By Elizabeth Cloutman
Jane Seaman has spent more than 10,000 hours recording textbooks for the blind, dyslexic
For Jane Seaman, the decision to become a volunteer reader for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic’s Palo Alto studio 30 years ago was clear-cut.
“I had been an English and speech teacher and acted in local theater productions. A newspaper article about the organization came to my attention soon after I’d played Helen Keller’s mother in ‘The Miracle Worker,’ ” Seaman said. “There were a number of blind cast members, so I was very aware of the challenges they faced. I’d already put in 4,000 hours as a volunteer at the El Camino Hospital snack bar, and I thought if I was spending that much time volunteering, I should spend it in my area of expertise.”
A longtime Los Altos resident, Seaman spends four hours every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday recording humanities and legal texts. “It’s a commitment you plan your life around,” she said. She is one of 220 volunteers, more than 50 from Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. Among the current volunteers are a labor lawyer, a U.S. Geological Survey geologist, an Internet security specialist, a senior financial analyst, a gourmet chocolate maker and many who just love books. Former Congressman Tom Campbell, now a Stanford law professor, has been recording texts since his law school days in Chicago. Volunteers range in age from 14 to 89.
Believing that recorded textbooks could help the many blind veterans of World War II achieve a college education, Anne T. Macdonald in 1948 mobilized the New York Public Library Women’s Auxiliary to record college textbooks. Demand was so great, Recording for the Blind was incorporated in 1951. Headquartered in Princeton, N.J., the organization has 32 other recording studios around the nation. Mrs. Ray Westman established the Palo Alto studio in 1968. The organization is supported solely by donations.
In 1995, the organization changed its name and focus to reflect the service it was providing to dyslexics and others with perceptual disabilities. The range, number and grade level of texts available on audiotape has also expanded. The national organization has more than 83,000 titles available from elementary level to legal and medical texts for graduate students and working professionals. Texts are available in audio and CD-ROM formats. The national organization hopes eventually to have its master library of recordings available on the Internet.
Seaman said the Palo Alto studio records texts not available from the national organization. For a onetime only cost of $35-50, students have access for a lifetime. More than 2,000 people are enrolled locally and 91,000 worldwide. The recorded texts have often enabled dyslexic students to finally succeed and go on to college and graduate school.
Seaman’s many hours as a volunteer reader have been personally rewarding. “First of all, there’s something you can do to make life easier for someone else. Then there’s the kind of volunteers I’ve had the joy to work with, a special group of people who give so much of themselves.”
For the Palo Alto studio’s director Kori Schmieding, the admiration is mutual. “Jane is the backbone of this organization. Whatever she does, I can always count on her to do a great job. She’s so nice and easy to talk to. If I have a question, I go to Jane because she knows it all. She has helped this organization grow.”
As there is an increasing demand for technical texts, Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic needs readers with specialized backgrounds in math, science, accounting and computer science.
The studio also needs volunteers to monitor recording. For those unable to volunteer during the day, the studio operates until 8:30 p.m., four days a week and on Saturday. The Palo Alto studio is located at 488 Charleston Road.
For information, call 493-3717 or logon to www.rfbd.org.
