30 | MARCH 16 • 2023 

I

n their late 80s, Earl Remer 
and Janet Mazzara continue 
a mission that both have 
been working on for decades. 
Each week, they spend hours 
printing free braille books for 
blind and low-vision children, 
and even adults, in a small 
room at Temple Beth El.
The Temple Beth El Braille 
Bindery was first organized 
in 1959 at the temple’s former 
location on Gladstone and 
Woodward in Detroit, and now 
operates out of its current home 

in Bloomfield Township on 
Telegraph. However, few know 
of its existence.
The Bindery, as its 10 
volunteers who manage its 
operation call it, is one of just 
a few braille binderies located 
in a temple or synagogue in 
the United States. Throughout 
the year, hundreds of books are 
printed and distributed by this 
small team of volunteers.
There are no staff, but rather 
dedicated Metro Detroiters, 
mostly in their 60s through 

80s, who share the same goal: 
to provide all children with the 
opportunity to read.
“Blind children like to go to 
bed with a book just like any 
other child,
” Mazzara, 87, of 
Rochester, explains. Mazzara is 
a licensed Braillist through the 
Library of Congress and has 
volunteered with the Bindery 
for nearly 30 years. As its group 
lead, Mazzara is in charge of 
keeping braille books error-free 
and creating braille labels for 
book covers.

She also oversees any 
special requests for books 
that aren’t available on the 
Bindery’s online website, www.
freebraillebooks.org, which 
has some 2,000 books for 
order across all genres in its 
inventory.
Remer, meanwhile, 89, 
of West Bloomfield and a 
retired lawyer, is one of three 
printers who print the books 
themselves. He also purchases 
all the equipment for the 
Bindery.
Other volunteers hold 
tasks such as separating and 
numbering bulk pages, binding 
books, adding print labels to 
book covers and preparing 
books for shipment.
While Tuesday is the big day 
at the Bindery — the day when 
volunteers meet at the temple in 

The Bindery

OUR COMMUNITY

At Temple Beth El, a small group prints 
hundreds of free books for blind children.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER / PHOTOGRAPHY BY JERRY ZOLYNSKY

Jan Mazzara of 
Rochester Hills 
labels the cover 
of some recently 
bound books in 
braille. 

PHOTOS BY JERRY ZOLYNSKY

