The Recording Centre for the Blind is located in the Amy Dillwyn building (15 on the Campus Map), opposite Union House and next to the Disability Office's Assessment and Training Centre.
The
Centre is open from 9.00am to 5.00pm on Mondays to Fridays throughout the
year. During the first semester it is also open for some early evening
recording.
The RCfB has three soundproofed studios with standard RNIB equipment for both
analogue and digital recording. Our main aim is to provide visually impaired students with texts in
their preferred format as quickly as possible. Whenever entire books are
recorded the masters are sent to the RNIB Library, where they
become available to users nationwide. Recordings of short extracts and course
material are kept at the RCfB for use by future students. The Centre
produces over 1,000 hours of recordings a year, of which more than two thirds
are archived by RNIB.
You can do a search for any of our own archived recordings in the UWS library catalogue, Voyager. The search will show you whether the master tapes are held by us or by the RNIB Library. To search for information on accessible resources available from other organisations you can use the national database Revealweb.org.uk
The Recording Centre recruits volunteer readers from the student and staff population as well as the local community. During term time we have over 100 regular readers who give up an hour of their time each week to read texts requested by visually impaired students. Wherever possible we recruit volunteers with expertise in the students' chosen subject areas and we always use native speakers for foreign language recordings.
Click here if you are interested in becoming one of our Volunteer Readers.
For students who want braille or tactile diagrams there is a full transcription service. Texts can be supplied to the Centre by email or on floppy disk. If texts are not available electronically they can be scanned and edited from standard print before being embossed. Our Braille Maker translation software enables us to produce braille in most modern European languages, including Welsh. We produce about 10,000 pages of braille a year and during term time, when the demand is particularly high, we recruit volunteers to help us type up material and edit texts for braille.
Click here if you are interested in becoming one of our Braille Volunteers.
The RCfB provides transcriptions mainly for visually impaired students who
need braille and audio, while the LIS Special Needs team supports students
who can access most of their material in large print or electronic format.
For braille and audio users who want some of their material sent
electronically we can also scan texts if necessary.
What do the volunteers do?
Volunteers come for an hour a week and record texts in the soundproofed studios. The material consists mainly of course work and academic books requested by students.
What skills do you need to become a volunteer reader?
You don't have to have any experience in recording or broadcasting but you do need to be able to read academic texts clearly and accurately. New volunteers are asked to do a short test read and, if accepted, are given full training in recording to RNIB standards. The Centre staff are always available during the recording sessions to answer any queries and to give regular feedback to volunteers. There are also training workshops on various aspects of recording.
Please click here for our leaflet on volunteering.
What do the volunteers do?
Volunteers come for an hour a week and help the Recording Centre staff in various tasks such as typing or editing material for braille, separating braille pages and binding the finished documents.
What skills do you need to become a braille volunteer?
You don't have to be able to read braille, as most of the work is done on a PC. Above all you need accuracy and good word processing skills. Editing includes proofreading scanned texts and retyping material from illustrations, charts or diagrams. The Recording Centre staff welcome new volunteers and are always on hand to give advice and training
Please click here for our leaflet on volunteering.
The Recording Centre works closely with academic departments and the Disability Office to provide the most effective support for visually impaired students. The following leaflets have been produced to give guidelines for tutors and note takers requesting transcriptions for their students.
General Information for Tutors
Guidelines for Tutors Requesting Braille and Audio
Additional Guidelines for Braille
Examination Procedures for Visually Impaired Students
Examples of Best Practice in Supporting Visually Impaired Students
American Printing House for the Blind
National Centre for Tactile Diagrams
National Library for the Blind
For further information about our services or charges please contact
Kathy Williams (Manager), Sarah Jones, Lesley Morgan or Tina Webber at:
Recording
Centre for the Blind
Amy Dillwyn Building
University of Wales Swansea
Singleton Park
Swansea SA2 8PP
United Kingdom
Tel.
01792 295912
Fax. 01792 295901
Email:
kathy.williams@swansea.ac.uk
Email for general enquiries and transcription requests: braille@swansea.ac.uk
