Accessible Media
One of the common reactions to losing one's sight is a feeling of being isolated. Avenues of information -- books, magazines, computers -- are suddenly closed off, especially when vision loss occurs later in life, making certain adaptations, like learning braille, more difficult. However, several organizations in the US, Canada and Great Britain have addressed this growing need by making books and periodicals available for blind or print disabled individuals, often at nominal or no cost to the user.
The US Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) has a program that loans accessible reading material to people who qualify for free.
The NLS's Talking Books program operates much like the DVD mail-rental service Netflix, except there is no cost to the user. Through the NLS's national network of participating libraries, books and magazines on cassettes and in braille, as well as the necessary audio equipment, are delivered directly to the recipient's door. Patrons can keep their orders for as long as they like and can order as many books or magazines as they wish. When the patron is finished, he or she simply sends back the materials at no charge.
Patrons must provide proof of eligibility by a competent authority. The service is limited to US residents and US citizens living abroad.
To find out more about this program, including a list of participating libraries, a list of available books and magazines, and how to sign up, visit the NLS website.
For US newspapers only, the National Federation of the Blind offers a free newspaper reading service, NFB-Newsline.
This is a free service wherein qualified individuals call a toll-free number and can hear newspaper articles read over the phone. NFB-Newsline currently has 140 newspapers providing content for this service. For more information, visit the NFB-Newsline website.
Bookshare.org is another website that offers downloadable books. Membership is open to US citizens who can show proof of disability. The membership fee, which is $25.00 for enrolling and $50.00 per year, covers unlimited downloading as well as a free download of the Victor Reader Soft DAISY player to read the books. Bookshare.org's books are available in text-only DAISY format and braille digital format. For more information, visit Bookshare.org.
The Canadian Institute for the Blind (CNIB) has a collection of over 60,000 titles, including 300,000 individual talking book copies. The organization's services include talking books, braille books, electronic books, children's PrintBraille books, braille music, magazines, descriptive videos, and tactile diagrams. An extensive reference section rounds out the offerings. CNIB does not provide readers for their books on tape or DAISY talking books. However, the organization does have an online library, where reading material is available in a format called "online digital audio," which can be read using Windows media player. The entire collection can be browsed through the web. Visit the CNIB website for more information.
The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) Talking Books Program operates much the same way as the NLS's lending system. This organization also has reading material structured in the DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) format, which offers users greater flexibility when navigating through reading material. The cost of the program is often paid for by the local authority. Visit the RNIB website for additional information.
The Talking Newspaper Association of Great Britain (TNAUK) provides national newspapers and magazines in a variety of formats: audio tape, computer disk, email, internet download and CD-ROM. Subscription to the service is tiered, depending on the number of publications the user wishes to subscribe to.
For more information, visit the TNAUK website or call 01435 866102.