Guidelines for the Use of Braille Translators

One of the most important, and perhaps obvious, things to watch out for when producing braille, is using the correct Language Translation Tables.  An English document, translated using French braille rules would produce a very strange form of braille.

But even an English document has its own National Braille Table.

BANA has an excellent set of general guidelines for the use of braille translators, entitled "Guidelines for the Production of Braille Materials Through the Use of Braille Translation Software," available on its web site at:

http://www.brailleauthority.org

Many pointers given there are applicable generally, not only in BANA countries.

BAUK also publishes various material relating to English/British braille.  You can find more information on BAUK at http://www.bauk.org.uk.

In general, whenever it is important that the braille be of high quality according to applicable standards -- which is in most instances, especially for educational or other public uses -- a qualified person should proofread or otherwise monitor the braille for translation accuracy and appropriate format. Without such monitoring, it is possible for many factors to adversely affect the quality of automatically translated braille, especially if the content or format is at all complex.

A Braillist's Pledge of Professional Ethics

I pledge to:

• prepare braille materials in an accurate, timely manner, without personal interjection,
• refrain from using any information obtained in the performance of my duties in a manner that would be detrimental to the agency or person for whom the material was transcribed,
• treat all material transcribed as confidential unless the material is publicly available or an agreement has been obtained in writing that the information may be disclosed,
• conduct business in a professional manner with dignity, respect and courtesy,
• accept assignments as dictated by my knowledge of the subject matter, braille skill competency level, and ability to complete the assignment on a mutually agreed upon date, and
• continuously develop the highest levels of knowledge and skills through professional development in my chosen specialty.

--Adopted by the National Braille Association, November 2003