National Braille Press

The National Braille Press is a braille publisher in Boston, MA. It prints and publishes braille works in numerous forms. It publishes a magazine for blind or visually impaired readers and runs a children's book club. The press has experienced a period of decline due to an overall shift away from reading braille.

The National Braille Press was founded in 1927, originally as a weekly newspaper.^[1] It was founded by Francis Ierardi, a blind Italian immigrant, to increase access to news about braille.^[2] It is a non-profit publisher^[3] of braille books.^[1] Prior to 1982, The National Braille Press only produced braille books through contract printing.^[4] However, the press began to publish and sell its own books in 1982, which allowed braille readers to purchase books directly from The National Braille Press,^[4] making it the first braille press in the United States to do so.^[4]

The focus of The National Braille Press is to support blind authors and publish their work for readers who are also blind.^[5] At its current location, the National Braille Press carries out all its "own editing, plate making, proofreading, printing, and mai]ing operations".^[4] It mostly produces printed texts such as books, magazines, textbooks, and manuals,^[2] but they do make other forms of braille materials as well.^[5] The National Braille Press uses various plate-embossing devices to produce the works it publishes, including an Heidelberg printing press and a electronic embosser.^[5]

The National Braille Press is located in Boston, MA. In 1946, it moved into its current location in the Fenway/Kenmore neighborhood.^[2] It is currently housed in a 4-story building^[5] that sits on St Stephens St., just between Opera Pl. and Gainsborough St. The home of the National Braille Press is the same building as a former piano factory.^[5] This building contains offices on the upper floors and printing machines in the basement.^[4] It has many historical features, such as the "1950s-vintage frosted-glass partitions," ^[4] which can be seen in the upstairs offices.

The National Braille Press's magazine is called Our Special, and fates from 1930, with a target audience of visually impaired women.^[6] Children's braille books are distributed around the country monthly.^[4] The press partners with the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind's internship program, which hires visually impaired interns.^[3] Fundraising accounts for 30% of the Press' income,^[5] and has included partnerships with the Boston Marathon.^[7]

In recent years, there has been a decline in the need for braille printed works,^[5] due to an increase in blind children entering public schools, which do not necessarily teach braille, rather than specialized schools.^[5] This occurrence has resulted in the press also experiencing a phase of decline.^[5]

• New American Bible^[5]
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire^[5]
• The Joy of Cooking^[5]
• Goodnight Moon^[5]