Resources

Ressources pour les transcripteurs et correcteurs

Books

  • Braille into the Next Millennium (NLS, 2000)
    A 600-page anthology of articles by more than two dozen international braille experts, in three sections: braille in the past, the present, and the future. Available to read online or download from the Internet Archive.
  • Dancing Dots
    Dancing Dots provides resources and products for blind and low vision musicians and their educators, including the GOODFEEL braille music transcription software.
  • Fun with Braille (APH)
    This book, available through the American Printing House for the Blind, contains many fun and entertaining practise activities for both children and adults who are learning contracted braille.
  • Guidelines and Standards for Tactile Graphics, 2022 (BANA)
    BANA’s guidelines and standards for producing tactile graphics.
  • IPA Braille
    Information about transcribing the International Phonetic Alphabet in braille, from the ICEB.
  • Perkins Brailler Store
    The official store for the Perkins Brailler and its accessories.

Books for Parents

  • Fun with Braille (APH)
    This book, available through the American Printing House for the Blind, contains many fun and entertaining practise activities for both children and adults who are learning contracted braille.
  • Just Enough to Know Better (UEB) – A Braille Primer for Parents
    This book, sold through National Braille Press and written by Eileen Curran, teaches parents just enough braille to know better and to help their braille-reading child. The book contains exercises with real, tactile braille for practice.
  • Perkins Brailler Store
    The official store for the Perkins Brailler and its accessories.
  • So What About Drawing? Instructions for Drawing Using a Braille Writer
    A fun and free book available in PDF format that contains directions for creating many different drawings (both simple and more complex) with the Perkins brailler. A wonderful resource for creating braille art and also practising different contractions along the way. There are instructions for creating shamrocks, Christmas trees, sailboats, bears, angels, flags and much more.

Braille Technology

  • Braille into the Next Millennium (NLS, 2000)
    A 600-page anthology of articles by more than two dozen international braille experts, in three sections: braille in the past, the present, and the future. Available to read online or download from the Internet Archive.
  • Perkins Brailler Store
    The official store for the Perkins Brailler and its accessories.

Downloadable Publications

  • World Braille Usage, Third Edition
    Developed with support from Perkins, the International Council on English Braille, and the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, this third edition of World Braille Usage attempts to document the current state of braille around the world.

Resources

  • Braille Activities for Children
    The Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness compiled a page filled with tons of activities for teaching braille to the very young child, from tactile awareness (pre-braille) to contracted braille symbols. Included in this comprehensive resource are games, activities, books and other creative ideas for teaching a number of braille related skills.
  • CNIB Braille Creative Writing Contest
    An annual contest for primary and secondary students in Canada. Students can submit a story or poem in any level of braille for a chance to win prizes.
  • Exceptional Teaching – Braille Products
    Raised line coloring books and related accessories (such as anti-role crayons that can be labeled with braille) for children with visual impairments:
  • Future Aids - The Braille Superstore
    Thousands of braille books for children, teens, and adults, as well as toys, games, kitchen aids, software, and other products.
  • Tack-Tiles® Braille Systems
    These Braille blocks provide a unique bridge, a smoother, shorter, more interesting path to Braille literacy. Now in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian literary Braille Code as well as Nemeth Braille Code for mathematics, Braille code for music notation, and computer Braille code.
  • Tactile Vision Graphics – Braille Greeting Cards
    A producer of tactile/braille greeting cards for many occasions. Cards are 5” by 7” and include a raised-line graphic with a greeting in both print and braille. They also have a line of products which include colouring books, children’s books, educational tools, maps, calendars and much more.

Ressources en français

Sources of Braille Books and Resources

  • Beulah Reimer Legacy (BRL)
    Offers print/braille children's picture books at an affordable cost. These books are brailled with clear plastic strips which are placed on top of the printed text.
  • Bookshare
    Bookshare is an online digital library with over 110,000 books available to download in accessible formats (such as DAISY, braille, or audio) to Canadians who have print disabilities. Users must register and provide proof of disability before being able to access this service.
  • Braille It
    This family-run, Canadian business offers a variety of services including braille transcription, training in assistive technology, and other blindness-related services.
  • CAEB – Centre d’accès équitable aux bibliothèques
    Service de bibliothèque accessible offrant des livres audio, en texte électronique et en braille (numérique et imprimé) aux Canadiens ayant une déficience perceptuelle, par l’intermédiaire de leur bibliothèque publique.
  • CNIB SmartLife
    CNIB SmartLife offers a wide variety of products for Canadians who are blind or partially sighted, including many braille-related products such as calendars and tools for reading and writing braille.
  • Future Aids - The Braille Superstore
    Thousands of braille books for children, teens, and adults, as well as toys, games, kitchen aids, software, and other products.
  • L'Institut Nazareth et Louis Braille - Comptoir des ventes
  • National Braille Press
    A producer of braille books for children and adults (including print/braille board books for very young children). They also run several programs, including a children's braille book club and a ReadBooks! book bag for preschool-aged children designed to foster early literacy.
  • National Federation of the Blind Independence Market
    A resource for blindness-related products, including an extensive collection of NFB literature of interest to individuals who are blind and their families.
  • Perkins School for the Blind Shop
    The Perkins School for the Blind online shop sells a wide variety of blindness-related products, including many products related to braille and literacy.
  • RNIB Online Shop
    The RNIB online shop carries a variety of products for people who are blind and visually impaired, including many braille- and literacy-related products.
  • Seedlings Braille Books for Children
    Seedlings has over 1200 low-cost books for children in braille, including print/braille books for younger children. They also run several programs, including the "Book Angel Program" where registered children can receive two free braille books per year, and an "Adopt-A-Reader" program that provides sponsored children with funding to purchase braille books of their own.
  • Tactile Vision Graphics – Braille Greeting Cards
    A producer of tactile/braille greeting cards for many occasions. Cards are 5” by 7” and include a raised-line graphic with a greeting in both print and braille. They also have a line of products which include colouring books, children’s books, educational tools, maps, calendars and much more.

Websites

  • AFB resources and information for parents about braille
    A collection of resources, including websites for learning basic braille, braille related videos and books for parents of blind/visually impaired children.
  • Braille Activities for Children
    The Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness compiled a page filled with tons of activities for teaching braille to the very young child, from tactile awareness (pre-braille) to contracted braille symbols. Included in this comprehensive resource are games, activities, books and other creative ideas for teaching a number of braille related skills.
  • Braille Authority of North America
    (BANA)
  • Braille Calendars – American Action Fund
    Free braille calendars from the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults.
  • Braille Formats: Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription, 2016
    The current BANA guidelines for formatting braille transcriptions, available in BRF, PDF, and HTML.
  • BrailleBug
    This is an excellent resource for parents and teachers. It includes activities and games for educating sighted classmates about braille, resources for teaching and learning braille, and information about where to obtain braille books for children and other materials related to braille learning:
  • CNIB Braille Creative Writing Contest
    An annual contest for primary and secondary students in Canada. Students can submit a story or poem in any level of braille for a chance to win prizes.
  • CNIB Braille Services and Courses
    Braille courses and services from CNIB.
  • Code braille français uniformisé (CBFU) – édition québécoise (2008)
    Édition québécoise officielle (mai 2008) du code de transcription du braille français, en PDF imprimé.
  • Dancing Dots
    Dancing Dots provides resources and products for blind and low vision musicians and their educators, including the GOODFEEL braille music transcription software.
  • Exceptional Teaching – Braille Products
    Raised line coloring books and related accessories (such as anti-role crayons that can be labeled with braille) for children with visual impairments:
  • Feelin’ Groovy: Functional Tactual Skills
    An article that discusses how parents and teachers of students with visual impairments could develop their functional tactual skills.
  • Guidelines and Standards for Tactile Graphics, 2022 (BANA)
    BANA’s guidelines and standards for producing tactile graphics.
  • Hadley – Braille for Everyday Use
    Free online braille workshops from Hadley for adults with vision loss, their families, and professionals.
  • International Council on English Braille
    (ICEB) Coordinates and improves standards for braille usage for all English-speaking users of braille.
  • Literacy and Braille (APH ConnectCenter)
    Articles and information about literacy and braille for parents of children with visual impairments, from APH ConnectCenter (formerly FamilyConnect).
  • National Braille Press
    A producer of braille books for children and adults (including print/braille board books for very young children). They also run several programs, including a children's braille book club and a ReadBooks! book bag for preschool-aged children designed to foster early literacy.
  • Paths To Literacy
    This website is a joint project between the Perkins School for the Blind and the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. It provides a wealth of information and resources related to literacy for students who are blind or visually impaired, including those who have additional disabilities. It is an excellent resource for both parents and teachers, and contains both original content and links to other relevant websites and articles.
  • Perkins Webinars
    Recorded webinars from Perkins School for the Blind, including sessions on braille and literacy.
  • Tack-Tiles® Braille Systems
    These Braille blocks provide a unique bridge, a smoother, shorter, more interesting path to Braille literacy. Now in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian literary Braille Code as well as Nemeth Braille Code for mathematics, Braille code for music notation, and computer Braille code.
  • Tactile Vision Graphics – Braille Greeting Cards
    A producer of tactile/braille greeting cards for many occasions. Cards are 5” by 7” and include a raised-line graphic with a greeting in both print and braille. They also have a line of products which include colouring books, children’s books, educational tools, maps, calendars and much more.
  • Unified English Braille (UEB)
    Information about Unified English Braille from the Braille Authority of North America, with links to the official UEB rulebook and guidance.
  • WonderBaby.org
    Awebsite containing many literacy and learning related resources for parents of very young blind or visually impaired babies and young children, including those with additional disabilities. It contains a wide range of articles and resources, as well as a Q & A section for parents and ideas for activities related to pre-braille and concept development.