BEFORE YOU TRANSCRIBE
Some of these decisions will depend upon whether you are transcribing for an agency such as the American Printing House for the Blind or if you are transcribing for an individual student. Transcriptions for individual students or readers can be much more personalized.
Know Your Resources:
- Braille Formats, 2016
- The Rules of Unified English Braille, 2nd Edition, 2013
- Appendix 1: Shortform List, 2022 update
- Appendix 3: Symbols List
- Guidelines for Technical Material, 2014 Update
- Section 3: Signs of Operation and Comparison, 2018 Update
- The Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation, 2022
- BANA Guidelines for the Transcription of Early Educational Materials from Print to Braille, 2020
- The Braille Enthusiast’s Dictionary, UEB Edition, Second Printing, SCALARS Publishing
- Ask an Expert
Agency Decisions
- Braille level: uncontracted or contracted
- Spacing: single- or double-spaced
- Page size: 30- or 40-cell
- Volume size
- Running head or not
- Typeform usage: K-3 is different
- Single-sided or interpoint
- Technical code used (UEB Math/Science or UEB with Nemeth)
The agency should notify the transcriber if there is other information relevant to the particular text. They may want only certain contractions used or, if the student is a new braille reader, double-spacing within a text that is middle or high school level. There may also be specific requests regarding the inclusion or omission of reviewers, indices, glossaries, and appendices.
Transcription Decisions
- A hierarchy for headings
- Make a list for centered, cell-5, and cell-7 headings
- Give special attention to the table of contents
- Which typeforms are necessary and which are not?
- Are some illustrations better as tactile graphics or descriptions?
- Remember the grade/reading level to make the decision
- Estimate the number of volumes and breaking points
All of the transcription decisions are based on Braille Formats, 2016, and the BANA Guidelines for the Transcription of Early Educational Materials from Print to Braille, 2020.
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