For years, millions of parents and their children have received free books in the mail from the Dollywood Foundation. It’s part of the “Imagination Library” to ensure that kids get a new book each month so they can learn the joys of reading. Recently, the library announced that it will get a bit bigger. The foundation announced a partnership with the American Printing House for the Blind to expand the offering to include books in braille.
Soniya Patel’s three-year-old daughter loves getting her book each month from the Imagination Library. But Soniya is blind, so reading with her daughter is a difficult experience. Until now, someone has had to read her the text and she used a Braille typewriter to make her own copies.
“I’ve Brailled several since she was born,” says Patel “because that’s the only way that I’d be able to read it to her you know, if it’s not done then you’ve got to find a way to do it.”
She says getting books in Braille will lift a barrier between her and her daughter.
The books will be produced here in Louisville at American Printing House’s factory. It’s filled with modern dot-making machines and even some from the 1800s.