READING FOR BLIND

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21776, 16 April 1934, Page 10

READING FOR BLIND

THE "TALKING BOOKS" CRITICISM IN SOUTH A cablegram which appeared in tho Herald last Tuesday, stating that research work at St. Dunstan's Institute for tho Blind had led to a decision to 'make an extensive test of "talking books," was criticised at a gathering of the blind of Christchurch by Mr. W. T. Woods, himself one of the blind. The message, which came from London, stated that tho "books" would supply reading aloud either.through earphones or loud-speakers. "There is no such thing as a talking book," said Mr. Woods. "Apparently a mistake has crept into the cable news. Ten or twelve years ago a Mr. McNeill, of Glasgow, invented a machine which passed over lotterpross in ordinary books and converted it into Morse code. The dots and dashes were delivered through a trumpet. But the weakness lay in the lack of speed. It was cut down to 40 words a minute. We blind people can read Braille at 70 words a minute. Tho cost of the machine was about £7O and it was never popular." Two years ago, continued Mr. Woods, the Perkins School at Boston conceived tho idea of reading books through a machine that was actually an elaboration of the gramophone. For instance, :i whole chapter could be impressed on a record;' It would probably be a success and there was no reason why it might not shortly bo used by the New Zealand Institute for the Blind, ho added.