The National Federation of the Blind offers courses in literary, mathematics, and music transcribing, as well as literary and mathematics proofreading for Library of Congress certification.
We are pleased to have been awarded a contract from the Library of Congress, National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, to conduct the courses leading to Library of Congress certification in braille transcribing and proofreading.
Please follow the links below for more information about each course. For information on Unified English Braille for existing transcribers and proofreaders, please visit our UEB resources page.
- Literary Braille Transcribing—This certificate qualifies the recipient to transcribe general literary materials and is a prerequisite for other transcribing and proofreading courses.
- Mathematics Braille Transcribing
- Music Braille Transcribing
- Literary Braille Proofreading
- Mathematics Braille Proofreading
Locating an Instructor
Courses are provided without cost to the volunteer and may be taken through correspondence or through local classes. To locate a recognized local braille group in your area, consult the directory Directory of Producers of Accessible Reading Materials.
Eligibility
To qualify for enrollment, a person must be a high school graduate, a citizen or resident of the United States, or a U.S. citizen residing in a foreign country.
Brailling after Certification
It is important to note that braille transcription is usually an avocation or a volunteer activity. Experienced braille transcribers may find full-time employment working for major braille producers, working for school districts transcribing handouts and/or textbooks for students, or working for a business or government agency preparing braille copies of materials for customers and/or staff. Some braille transcribers work at home typically producing piecework.
Disclaimer
To highlight the work of Louis Braille, the inventor of the reading and writing system used by blind people everywhere, and to emphasize the importance of the system, it is practice of the National Federation of the Blind to use a capital B when writing any instance of the word "Braille." However, it has been a convention of the Library of Congress to begin the word with lowercase b when used in any context other than a title or as a name. Therefore, to maintain uniformity within this program, the National Federation of the Blind uses the lowercase b on the word "braille" in all written material pertaining to the braille certification courses, unless the word is part of a title or indicates a name.
More Information
For more information, please email our braille certification training program at [email protected] or call us at 410-659-9314, extension 2510.