One of the best things about covering each year s ACB Exhibit Hall for the BBQ Crew comes up when we get a chance to meet the local organizations that support the host city and state. J.J. had a moment to speak with Loretta Bryant, Executive Director of Midwestern Braille Volunteers, about some of the services they provided for the convention site. He also learned about the greeting cards that are available and how others may use the Braille transcription services they offer. To learn more about their services, visit the Midwestern Braille Volunteers website.
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Transcript
We strive to provide an accurate transcription, though errors may occur.
Hide transcriptTranscribed by Grecia Ramirez
Direct from St. Louis, it’s blindbargains.com coverage of ACB 2018, brought to you by Google
Our friends at Google are working hard to create great technology products for everyone. They’re inviting you to participate in Google user research studies, where you can help shape the future of accessible products and features and get rewarded for it. Check out our tweet for the sign-up link, at blind bargains, or head to google.com slash user research.
Now, here’s J.J. Meddaugh.?
J.J. MEDDAUGH: Here at ACB 2018 with Loretta Bryant. She’s the executive director of Midwest Braille Volunteers. Hey, I guess you guys do a little bit of brailling; right? Welcome, Loretta, to the podcast.
LORETTA BRYANT: Thank you. Yes. Our primary business is transcribing books into braille for the visually impaired. Any document that needs -- whether it be a letter, a lease, you know, anything of that sort, we can do into braille. We do menus, stock statements, bank statements, things like that.
JM: And I also see in front of me a whole bunch of greeting cards.
LB: Yes. And we do have a greeting card line. It’s in both print and braille, they do sell for 5 dollars apiece or five for 20. So you get one free.
JM: Ah. There you go. You have the buy four, get one free.
LB: Right.
JM: So how does that work? Do you have, like, a selection of greeting cards that people can choose from or –
LB: Yes. We have – we actually have little packets made up of some already in them. It’ll be like, two birthday, two Christmas, and maybe a get-well or an anniversary card. Or you can pick, and then we can make the packet for you.
JM: Okay. So back about the braille, you said you guys do menus and bank statements and things like that.
LB: Yes.
JM: How does that work? Is that going to – would you contact the company or would you go through you, or how would someone go about that?
LB: Basically, the company would contact us. Like, for the convention here, for Union Station, we did all the braille menus that are in the restaurants.
JM: Awesome. Good. That’s good. I can eat and actually know what I’m paying for, which is –
LB: Yeah.
JM: -- very good. Now, and what are the – what’s your pricing look like if people want to, say, send you some documents to get brailed? What’s the process for that?
LB: For an individual, we charge 25 cents a page of braille and three seventy-five if they want it bound in a hard-plastic cover and a cone.
JM: That’s very reasonable, considering –
LB: Yes.
JM: -- some of the – the costs out there for braille production.
LB: We’re a volunteer organization, so everybody that’s working are volunteers except for myself. I’m a paid employee, and then our blind proofreaders are paid employees.
JM: And are you based here in St. Louis, or –
LB: Yes. We’re in St. Louis --
JM: Okay.
LB: -- in a little city called Kirkwood, Missouri.
JM: Uh-huh.
LB: So –
JM: What’s the turn-around time for someone sending you braille?
LB: Depending on what time of the year you’re asking, because right now is our big push to get the books done for the schools. So any time November through February is probably a week, week and a half turn-around time, depending on how big the project is.
JM: And I guess it depends on whether – say, if you already have it in electronic format versus if you actually have to scan it in and –
LB: Correct. Very good. Yup.
JM: Are there certain formats that you prefer or –
LB: If it can come to us in either PDF or Word document, that saves us that scanning to put it into the braille program.
JM: And you also do the textbook formats as well or –
LB: Yes.
JM: Great. If people want to get more information or learn more, what’s the best way to contact you guys?
LB: Our phone number is (314) 966-5828. Or our website is WWW.MBVOL.org.
JM: Great. Thank you so much, Loretta.
LB: Thank you.
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Joe Steinkamp is no stranger to the world of technology, having been a user of video magnification and blindness related electronic devices since 1979. Joe has worked in radio, retail management and Vocational Rehabilitation for blind and low vision individuals in Texas. He has been writing about the A.T. Industry for 15 years and podcasting about it for almost a decade.
