Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections
Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections |
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| Introduction | Sustainability Factors | Content Categories | Format Descriptions | Contact | |
| Full name | BrailleSense File Format |
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| Description |
BrailleSense, also known as Hansone wordprocessor format with the extension HBL, is the default closed and proprietary file format for braille text associated with the BrailleSense notetaker device. BrailleSense is developed by HIMS, a Korea-based provider of assistive technology for people who are blind, visually impaired and have low vision. There is no public information about the HBL format structure. Comments welcome. Braille text in BrailleSense is created by and navigated through a series of "hot key" commands or keystrokes in the application. The default encoding is ASCII. Section 2.8.1 of Braille Sense OnHand User Manual V5.5 lists the ASCII table for a computer braille input. |
| Production phase | Initial State to Final State. Users can create, edit, save, and print HBL files while using the HIMS’ BrailleSense assistive technology device. |
| LC experience or existing holdings | While The Library of Congress does not have HBL files in its collections, the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled details a list of Commercial Players Compatible with NLS Digital Talking Books including the BrailleSense U2, BrailleSense U2 Mini and BrailleSense U2 QWERTY. |
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| LC preference | The Library of Congress has not yet expressed any format preference for braille content. |
| Disclosure | Proprietary file format with little or no public documentation. Comments welcome. |
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| Documentation | No information publicly available. Comments welcome. |
| Adoption | Adopted for reading, writing, editing files as part of BrailleSense, a braille information terminal for the visually impaired. |
| Licensing and patents | None. Comments welcome. |
| Transparency | According to BrailleSense 6 User Manual (p. 43), BrailleSense files including HBL can contain UEB Braille (Unified English Braille) or traditional 'US Braille code' which may be another name for English Braille, American Edition. The American Foundation for the Blind explains that English Braille American Edition was replaced in 2016 by UEB as the main code for reading material in English-speaking countries. Comments welcome. |
| Self-documentation | Unknown. Comments welcome. |
| External dependencies | For use only with the BrailleSense braille notetakers from HIMS. |
| Technical protection considerations | Unknown. Comments welcome. |
| Tag | Value | Note |
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| Filename extension | hbl |
See https://www.file-extensions.org/hbl-file-extension as well as HIMS BrailleSense6 User Manual which lists 'hbl' as a supported file format. |
| Pronom PUID | See note. | PRONOM has no corresponding entry as of September 2022. |
| Wikidata Title ID | See note. | Wikidata has no corresponding entry as of September 2022. |
| General | |
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| History | According to HIMS Braille Notetaker and Braille Display Product History, the first Braille Hansone device was released in 2002 and was replaced by version 1 of BrailleSense in 2004. The most recent as of this writing is version 6 released in 2022. The American Foundation for the Blind notes in a January 2005 review that the word "'Hansone' means to see the world through one fingertip in Korean. Because this meaning didn't translate to English speakers, HIMS is changing the name to BrailleSense." |
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