Session 5: Notes

This reading discusses how to handle "notes" in textbooks. Notes are small amounts of text that are printed:

at the foot of a page
in the margin
in facing columns
on facing pages
between print lines
at the end of the text

Some notes contain print reference marks, usually printed as a superior number, letter or character. Others may appear without print reference marks, in the form of margin notes, "gloss" notes, cross-references, and boxed materials.

Notes with print reference marks

Many notes contain numbered or lettered reference marks. These typically follow a word and show up again in front of the note. A "classic" example is the example below (with the braille available in a separate window), in which a numbered footnote appears:

The interorbital angle¹⁵² between hybrid orbitals from the carbon atom can be determined computationally. If two atoms are identical, then the computations used can be the same.
¹⁵² For strained molecules such as those with small rings, the interorbital bond angle may not be the same as that of the internuclear bond angle.

The rule for numbered and lettered references is provided for your study.

Still other notes with print reference marks contain arbitrary print symbols, such as asterisks, daggers, dots, paragraph signs, section signs, and other visual cues. If only one symbol is used throughout the textbook, one would use dots "3-5, 3-5" to represent that symbol, regardless of what symbol is used in the print. If, however, more than one type of symbol is used, then the braillist uses these symbols in the order shown:

For example, in the table:

Year Population

1970^* 368,452

1980^** 832,432

^*1970 figure is estimated

^**1980 figure is based on a variety of statistical calculations

The transcriber should use the double "3-5" for the first asterisk and the double "2-6" for the second asterisk. The braille example is available in a separate browser window.

Formatting for these reference marks follows these rules:

follow the print in terms of placement of the reference mark
place a blank cell before AND after the reference symbol itself (i.e., the double "3-5" cells)
make sure that the reference mark symbol is on the same line as the referenced word (i.e., don't start a new line with a reference symbol)
if you have two or more reference symbols at the same reference point (usually separated by commas), follow the print copy

The other rule to remember is that a full line of "regular" braille text must follow the referenced word before one starts the note itself.

Notes without print reference marks

Often times notes will be included but without specific reference numbers or letters. By using special typefaces (such as bold), underlining, lines, arrows, or boxes, the reader is directed to some supporting note, usually on the same page. The example below (and braille example) shows the use of boldface to draw the reader's attention to the short note, in this case placed in the margin of the textbook:

All about windmills.
The earliest windmills were probably
built in Iran in the early fifth-century. They were used to grind grain.   What source of energy takes a kite soaring overhead or a sailboat bobbin through the waves? It is wind power, perhaps the oldest energy source in use. The Egyptians used wind power to propel their sailing barges along the Nile River at least 5,000 years ago. The Dutch have used windmills to drive the pumps that drain seawater from their low-lying lands for centuries.
  Just as with a pinwheel, moving air can turn the blades of a windmill. Before electric lines brought electricity to the country, farmers often used windmills to drive samll generators.
  Wind energy is another clean and renewable alternative energy source. Like waterpower, it can be used only at certain locations. Winds must reach speeds of about 32 kilometers per hour or more if they are to turn the blades of windmills

One other system that is used with increasing frequency in textbooks is text with "mixed" kinds of notes -- margin notes, traditional-looking "footnotes", gloss notes (typically definitions of vocabulary, slang terms, antiquated terms, etc.). In this situation, there are several special indicators that the transcriber should use:

	Line-numbered note indicator
	Gloss note indicator
	Interlinear note indicator
	Marginal note indicator