New chapter for the blind
MONTY Python star Michael Palin is to have his latest travel book produced in Braille - at Stockport - before it goes into print. It's the first time a celebrity author has let blind readers get their hands on a bound-to-be best seller before sighted people. The book, Sahara, charts his journey across the desert, the cultures and landscapes he encounters and the food he eats, including camel stew.
Braille versions are normally nine months behind new printed publications because of the mammoth translation task. But in this case publishers Weidenfeld and Nicolson took the highly-unusual step of releasing the text on disc, after being approached by the Royal National Institute for the Blind. Stockport 's National Library for the Blind (NLB), in Cromwell Road, Bredbury, is now producing Braille versions to mail out to its borrowers. Comedian and travel broadcaster Michael said: "It's fantastic to think that for once blind and partially-sighted people are going to be able to get hold of a book at the same time as their sighted friends and family. "I can see no reason why they should not be able to get access to books at the same time as everyone else. "I am very lucky. I see the most wonderful things as I travel around the world and I feel everything possible should be done to bring back a record of what I have seen for those who cannot witness these sights or even watch them on television." NLB staff can now scan in and format printed versions into Braille. Sahara is available next month.
http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/stories/Detail_LinkStory=19931.html?ref=emtaf&archive=archive
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