Tag: braille

Lesley Kelly’s alternative Edinburgh pandemic series launched in braille

Edinburgh author Lesley Kelly’s pandemic crime thriller series has been launched in braille for blind and partially sighted readers. 

The ‘Health of Strangers’ crime fiction series, set in an alternative Edinburgh struck by a deadly virus, was penned  in 2016-2020 prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The four novels follow the investigations of the North Edinburgh Health Enforcement Team as they fight to contain a spreading virus, encountering mystery, murder and corruption along the way. 

Partnering with the Scottish Braille Press, based in Edinburgh, to produce all the ‘Health of Strangers’ titles in braille, Lesley is delighted that the series will now be even more accessible for blind and partially sighted crime fiction fans who read braille.  

Lesley, who is based in Edinburgh and whose first novel, A Fine House in Trinity, was longlisted for the William McIlvanney Prize, said: “I am thrilled that my books are being published in braille for blind and partially sighted readers. 

“The series is based on my work experiences in emergency planning, and accurately predicted a number of pandemic issues, including vaccine passports, hoarding, and debates about civil liberties. It also deals with isolation, which may reflect some of the experiences of blind and partially sighted people during lockdown.   

“Reading has been a comfort to many people during Covid, and we’ve seen a huge interest in books with contagion themes, from Camus’s The Plague, to Scotland’s own Louise Welsh with her trilogy of virus novels.  I hope braille readers enjoy my contribution to pandemic literature.”    

The real-life Covid-19 pandemic has further highlighted and compounded the challenges many blind and partially sighted people face in the community, with many experiencing additional challenges such as difficulties with being able to adhere to social distancing and increased social isolation.   

Easy and reliable access to accessible formats, including more literature and information available in braille, audio and large print, is essential to ensure blind and partially sighted people have equal access to important information, as well as the joy of reading for pleasure. 

The Scottish Braille Press, which is run by sight loss charity Sight Scotland, is a leading provider of accessible media for businesses and individuals and has been producing accessible formats for over 125 years.  

Mark O’Donnell, Chief Executive of Sight Scotland, said: “We are so grateful to Lesley Kelly and Sandstone Press for allowing the Scottish Braille Press to transcribe and publish Lesley’s Health of Strangers series in braille, enabling us to give braille readers access to Lesley’s fantastic crime thriller series. 

“It is extremely important for equality, inclusion and personal security that accessible formats, including braille, are easily and readily available to people who require them.” 

The Health of Strangers series braille editions are available to buy online at Sightscotland.org.uk through Sight Scotland’s Braille Bookshop, or call 0131 662 4445 to order. 

Braille versions of Test and Protect guidance will be available for Scots with sight loss

Sight loss charity RNIB Scotland will produce braille versions of the Scottish Government Test and Protect guidance relating to the current coronavirus situation.

The move follows concerns that some blind and partially sighted people might be unable to access important health advice and guidance. In a  survey of people with sight loss commissioned by RNIB in May, one in four respondents said they had struggled to get information in a format they could understand.

James Adams, director of RNIB Scotland, said: “In the current situation accessible healthcare information is more essential than ever. It is vitally important everyone knows how to keep themselves and their community safe, and that blind and partially sighted people, who can be particularly vulnerable, are kept informed of new developments and guidance.

“So we are pleased to be able to assist the Scottish Government in making braille versions of information available on procedures for testing.”

Braille is the tactile system of raised dots on paper that can be ‘read’ by  fingertip touch. Although many blind and partially sighted people now use audio or screen-reading software to access information, thousands still use the system invented by Frenchman Louis Braille in 1837.

RNIB has produced guidelines on making information accessible for a range of public bodies and businesses. Some adjustments are relatively easy to make, points out Mr Adams.

“Even people who don’t consider themselves sight-impaired can sometimes struggle with very small print, or with text that doesn’t have a sharp enough contrast with the background colour,” James said.

“Much information is now communicated electronically or online. For people who use screen-reading software – which reads out text on websites or emails – this might not seem a problem. But some graphics can still confuse screen-readers, such as text superimposed on images, photos that don’t have alt-tags, text that is justified on both sides, or even just sentences that don’t end with a full-stop.

“That’s why it’s absolutely vital that we give full consideration to how accessible our communications are.”

Braille copies of Scottish Government Test and Protect information materials relating to the current coronavirus situation can be obtained from scotland@rnib.org.uk.

Test and Protect information is also available in audio and large-print format, as well as other languages and formats, from the Scottish Government website at  www.gov.scot/test-and-protect,

* The RNIB Helpline is available on 0303 123 9999.