears to be at a plateau in terms of numbers. -> There have been many efforts, however, to provide improved ^ reading services to braille readers, some coming from the J United States and some from other countries. It is these efforts to meet braille readers' needs that have taken up a good deal of my time in these past four years, and for that reason I am pleased to be here to give you our view of "what!s up with braille".

 Who are the Braille Readers?

 Even with this disclaimer about numbers, though, one should attempt to establish a magnitude or level or range; for without this, none of us, either organisations or individuals, will know what services we should be providing or seeking. Let me make a stab at it, using available sources and, frankly, a conservative judgement. Working from Goldishfs estimates, as shown in his written material and as a result of a recent conversation with him, we can speak of a population today of about 60,000 persons who use braille fairly regularly. This is a 33 percent increase over the 45,000 estimated a decade ago. By looking at some figures collected over the past five years, we find not only a less clear picture - certainly not a straight-line increase - but even contradictory figures. The number of readers registered with the American Printing House for the Blind increases each year, from 25,800 for 1974 to 29,000 for 1976 (probably 30,000 for the most recent reporting period); but the numbers who read just braille or both braille and large print have decreased steadily in this same period, from 7,850 to 7,300. It is not too helpful for present purposes to look at figures available from the Library of Congress - for the simple reason that we count ohly those who register with one or another of our cooperating libraries for braille service - it is user-initiated. A user survey conducted in 1968 for the Library of Congress sampled from a braille reader population of 10,000; the same population was sampled in a 1974 survey of braille readers only, this time about 12,000 (the subscribers to the Braille Book Review). Actually, DBPH reader statistics show a larger population, because not everyone who uses a braille lending library subscribes to this bimonthly periodical. For the most recent five years for which we have statistics, the increase has been about 17 percent, from 18,300 in 1972 to 21,600 in 1976.7 In this same period the legally blind population, as reported by the National Scoeity for Prevention of Blindness, grew only three percent, from 475,000 to 490,000. If we accept, however, the prevalence indicated by the 15-year-old household survey by the National Center for Health Statistics, the blind population is more like 865,000. I think you will agree all this is confusing, misleading, and perhaps useless. About the only clear conclusion is, I beleive, that a thorough, truly scientific study must be made. Some inferences can be and have been made from one or another of the above figures - and I will tread among them and a few others. In the period of five years when braille readership in the Library of Congress network grew 17 percent, the total number of readers (95 percent or more using audio materials only) grew about this percentage each year. It seems safe enough to say, then, that there are fewer new braille readers added to the population each year. This seems to be confirmed by the decrease in braille registrants at APH - and we usually look to the young for the preponderance of growth in braille readership. The best that one can say, after balancing a slight increase against a decrease, is that we are probably at a plateau with respect to the number of braille readers. Like most plateaus, this is negative, for almost everyone who looks at general statistics expects that the number of legally blind, or more broadly visually handicapped persons will grow at a relatively high rate since this handicap occurs most frequently at older ages, beyond 50 or 60. 

Who are Serving the Braille Readership and with What Services?

 Over about the same five-year period I have been using for other purposes, we have figures that indicate a still high production level and a high demand level. Clovernook Printing House for the Blind reports an increase in the number of plates produced annually, from 46,000 in 1972 to 50,000 in 1976, but a decrease in the number of pages - N from 66 million to 50 million in the same period. Similarly, APH in this period saw a drop and a rise in the number of plates but a steady drop in the number of pages produced; thus between 1972 and 1976 the first figure looks the same - 176,000 plates - but the second decreased 9 from 57 million to 48 million pages. Both Martin Droege and Ralph McCracken, in my conversations with them, see some of the same things already mentioned here - fewer new readers - but they also point out that more individual needs are being met (educational as well as recreational with APH mostly recreational with clovernook.) This speak well for their sense of service, their responsiveness, for users demands.

What must still be done?

of financing, expertise, and especially program outlook. And we are very active in supporting, where possible, promising technological advances. We sat with other organisation representatives on an advisory committee during the planning of the preliminary testing of the Argonne Braille Machine. We are presently devising a draft evaluation plan for the ELINFA Digicassette Portable Braille Recorder, which is a good example of a revolutionary idea - storing braille magnetically on cassettes (what a saving in space). We have a contract with Triformation Systems, bf Stuart, Florida, for modification of its embosser which, if successful, will speed up embossing of zinc and iron plates by as much as six times the rate for stereotyping by an operator. We have a contract with Ray Kurzweil's company whereby, again if successful, his al ready ingenious reading machine will produce braille out put as well as the present voice output. We are following other ventures in the concept, design or prototype stage, but frankly our still-limited funds force us to back truly promising devices and systems, which means beyond the breadboard and prototype stages.

Conclusion 

It is up to all of us to keep open our eyes, our ears, and our minds to the possibilities of technology for braille - even such possibilities as high-speed transmission of braille, possibly by satellite. We must strive and strive together to do a better job, whether we be educators, rehabilitation workers, librarians, producers or providers, inventors or developers, publicists, leaders - all of use interested in advancing braille, perhaps even in saving braille, certainly improving the production and distribution of braille by exploring practical alternatives to achieve such improvements. But never, never must we go far in any direction of improve ment without complete and total attention to the needs and demands of the ultimate consumer, the braille reader.