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South
Dakota leader in Braille graphics production
Today, almost 50
percent of the information in textbooks is visual, as opposed to
text. This shift in publishing practices has created an urgent
need for change in the way that Braille format textbooks are
produced.
The South
Dakota State Library and the Department of Corrections’
Pheasantland Industries have collaborated with staff from the
Braille Authority of North America to create the first Tactile
Graphics Center in the nation. Twelve inmates have been trained
in the process.
In addition to the textual Braille for each page of a textbook,
this center will produce tactile graphics to represent the
visual information on the page. Depending on the subject and
grade level, a textbook can contain hundreds of visual images.
The tactile graphics for just one visual image in a textbook can
take from a few minutes to a few hours to produce.
Tactile graphics
produced at the Tactile Graphics Center are stored and available
on request nationwide.
For more information
about this new service visit
http://www.sdstatelibrary.com/news/brailleproduction.htm
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