Here we take a peek inside The Joy of Books - a small, red booklet from the 1930s, illustrating the work involved in creating braille books. The booklet is crammed with photos showing the voluntary workers transcribing the books, the blind proofreaders, and the book binders and packers in the post room. It even includes a factsheet and the original subscription form!
This first image shows two young boys to the left and two young girls on the right. They are sitting in front of a bookshelf and one of the girls is reading from a braille book while the others lean in, presumably listening to her read.
The caption reads "is obvious from this photograph of some of the youngest borrowers..."
This second image is of three young women in overcoats selecting large braille books from the library shelves and placing them on a trolley.
The caption reads "while others have their books selected from their own lists by the staff and..."
This final image is of a man and a blind woman sitting at a desk in a library. The man, on the left is reading from a book while the woman on the right transcribes using a crab brailler.
The caption reads "voluntary workers transcribe books into Braille from print, or dictate to blind writers."
The Joy of Books was produced by the National Library of the Blind's northern branch in Manchester, and had a circulation of 3,000 readers.
It would most likely have been sent to the parents of children who were learning braille, those who had previously donated to the NLB, and patrons of various national visual impairment societies.
Voluntary workers are key to the success of the RNIB National Library Service, and they are still looking for volunteers today.
More about RNIB's Heritage Services
We've brought together our Research Library and Archive to make their full potential available for the first time. It's open to the public, perfect if you're interested in research, history and information relating to blindness and sight loss. Our expert staff can work with you to help you find what you need or research our artefacts, photographs and documents on your behalf.
What's available:
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historically important books
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journals
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early embossed manuscripts
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artefacts
Accessing the archives
The archive is free to access and is available at our central London offices or through a new and improved online catalogue. If you wish to visit us, we recommend that you ring first so we can help you get the most out of your visit.
Contact us
To find out more, email us at heritageservices@rnib.org.uk or call us on 020 7391 2052.
We respond to enquiries by phone, email, letter or in person.