|
LOCAL PUBLISHER, BREWIN BOOKS LTD, GIVES AWAY E-BOOKS FOR THE BLIND
Studley based publisher, Brewin Books Ltd has agreed to give electronic
copies of their books to the National Library for the Blind (NLB) to
help increase the number of books available to blind and partially sighted
people.
Currently, fewer than 5% of books published in the UK are available
in alternative formats, including Braille, audio and large print.
"We are delighted to be working with NLB on this initiative,"
said Alan Brewin, Brewin Books Ltd's Managing Director. "We have
been working with NLB for several years to bring some titles to visually
impaired readers without charge and NLB's new initiative has allowed
us to expand this service."
'It
is only through publishers such as Brewin Books LTD working with the
voluntary sector that we are able to work towards our goal to ensure
that visually impaired people have the same access to books as sighted
people,' said Helen Brazier, NLB's Chief Executive.
NLB has estimated that if all publishers in the UK were to supply digital
text of their books the production of Braille books could be more than
doubled.
Current
Braille technology allows charities like NLB to 'print' an entire book
in Braille in approximately 20 minutes. However it takes around 4 months
to scan, edit and format a print book to create an electronic Braille
file for production. By providing Braille charities with digital text
files, publishers are significantly reducing the Braille transcription
process and increasing the number of books that can be made available
for visually impaired people. The National Library for the Blind (NLB)
is a registered charity providing a free postal library service of tactile
(Braille & Moon) books & music to blind and partially sighted people
worldwide. They also offer a range of exciting, innovative library and
information services via their award-winning website at www.nlbuk.org
NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR PROPER BRUMMIE
The Landmark Hotel, London was the scene of the recent CILIP awards for
the Outstanding Reference Book of the Year. CILIP (The Chartered Institute
of Librarians and Information Professionals) make the awards in conjunction
with Nielsen Book Data annually, choosing from all reference books published
in the UK during the previous twelve months.
Brewin Books were pleased to be shortlisted for the Besteman/McColvin
Medal and in due course were awarded third place nationally for "Proper
Brummie - A Dictionary of Birmingham Words and Phrases" by Dr.
Carl Chinn and Steve Thorne, both of the University of Birmingham. "Proper
Brummie" is the FIRST serious attempt to chart the development
of Midland dialect and contains both a full scale dictionary and many
examples of Midland word usage.
Publishers Brewin Books were represented by Directors Alan and Julie Brewin
and the authors were represented by Carl Chinn who received the award
from CILIP President Sheila Connell.
More info about Proper Brummie - A Dictionary of Birmingham Words and
Phrases
|
