Volunteer makes 30-year commitment to serve blind Betty Wood, 90, continues to record texts for those who cannot read By linda denicola Staff Writer VERONICA YANKOWSKI Betty Wood, 90, of Freehold Township, has volunteered for 30 years recording scientific books for the New Jersey Unit of Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. What does a scientist do with all of the information gathered over a long life once she retires? If she’s Freehold Township resident Betty Wood, she offers her knowledge to an organization that needs it and then follows through with her commitment for 30 years. Deeply versed in the scientific language of textbooks, Wood drives her hybrid Toyota Prius from her home in the township to Princeton every Tuesday and spends almost five hours recording scientific books for the New Jersey Unit of Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D). RFB&D is a volunteer-based nonprofit organization that provides access to educational, professional and technical material at virtually no charge to visually, physically and learning disabled individuals. It’s kind of like a blind date that Wood has with unsighted and dyslexic students who are studying science. They don’t get to know her, but they get to know her strong, precise voice reading college level textbooks on everything from geology to oceanography, with a bit of other disciplines thrown into the mix. VERONICA YANKOWSKI Betty Wood of Freehold Township holds a gneiss metamorphic rock which she found by the Schuykill River outside Philadelphia in 1938. Wood, 90, calls on her scientific background when she records textbooks once a week. Wood, who recently turned 90, has a doctorate in geology and has been reading science books on tape since March 14, 1973, to be exact, and has probably read more than 100 books. "I am currently reading environmental geology, but this year I’ve also read on oceanography," she said. "Geologists have to know some botany, biology, chemistry and physics." Wood joined Bell Telephone Labs in Murray Hill, Union County, in 1943 and retired in 1967. "I’m a crystallographer," she said, explaining that the important thing about quartz crystals is that a slice of it can control the frequency of electrical current. "Quartz crystals were used during the war to control radio frequency. At that time, they needed someone who knew about crystals. Most of the electrical engineers didn’t have training in crystals." She further explained the importance of quartz crystals. "When you tune into a particular radio station, you’re getting that station right at that spot because of a quartz crystal controlling the frequency of that station." It was on the radio that Wood first heard of the organization that tapes books for the visually impaired. "When I retired, I got in touch with the state reading for the blind program. I’d heard a general request on the radio for volunteers. When I got in touch with them they asked about my background and when they found out that I had a scientific background, they said (I) shouldn’t be reading novels." Wood reads for three periods each Tuesday, each one 90 minutes long. She is at the recording studio from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. "If you make a mistake, there’s a monitor who monitors what you are doing. They arrange for it to be properly recorded. If you sneeze or cough, or if you decide you want to say a word over, they take care of that," she explained. "Right now, I have been almost the only person reading the particular book that I’m reading now, but once in awhile, someone else comes in and reads where I’ve left off. There are other people reading about nursing and others are reading about animals, and legal cases having to do with all sorts of court cases." The RFB&D New Jersey Unit is a separate, unincorporated unit of the national organization with two recording facilities in the Princeton area. Tony Gruenewald, assistant studio director and communications coordinator of the RFB&D New Jersey Unit, said, "What we do at the local level is record books that go into the national library. We provide books for 100,000 people and institutions and also provide outreach for local schools like Trenton and New Brunswick." The organization has plans to move out of its present facilities in the basement of the Princeton Theological Seminary where Wood goes to record the books. "We will be moving to a much larger space in St. Joseph’s Seminary, Plainsboro, but it needs a lot of renovations. It will be a pretty big effort, both physically and financially," he explained. Gruenewald said volunteers are needed to record all kinds of books. "They record anything you would find in a classroom, from Dr. Seuss to cardiology textbooks," he said, adding that volunteers do not just sit down right away and start reading. "There is a training process. Volunteers need to be trained because they are reading things at a high level. There’s a learning curve." RFB&D is financially autonomous and underwrites its own budget with the help of individuals, corporations, foundations and clubs. The organization needs donations as well as volunteers to record books, he said. Wood heeded the call for volunteers 30 years ago. At 90, she is still driving more than 20 miles each way to assure that everyone has access to science education. Anyone interested in volunteering or making a donation may call RFB&D-New Jersey Unit at (609) 750-1830. For more information, visit the Internet Web site at www.rfbdnj.org.