The committee on library work with the blind notes with satisfaction
the progress which has been made in the past year towards increasing
the production of new embossed literature. The installation of
stereotype-makers operated by electricity and of power presses in some
of the printing offices means a constantly increasing stock of books
for circulation. Most important of all there seem to be indications
that a new era is dawning when all America can unite on one point type.
The eleventh convention of the American association of workers for the
blind, held at Overbrook, Pa., June, 1911, was marked by one session
unparalleled in the history of type discussions, when, during the
report of the uniform type committee, the blind themselves contributed
$1800.00 towards the creation of a fund to be used in making scientific
tests and experiments to determine upon a uniform system of embossed
point print. With the completion of the fund of $3,000 and the
co-operation of certain printing offices, members of the committee have
been hard at work preparing tests and making experiments. An outline of
the work of this committee appears in the "Outlook for the blind" for
April, 1912, (v. 6, no. 1).
Lists of new publications in embossed type as well as lists of magazine
articles referring to the blind are published from time to time in the
"Outlook for the blind," which is the only magazine in this country
especially helpful to workers for the blind. Librarians are urged to
place the "Outlook for the blind" on reading tables and among the
current magazines and to encourage its reading by the general public,
who need educating concerning the best methods of helping the blind.
Helen Keller has said, "I follow with keen interest your efforts to
make the 'Outlook for the blind' a success. Nothing is more useful to
the sightless than an intelligent magazine in their interest, setting
forth their needs, making known what they can do to earn a living, and
advocating movements of the right sort in their behalf. The 'Outlook
for the blind' is just such a publication. The fact that influential
and wise persons who have the welfare of the blind at heart favor the
magazine makes it all the more valuable. It deserves liberal support
from philanthropists and practical workers for humanity."
The Samuel Gridley Howe Society has been organized in Cleveland, Ohio,
with headquarters at 612 St. Clair Avenue, N. E. "The plan of this
society is to raise funds from local sources to defray the cost of the
presswork, the paper and the very simple binding used," in the work of
adding to the list of books in tactile print.
The list of publications already issued, in American Braille without
contractions, includes titles by Deland, Davis, John Fox, Jr., Van Dyke
and others.
The Michigan school for the blind, at Lansing, now publishes a magazine
in American Braille, with contractions, entitled the "Michigan herald
for the blind," issued monthly except July and August. The subscription
price is 25 cents per year.
The Xavier Braille publication society for the blind, 824 Oak Avenue,
Chicago, which was organized in 1911, has since issued the "Catholic
review," a monthly magazine in American Braille, with contractions,
subscription $1.00 per year.
The Society for the promotion of church work among the blind announces
that volumes 1 and 2 of the music of the Hymnal of the Protestant
Episcopal Church have been finished and are ready for distribution.
Copies may be obtained from Mr. John Thomson, treasurer, 13th and
Locust Streets, Philadelphia.
Since the fire in March, 1911, when the New York state library for the
blind was almost totally destroyed, the new collection has grown with
rapidity and is now nearly as large as at the time of the fire. Miss
Mary C. Chamberlain, the librarian, writes, "We hope soon to make the
collection larger than it has ever been."
The circulation of embossed books from the public library of
Cincinnati, Ohio, "increased during the past year from 1,400 during
1910 to 3,900 during 1911, which was attributed to the fact that the
library society for the blind has provided a catalog in point print,
which is sent out."
The reading room for the blind in Washington, D. C., which was
discontinued in 1911, has been reopened in the Library of Congress.
During the past year the Perkins institution for the blind has given
away about 2,000 volumes in line type to libraries and schools,
retaining a sufficient stock of duplicates for use in the circulating
library of the school. The new library of the institution, now in
course of construction at Watertown, Massachusetts, will be very
large and commodious; it will be capable of holding 20,000 volumes,
with provision for an extra gallery for 10,000 additional volumes if
necessary.
In commemoration of the Dickens centenary, "Great Expectations" has
been embossed in American Braille.
The committee plans a full report of libraries which are doing work for
the blind and will endeavor to secure from them an outline of the work
they are doing at present. In addition the special needs of readers
will be sought with a view to having the books desired brought to the
notice of one or more of the publishing houses. Efforts will be made to
secure the establishment of additional libraries of embossed books in
states where no such libraries are now maintained.
Respectfully submitted,
EMMA R. NEISSER DELFINO,
Chairman.