Rare Robert Burns Braille collection gifted to university
Irvine Burns Club presents rare Braille collection to University of Glasgow.
A rare Braille collection of the complete works of Robert Burns has been gifted to Glasgow University by Ayrshire Irvine Burns Club.
Joan Muir, who has been blind since the age of three, presented the works to the Centre for Robert Burns Studies during National Braille Week.
She explained her Braille books are very rare as they were printed using the steel sheets system and made to order.
Mrs Muir, from Kilwinning, said: "I have gained so much from these works of Robert Burns and thoroughly enjoyed owning them for all these years.
"Although the books are almost 50 years old, the braille dots are still sharp and are easily read by a blind person. It contains all of Burns' poetry as well as many of his letters."
Vice-principal and head of the College of Arts at Glasgow University, Professor Roibeard O'Maolalaigh, welcomed the gift.
He said: "The books are a wonderful piece of Braille history which helped to introduce Burns to a new audience.
"It is remarkable to think that this collection would have allowed the blind or partially sighted to read the wonderful words of Burns for themselves for the first time."