| Description | Interview with John Broadley, Scottish braille press. He talks about the availability of braille books, his belief that public libraries should have a braille section and the lack of choice of braille books and magazines. He considers that the historical relationship between blind welfare and religious organisations means that moral judgements are still made about the type of books that are transcribed into braille, but thinks that decisions are now more often influenced by economics. He discusses the magazine and book output of the braille press compared with the output that might be possible with more public financial support and better facilities, and provides figures for the grants and income received by the press and the costs in wages and materials. He goes on to compare these figures with the operating costs and income of other publishing firms, the number of staff he employs and the proportion who are blind or partially sighted. He talks about the need for a greater contribution by the state to provide blind people with a wider choice of reading material, the potential offered by computers to transcribe a wider range of books into braille, the automation of braille printing machines and methods and the need for blind people to be better represented on committees for blind welfare so that they have a greater say in the types of books and magazines they read. He describes his job satisfaction in publishing books that are appreciated by the blind readership and their hunger for reading material (tracks 1-8).
Track 9: sound effects of people working in a cane workshop 1.35 mins
Interview with Christopher Scott, caneworker in a sheltered workshop in Edinburgh. He talks about the length of time he has worked there, losing his sight in an accident at work on a private estate in Peebles, his apprenticeship in the cane workshop and the work he does there. He discusses his feelings about the job, his wages, the difficulty in getting bonus payments, and his feelings that this system puts blind employees at a disadvantage (tracks 10-12).
Total: 35.35 mins
Dubber's reference number: PLA KF565D0729580 |