A Princeton firm experiments with technology to record books for the blind

In 1945, at the end of World War II, the American soldiers returning to the country were welcomed as heroes. These young men had fought valiently, defeating the Axis powers and ending the bloodiest global conflict of the twentieth century.

For many of these veterans a woman named Anne T. MacDonald of the New York Public Library's Women's Auxiliary was also a hero. Working in the library attic, MacDonald provided many injured veterans with what they needed to fulfill their dreams: alternative learning media for the blind and those unfamiliar with Braille.

Because of her work, many blind veterans were able to use the G.I. Bill to obtain a college education. And more than a half century later, the legacy of MacDonald's work remains.

It is celebrated here in Princeton. Once cramped in an attic, the organization — Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic — she founded to create reading aids for the blind is now located within minutes of the University in Princeton.

MacDonald created the Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic organization in 1948 in response to blind veterans' letters requesting reading assistance. Drawing on the support of the Women's Auxiliary, she organized volunteers to read aloud textbooks for recording onto six-inch vinyl SoundScriber discs — at the time considered the best of recording devices. Demand skyrocketed, and the group quickly became the largest and only non-profit textbook recording agency in the country.

Fifty-three years later, the organization helps more than 91,000 disabled students, from kindergarteners to graduate students, to read. More than 5,700 volunteers — 70 percent of which are disabled themselves — across the country participate in the group.

These volunteers work in 32 recording studios dispersed throughout the country. Last year alone, they added 4,300 titles to the organization's master library. In total, there are now 83,000 books on tape, many of which are not found in Braille.

But while Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic has grown, its mission of helping people learn has remained unchanged.

Sarah Swords '03 began using its services in 1992, shortly after she lost her sight. Her school in Minnesota helped her obtain membership with the group.

"I got my textbooks from them all through middle school, high school and now here at Princeton," Swords said. "Of course, I can't get the course packets on tape, and many times the newer books professors are so fond of are not on tape yet."

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To help her obtain recordings of new but required textbooks, Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic permits Swords to make special orders. "It takes forever," Swords noted. "But if you can pick your classes early they have time to tape books."

The group selects textbooks to record based on popularity of newly published books. On average, its workers are able to record 4,000 of newly released texts each year. "RFB&D's library services department works diligently to acquire the titles educational institutions will be using in their curricula and that students will most likely need," explained Sue Brooks, the organization's media relations officer.

While the organization's move to Princeton can be considered a considerable transition, perhaps the largest change for the group in the last 50 years is the technological innovations it has adopted with its growth.

In the beginning, the SoundScriber discs MacDonald used in 1948 allowed for only 12 minutes of recording per disc side. At this capacity, many discs were needed to record a textbook.

When the organization moved to high-fidelity, four track audiocassettes — which can record four hours of dictation — a few decades ago, a textbook required eight to 12 cassettes. Still, these cassettes were cumbersome for users, particularly when trying to skip from section to section of text. Students had to move through text by rewinding and fastforwarding, and also keeping track of recorded beep tones that indicated the start of a new page or chapter.

"Without [beeps], finding page numbers would be impossible," Swords noted. Navigation was cumbersome, particularly for students using the devices in class.

Further complications with audiocassettes involve the fragility of the medium itself. "Tapes are great, but they break easily. And with a tape's ribbon breaks, you are just out of luck," Swords explained. In addition, any attempt to play recordings at faster than standard speed resulted in speech resembling Alvin and the Chipmunks voices.

Last year, Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic began recording on CDs. Capable of fitting entire textbooks — or 40 hours of dictation — on one CD, students carrying their audio texts to class no longer have to juggle with piles of cassette series.

"Portability is an important feature," Brooks noted.

Searching within sections of text has become much simpler. The digital versions allow for manipulation and movement within the text with a simple click of a button on either the specialized Victor Reader or Plextalk players, which cost about $500 each.

The CDs for digital audio textbooks have been optimized for multimedia personal computers, making it possible for text to be displayed on the monitor in synchronization with recitation. This function is particularly helpful for students with visual handicaps, but who still are able to read.

Currently 39 schools around the country employ the digital format for audio textbooks on CD-ROM. The transition over to digital was initialized by a release program started last year that introduced the CDs to "14 diverse educational settings," Brooks said.

A gradual increase in the number of schools granted use of digital audio books for testing purposes will culminate in the spring when 89 schools are expected to report back their experiences with the new audio textbooks.

"We're using [the students'] input to continue to refine and tailor this technology to meet their needs," said Brooks.

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic's official launch of the digital audio textbooks is scheduled for fall 2002. In the meantime, recording studios are being equipped with instruments for digital recording. In addition, 5,700 volunteers are being trained in using the new technology.

The time needed for recording a text is still unchanged. Two volunteers are needed for the process: One reads while the other carefully checks for accuracy of the spoken text. Recording an hour of dictation takes approximately one hour and 45 minutes, according to the organization.

At the same time, the organization is remastering its most popular audiocassette texts from its master library to CD-ROM format. It is expected that a total of 3,500 titles will be accessible by CD by fall 2002.

For Swords, the prospect of a digital library is very appealing.

"Life," Swords said, her voice full of optimism, "would be [of] a little more quality."