[Susie Fowls]

I am transcribing a book of poetry. There are 82 poems in this book. The print table of contents has listed them in alphabetical order, with no alphabetic divisions or blank lines separating each group. The title of the poem is on the left margin and the page number is on the right margin. Each poem is begun on a new braille page. Section 2.10.17 from 2011 Braille Formats says that “a table of contents printed in alphabetical order, rather than in sequential order, is transcribed as an index.” It also says in Section 22.2.3-h: “Do not insert blank lines if alphabetical divisions are not indicated in print.”

So in my case I would not add blank lines between each alphabetic group, since there are none in the print copy? And also, I would do away with the guide dots and the page number on the right margin, and just put a comma after the title of the each poem and then the page number? Finally, is the heading for it still “Table of contents”, and it stays as part of the preliminary pages?

Thanks for clarification of this. This is not a textbook by the way….

Susie

[Joanna E. Venneri]

I agree with your analysis of this situation and your decisions for handling it. Even though this is printed in index format it serves the purpose of a table of contents and it is printed at the usual location for contents. Possibly the intent is to serve both purposes–to show what’s in the book in a way that also allows for quick location to a specific poem. Follow the braille formatting for an index as you have described and also do not insert that blank line for alphabetical divisions.

I recommend that you treat this as contents and keep it as preliminary pages and you would in a conventional table of contents. If the PRINT heading is “Table of Contents,” absolutely keep it in braille.

And just to clarify, Formats is not limited to textbooks. The official title Braille Formats: Principles, etc. never mentions textbooks. These format guidelines are for use in any print material.

–Joanna

[Joanna E. Venneri]

Joanna, Thanks for your very helpful input. The print copy itself has the page numbers over on the right margin in the “normal” fashion of a table of contents. So I’m going to move the page numbers over to the left, and place them just to the right of the titles of the poems, separated by a comma. Since this is a change from the print format, I should add it as a Transcriber Note in my T pages?

Thanks again for your help.
Susie

[Susie Fowls]

No TN. Just do it! The contents are alphabetical and Formats says to braille such contents as an index. That’s what the reader will see, so we don’t write a TN to explain what the reader will see anyway in the braille. And you, the transcriber, will fearlessly march on.

–Joanna

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