Grafton Braille Service Center

The Grafton Braille Service Center (GBSC) is located at the Grafton Correctional Institution in Grafton, Ohio. The program is administered by the Ohio Penal Industries (OPI) and is partially supported by the Braille Excellence for Students and Teachers (BEST) grant administered by the Assistive Technology & Accessible Educational Materials (AT&AEM) Center powered by OCALI. The GBSC provides a full-service, print-to-braille transcription service, which fulfills a mission of the OPI to provide marketable job skills to inmates that lead to employment upon release.

Program Goal

The goal of the GBSC is to provide high quality braille materials, including tactile graphics to people who are blind or visually impaired across the United States.

Program Details

Since 1991, the GBSC is proud to offer quality print-to-braille transcription services. The program adheres to the highest format and code standards and is continually evaluated to maintain the highest quality braille products. Additionally, the program produces high-quality tactile graphics using CorelDraw and MSWord, as well as applies collage and Swell Touch processes.

Workforce Education and Qualifications

The GBSC currently maintains a workforce of approximately 20 braille transcribers who are certified through the National Library Service (NLS), Library of Congress, Washington D.C. Additionally, transcribers are Unified English Braille (UEB) update certified through the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNBI). The transcribers engage in regular professional development activities and have received intensive training from national experts in the areas of braille translation software, advanced proofreading techniques, tactile graphics production, and textbook formatting. GBSC staff includes transcribers with NLS specialty certification in literary, Nemeth (math and science), and music braille, as well as braille proofreading.

Products

The GBSC provides a variety of braille transcription and tactile graphics products to Ohio residents and nationally, including K-12 and higher education textbooks, conference and meeting materials, and other resources for various agencies and businesses. Examples of products and services include:

  • Literary transcriptions
  • Math and science transcriptions
  • Music transcriptions
  • Tactile graphics (collage and computer generated)
  • Braille proofreading
  • Embossing and binding

Braille for Schools

The GBSC recognizes the importance of timely delivery of braille materials, specifically for students who need their materials at the same time as other students. However, in order for students to receive their braille materials in a timely manner, we encourage all educators to place braille orders by March of the current school year for books needed for the following school year. Ordering materials late may result in students not receiving the needed materials at the required time.

To obtain GBSC pricing or submit order requests contact:

Steven D. Jones, Production Manager
Grafton Braille Service Center
2500 South Avon Belden Road
Grafton, Ohio 44044
440.281.2248 cell
Steven.D.Jones@odrc.state.oh.us or visit the website.