Session 3: All About Volumes

It goes without saying (but we'll say it anyway!) that it is difficult to braille most print books in one volume of braille. Determining where and when to stop one volume and begin the next volume is somewhat a matter of experience and common sense, but here are some guidelines to help:

typically a volume has around 80 pages, but good judgement hopefully prevails here! Ideally, the next volume starts at a logical place, such as the beginning of a new chapter. Accordingly, if finishing a chapter means going over the 80-page "limit", that is preferable to starting the new volume with the last few pages of the chapter
As a guideline, there should not be a difference of more than 15 pages between two volumes. The page count includes all pages, including title pages, table of contents, etc.
at the end of each volume, braille the words "END OF VOLUME" followed by the appropriate Roman numeral. The words "THE END" appear at the end of the last volume. These words appear on the last line of the last brailled page, centered. It's preferred to have a blank line before these words, but if the final brailling occurs on Line 24, the closing words should be brailled on Line 25. You can even squeeze in the words on the last line, as long as there are at least three blank cells before the closing.

To help you with your calculations, use the Volume Calculator. Directions are provided on the pages, but here are two scenarios for you to try:

Scenario 1: You have a print book consisting of 300 pages of text. You braille the first 40 pages of braille, which is approximately equivalent to 25 pages of print. Using the calculator, you should determine this concerning division of volumes:
Number of pages per volume: 80
Number of volumes: 6
Number of print pages per volume: 50
Scenario 2: You have a print book consisting of 320 pages of text. You braille the first 40 pages of braille, which is approximately equivalent to 22 pages of print. Using the calculator, you should determine this concerning division of volumes:
Number of pages per volume: 73
Number of volumes: 8
Number of print pages per volume: 40