When people ask how blind people read, the answer they usually expect is: audiobooks. It’s the format most sighted people have heard of, and it’s become a kind of shorthand for accessible reading as a whole. But it’s only one part of a much wider picture. Blind and visually impaired people in the US access books, news, and stories in a remarkable variety of ways — shaped by personal preference, how much vision they have, whether they’ve been blind since birth or lost their sight later in life, and simply what works best for them day to day. There is no single answer to how blind people read, and that’s precisely the point. Here are seven real ways people do it.

1. Braille

Reading through touch Braille is often the first thing people picture when they ask how blind people read, and it remains one of the most important forms of literacy for people with little or no vision. Developed by Louis Braille in 19th-century France, the system uses patterns of raised dots to represent letters, numbers, and punctuation, read by running the fingertips across the page. For people who learn it well, braille can be fast, private, and completely independent of any technology — you can read a braille book on a plane, follow along with a script on stage, or label your kitchen without needing a phone or a screen. In the United States, the standard is Unified English Braille (UEB), which has been in use since 2016 and aligns with seven other English-speaking countries. The American Foundation for the Blind is a strong resource for understanding braille and finding learning support. It’s worth knowing that most blind people in the US are not braille readers. Braille literacy is highest among people who have been blind since birth or childhood. Those who lose their sight later in life — which is the majority — often find it harder to learn as adults, though many do. NLS (the National Library Service) offers free braille materials and can connect you with local learning resources.

2. NLS Talking Books

The largest accessible library in the US, The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS), a programme of the Library of Congress, provides one of the world’s largest collections of accessible audio and braille books — entirely free to any US resident with a qualifying print disability. The service includes hundreds of thousands of titles across fiction, non-fiction, biography, history, and more. Books are available to download through the Bard Mobile app, streamed online, or received as cartridges by post. Special players that work with NLS cartridges are also provided free of charge to eligible users. Qualifying for NLS is straightforward — it’s open to anyone who has a visual impairment, a physical disability that prevents holding a book, or a reading disability like dyslexia. Your doctor or eye care provider can certify eligibility, and there’s no cost at any stage. If you or someone you care for is newly losing vision and hasn’t yet registered with NLS, this is one of the most valuable services to know about. You can apply at loc.gov/nls.

3. DAISY

Navigating audio like a real book, DAISY stands for Digital Accessible Information System, and it addresses a real frustration with standard audiobooks: how do you go back to a specific chapter, or look something up, without scrubbing through hours of audio? DAISY format allows readers to navigate an audiobook by chapter, section, or page number — the same kind of control a sighted reader has when flipping through a physical book. This makes a practical difference for longer non-fiction, textbooks, or any material you need to return to. NLS distributes many of its titles in DAISY format, and the free players provided to NLS users are designed to make DAISY navigation simple. For students or professionals who rely on accessible text, DAISY is worth specifically looking for when choosing titles and services.

4. Large print books

Many people with visual impairment have some useful remaining vision — and for them, large print books are a simple, low-tech way to keep reading without needing to learn new technology or adapt to an entirely different format. Large print is typically 16–18pt or larger, with generous line spacing and high-contrast text. For people managing conditions like macular degeneration or glaucoma, where some useful central or peripheral vision remains, this can be enough to read independently and comfortably. Large print books are available through NLS, most public libraries (which often keep collections even if they’re not prominently displayed — it’s worth asking), and through retailers like Amazon. Many bestsellers are published in large print editions alongside their standard versions, often at no significant price difference.

5. Tactile and multi-sensory books

For people who want to engage with the visual as well as the textual side of a book, tactile books offer something genuinely different: stories and information you can feel as well as hear. In the US, Living Paintings — a UK-originated charity — creates tactile books that combine raised images, colour print, and audio guides. The audio component helps the reader explore what they’re touching, so the experience isn’t just about words but about the illustrations and visual world the book inhabits. Their library is free to join. For children specifically, the ClearVision Project offers braille and print books designed to be shared between blind and sighted readers — so a blind child and a sighted sibling can read the same book together. That possibility of shared reading matters beyond accessibility.

6. Screen readers and digital text

A huge amount of reading now happens through screen readers — software that converts digital text into synthesised speech or braille output. On Apple devices, VoiceOver is built in. On Android, TalkBack does the same job. For computer users, JAWS and NVDA are widely used. These tools can read anything that exists as accessible digital text: ebooks, websites, documents, emails, and news. Apps like Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play Books all support text-to-speech for ebooks. The Libby app — which connects to your local public library — gives access to thousands of free audiobooks and ebooks with good screen reader support. The Bookshare library, supported by the US Department of Education, offers nearly a million accessible titles free to people with qualifying print disabilities. Screen readers work best when the digital content they’re reading has been designed with accessibility in mind. A well-structured ebook reads smoothly; a poorly formatted one — or text embedded in an image — can be difficult or impossible to navigate. This is one reason why accessible design matters far beyond the technology used to access it.

7. Voice-first technology and community reading

The most recent shift in accessible reading isn’t just about the format of the book — it’s about how reading fits into a daily routine, and whether it connects people to something larger. Voice-first devices — operated entirely by voice without needing to navigate a visual interface — let readers access audiobooks, newspapers, and content by simply asking for them. There’s no app to locate, no screen to tap through, no settings to find. You ask for what you want, and it plays. Smart speakers like Amazon Echo can read Kindle books aloud, and apps like Alexa and Google Assistant increasingly support content discovery by voice. Dedicated voice-first devices take this further, removing the visual interface entirely for users who find even simplified touchscreens difficult. Beyond access to the text itself, the social dimension of reading matters too — and it’s something that accessible formats have historically found harder to support. Book clubs, recommendations, shared discussions — these are things sighted readers have always been able to participate in easily, but that can require more effort to access with a visual impairment. Digital reading communities designed for blind and visually impaired readers are beginning to address that gap.

How do blind people read? In whatever way works best for them

The most important thing accessible reading has learned over nearly a century of development is that there is no single right format. Braille is not better than audiobooks. Talking books are not better than large print. Screen readers are not better than tactile books. What matters is that each person can read in the way that suits their vision, their history with reading, and their everyday life. In the US, the infrastructure to support that choice is genuinely strong. NLS, Bookshare, Libby, AFB, and local library services all play a role. The challenge is often not whether a service exists, but whether people know it’s there — especially people who are newly navigating vision loss and don’t yet know what to look for. If you’re at that stage — researching for yourself or for someone you care about — the American Foundation for the Blind and NLS are both strong starting points.

RealSAM Pocket is a voice-operated smartphone designed for blind and visually impaired people — no screen navigation, no app icons, no visual interface. Just tap and talk. Learn more about RealSAM Pocket

The post How do Blind People Read? 7 Real Ways People Access Books appeared first on RealSAM USA.

A practical guide for adult children researching accessible phones for a parent with vision loss

If you’re searching for a phone for blind seniors, you’ve probably already spent time in the wrong corners of the internet — pages full of spec sheets, jargon, and options that assume you know more than you do. This guide is designed to cut through that. It’s written for adult children and family members who are trying to find something that will genuinely help a parent stay independent, and who want a straight answer rather than a sales pitch.

Why standard smartphones often aren’t the right phone for blind seniors

Most of us assume the solution is somewhere in our parents’ existing phone. Turn on the accessibility settings. Make the text bigger. Enable VoiceOver or TalkBack. And for some people — particularly those who were already comfortable with smartphones before their vision changed — this works reasonably well. But for many seniors with significant vision loss, especially those losing sight in their 60s or 70s, the standard accessibility route asks a lot. VoiceOver is a powerful tool, but it’s a learned skill. It changes the way every gesture works. It requires patience and time that not everyone has, particularly if vision loss is progressing alongside other health changes.

The family burden shifts too. You find yourself driving over to fix settings, walking a parent through steps on the phone, troubleshooting notifications that have somehow accumulated. None of this is anyone’s fault — it’s just what happens when a tool designed for sighted users is asked to serve someone who can no longer use it the way it was designed.

What makes a voice-operated phone different for blind seniors?

The best phone for blind seniors isn’t necessarily a modified smartphone — it may be a device that removes the visual layer entirely. Rather than adapting a visual interface for non-visual use, voice-operated phones designed specifically for people with vision loss are built from the ground up around voice. There’s no home screen to navigate, no apps to find, no notifications stacking up.

The phone answers one question at a time: what do you want to do?

You tap the screen. You say what you want. The phone does it.

For many families, the shift is noticeable fairly quickly, not because the technology is magic, but because it removes the specific friction points that were causing problems. Contacts become reachable by name. Messages can be sent and received by voice. A parent who had stopped attempting to use their phone independently starts using it again, because it works the way they can actually interact with it.

Early and ongoing support

Before choosing any device, it’s worth asking what training is available and how easy it is to get help when something goes wrong. A phone that comes with ongoing customer support is a very different proposition from one that ships in a box and leaves you to figure it out. The American Foundation for the Blind offers guidance on what to look for in assistive technology products, including questions to ask before you buy.

The independence piece

There’s something worth naming directly, because it comes up in almost every conversation with families: the goal isn’t to make your parents’ phone easier for you to manage. The goal is to give them back something they’ve started losing — the ability to communicate, get information, and navigate their day without asking for help every time. Independence for someone with vision loss doesn’t look like it used to. But it’s still real. It’s your mom calling you because she wants to, not because she’s stuck. It’s her listening to a book in the evening, or checking the weather, or calling her sister without anyone having to set it up for her first. That’s the version of independence a well-designed phone for blind seniors is actually trying to support. Not impressive features. Just ordinary life, reliably managed.

A note on cost and funding

One thing that surprises many families: for a significant number of users in the US, the cost of an accessible phone is covered — fully or substantially — through funding programs. Veterans Affairs offices, state vocational rehabilitation programs, and other assistance schemes exist specifically to provide assistive technology to people who need it. If your parent is a veteran, or if you’re unsure what funding might be available in your state, it’s worth asking before assuming you’ll be paying full price. Our financial assistance resources page lists programs by state. Our team can also help point you in the right direction, even if a particular program isn’t one we manage directly.

How to find the right phone for blind seniors

There’s no single right answer for every situation. A few questions are worth sitting with before you decide: • How much usable vision does your parent still have?

• How comfortable are they with technology right now—not historically, but today?
• What are the two or three things they most need to do independently?
• What training and ongoing support will come with the device?
• Is there funding available through VA, vocational rehab, or a state program?

If you’re weighing these questions and would like to talk through whether RealSAM Pocket might be a good fit, or whether it isn’t, our team is glad to help. Schedule a free demo or send us an enquiry → You can also explore our financial assistance and resources page to find out what funding may be available in your state.

RealSAM Pocket is a voice-operated smartphone for blind and visually impaired users. It replaces the standard Android interface entirely with a voice-first system — no icons, no visual navigation. Tap and talk. It ships with a 30-day money-back guarantee and unlimited customer support. Learn more about RealSAM Pocket →

The post The best phone for blind seniors: what families need to know appeared first on RealSAM USA.

When searching for assistive technology options to address vision loss, it is important to understand which everyday tasks may become more difficult to perform independently.

Reading your mail.

Checking medication labels.

Looking at expiration dates on groceries.

Understanding a restaurant menu.

When you lose sight, these small moments can suddenly require assistance from someone else. That can be frustrating — and it can also affect something deeply important: privacy and independence. For people who are blind or experience a visual impairment, the right assistive technology can make the difference between autonomy and reliance.

RealSAM can Read Any Text and Describe Any Image

The RealSAM Magnifier and Sight Assistant tool is designed to help users reclaim independence in these everyday moments by translating both printed and handwritten text and visual information.

RealSAM’s simple interface means that users can simply take a photo of something they want to read or identify. The Sight Assistant will then recognise and describe the content of the image in detail and can answer follow-up questions about it.

For example:

What is the expiration date on this food?

What does this letter say?

Is this the correct medication?

How long should this food cook?

Does this menu item contain certain ingredients?

Instead of needing to ask someone else for help, which can incur an invasion of privacy—especially in the case of reading your mail or identifying your medication—users can easily find out for themselves, using RealSAM as their independence companion.

Beyond the Magnifier: Tools That Recognise Text, Objects, and More

Modern devices for the blind and visually impaired can do much more than magnify text. The RealSAM Sight Assistant tool can help users interact with and navigate their surroundings by easily recognising:

Text and Written Information

• Printed text
• Handwritten notes
• Letters and documents

Everyday Objects

• Money and currency
• Food packaging
• Scenery
• Cooking Appliances
• Street signs 
• Food Menus 
• Bin lids

Additional Capabilities

• Text translation from any language 
• Asking follow-up questions about images
• Describing visual content 

These tools allow users to access information that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to read.

Assistive technology does not replace sight — but it can remove many of the barriers that vision loss creates. Tools designed for blind and visually impaired users can help manage everyday activities more confidently. These moments may seem simple, but they play a huge role in maintaining autonomy, privacy, and independence.

Best Assistive Technology for Vision Loss

Losing sight does not need to mean losing control over daily life.

With the right assistive technology for vision loss, people who are blind or experience visual impairment can continue to navigate everyday tasks with confidence. The RealSAM Sight Assistant tool is designed with exactly that goal in mind: helping users read, recognise, and understand the information around them without needing to ask for assistance

Because everyone deserves access to technology that supports independence, dignity, and privacy.

The post Assistive Technology for Vision Loss: Technology That Supports Independence appeared first on RealSAM USA.

Every March, the United States celebrates Women’s History Month, a time to recognise the achievements of women whose work has shaped society, culture, and civil rights. Among those stories are the lives of blind and visually impaired women whose achievements changed the course of history—often in ways that are still not widely known.

From abolitionists and educators to athletes and disability rights advocates, these women challenged expectations and expanded what independence and leadership could look like. Here are five remarkable blind women in history whose contributions continue to inspire.

Ever Lee Hairston: Civil Rights Advocate and Community Leader

Ever Lee Hairston was a pioneering activist who worked to expand opportunities for blind Americans.  

As a blind African American woman working during the civil rights era, she advocated for greater inclusion in education, employment, and community life.

Hairston worked with organisations such as the National Federation of the Blind, helping strengthen the movement for disability rights while also addressing racial inequality within access to education and services.

Her work contributed to broader efforts to ensure that blind Americans could live, work, and participate fully in society.

Harriet Tubman: Abolitionist and Freedom Leader

Harriet Tubman is widely known as one of the most courageous leaders of the Underground Railroad, guiding enslaved people to freedom in the decades before the American Civil War. 

Less widely known is that Tubman lived with significant vision impairment and neurological symptoms after suffering a traumatic head injury as a teenager while enslaved.

Despite lifelong headaches, seizures, and vision difficulties, Tubman led dozens of dangerous rescue missions and later served as a scout, nurse, and spy for the Union Army.

Her leadership helped free hundreds of enslaved people and made her one of the most respected figures in American history.

Haben Girma: Disability Rights Lawyer and Global Advocate

Haben Girma made history as the first deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School. 

Today she is an internationally recognised disability rights lawyer and advocate for accessible technology, education, and public spaces.

Girma has worked with governments, universities, and technology companies to encourage accessibility in digital design and inclusive policy.

In recognition of her work, she was named a White House Champion of Change under the administration of Barack Obama.

Her advocacy continues to influence conversations about accessibility and equal opportunity worldwide.

Marla Runyan: Olympian and Record-Breaking Runner

Marla Runyan is one of the most accomplished visually impaired athletes in American history. 

Diagnosed with Stargardt disease, a degenerative eye condition, Runyan gradually lost most of her central vision.

She went on to win multiple gold medals in the Paralympic Games before becoming the first legally blind athlete to compete in the Olympic Games.

Her achievements challenged assumptions about disability in sport and helped expand opportunities for athletes with visual impairments.

Helen Keller: Author, Activist, and Global Symbol of Disability Rights

Perhaps the most widely recognised blind woman in history, Helen Keller became deafblind at 19 months old after an illness. 

With the help of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, Keller learned to communicate through tactile sign language and went on to become a prolific writer and public speaker.

Over the course of her life, she published books, lectured internationally, and advocated for disability rights, women’s suffrage, and workers’ rights.

Her life helped change public understanding of disability and education, demonstrating that blind and deafblind people could participate fully in intellectual and political life.

Recognising the Legacy of Blind Women Leaders: Women’s History Month 2026

The stories of these famous blind women span centuries and fields — abolition, law, sport, education, and civil rights.

What connects them is not only their resilience, but their determination to expand what society believed blind women could achieve.

During Women’s History Month, their lives remind us that progress often comes from individuals who challenge expectations and open doors for those who follow.

Their achievements continue to shape conversations about equality, access, and opportunity today.

Take a look at our previous blog posts here. 

The post Women’s History Month: 5 Blind Women Who Changed American History appeared first on RealSAM USA.

Accessible Gardening: Why Gardening Works So Well Without Sight

Gardening is naturally suited to non-visual senses. So much of it already depends on texture, smell, and spatial awareness:

• the roughness of bark
• the scent of herbs like mint or rosemary
• the difference between damp soil and dry soil
• the sound of bees in flowering plants

Because of this, many blind and visually impaired gardeners develop highly tactile ways of working with plants.

Organizations such as the American Foundation for the Blind highlight gardening as an activity that can support wellbeing, independence, and connection with nature.

Gardening for Blind People: Simple Spring Techniques

A few small adjustments can make gardening easier and more accessible.

Use tactile plant markers

Raised labels, braille tags, or textured markers can help identify plants.

Plant in straight lines or containers

Consistent spacing makes it easier to navigate beds and remember plant locations.

Choose strongly scented plants

Herbs such as basil, thyme, mint and lavender make it easy to identify plants through smell.

Use raised beds

Raised beds help with orientation and make it easier to reach plants safely.

These techniques help create a garden that is structured, memorable and easy to navigate by touch.

Gardening Without Sight: Accessible Gardening Tools

Some tools can make accessible gardening even easier. Examples include:

• braille or large-print seed packets
• talking plant identification apps
• tactile garden markers
• ergonomic hand tools with clear grips

Across the United States, many parks and public gardens are also exploring sensory garden design, where plants are chosen for their texture, fragrance, and sound.

The National Federation of the Blind has also highlighted how accessible outdoor activities can play an important role in recreation and independence.

A Different Way to Experience Spring

Spring gardening is often associated with color and visual beauty.

But nature offers far more than what we see.

The smell of tomato leaves.

The texture of warm soil.

The sound of bees moving between flowers.

For many blind and low vision gardeners, these sensory details become the center of the experience.

Gardening without sight isn’t simply adapting a visual activity.
It’s discovering another rich way of experiencing the season.

Check out our previous blog posts here.

The post Gardening Without Sight: Spring Gardening Tips for Blind and Visually Impaired People appeared first on RealSAM USA.

October 9 – 16 is National Braille Week. At RealSAM we want to be part of empowerment for the sight loss community. National Braille Week is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the development of Braille and the tremendous positive impact it continues to have on the sight loss community.

Braille was Revolutionary

Braille is not a language, it’s a form of writing. It uses patterns of raised dots to represent characters that can be read by people who are blind or visually impaired.

Did you know that the invention of Braille was inspired by the military? In 1819 Charlse Barbier, a former officer from the French army came up with ‘night writing’ so that soldiers could communicate in the dark without speaking.

It was a time of exciting change for France, a country that had just gone through a revolution. Barbier was passionate about creating different ways for people to write and communicate. One thing that was of great concern to him was the lack of literacy and general education in the country. After coming up with a tactile shorthand he called sonography, he shared his system and the tools he used with the Royal National Institute for Blind Youth in Parris.

The students in the school were taught to read using embossed types. This was very challenging. For one thing, they were using cursive, and similar characters like, ‘C’s, ‘A’s, and ‘O’s were difficult to decern by touch. Additionally, few words fit in a page making it incredibly expensive to reproduce large bodies of text, much more entire books. The school had limited materials for the students, nevertheless they learned the mechanics of reading and spelling.

The one thing the students were unable to do was write for themselves. Embossed texts were produced by machines and could not be handwritten. Some even learned to write using a pencil even though they themselves would not be able to read what they’ve written. This was the case until Louis Braille developed the basics of what we know as Braille today. For the first time ever, a blind person had the ability to really read and write independently—it was life changing!

Louis Braille

Louis Braille, 1809-1852, became blinded at the age of three when he was playing in his father’s harness shop. An awl, a sharp tool used for punching holes in leather, severely punctured his right eye. He developed an infection that spread to both eyes and caused him to lose all his vision by the age of 5.

Despite the horrific accident, Louis was a bright student who excelled in music. He received a scholarship to attend the Royal National Institute for Blind Youth in Parris. This school was originally a hospital and rehabilitation institution for blind veterans. He was a teenage student when he began to work on completely adapting Barbier’s ‘night writing’ for himself and the other students in the school.

Barbier’s code was based on 12 dotted cells. The different patterns of raised dots could represent alphabetical characters or phonetic sounds. Louis Braille was 15 years old when transformed the system to be based on 6 dotted cells so that every character can be easily identified with one touch. At the age of 21 he published his system, then continued to work on it so that it could also be used for music and math.

Braille in our Digital Age

Braille has been around for 200 years. Changes have been made over time and different countries have made modifications to fit their language structures. For the most part though, it remains as Louis Braille first invented it.

For a long time, using a slate and stylus was the main way to write Braille. Technology has caught up. From the Perkins Brailler developed in the 1930s to all the different Braille displays and Braille keyboard inputs in the market today, people are using Braille to interact with their computers and mobile devices.

Today not every blind person can read Braille. Some may even believe that with all the technology we have Braille is no longer relevant. Yet in a world of screen readers, smartphones, and accessibility AI, Braille literacy still has a positive impact. In fact, research shows if you know how to read and write Braille, you are more likely to be employed as a blind person.

Screen readers and accessibility AI are assistive technology that are essential and extremely helpful in providing vital information for someone who is blind or has low vision. But not everything can be accomplished efficiently by using audio only. Braille is critical in learning sentence structures, grammar, spelling, math, and music. Listening to audiobooks can be very satisfying, but being able to read text without anyone reading it for you is empowering. As a blind parent or family member, you could read to younger children using Braille books. Reading Braille labels on important everyday items like medicines and food packages requires no additional devices. Braille in public spaces like elevators, transportation stations, room numbers, etc. helps blind people navigate.

Braille is useful in the workplace. For example, customer service professionals can use Braille displays to read a lot of information quickly versus listening to the screen reader and the customer simultaneously. Braille would be helpful to a visually impaired teacher or someone who needs to read notes during a speech. Using Braille in combination with embossed images, charts, and graphs, that would be difficult to express via audio, can provide insight to a low vision professional who needs to analyze data.

Participate in National Braille Week

Above are just a few examples, but there are countless scenarios where Braille literacy makes a big difference to someone’s independence. By participating in National Braille Week, you can be part of spreading awareness that can change someone’s life.

During National Braille Week, learn more about Braille and share this RealSAM article with someone who may want to know about Braille and the sight loss community.

Reference:

“Debunking 11 Myths About the Invention of Braille.” YouTube, Uploaded by       Braille Adventures, 4 Jan. 2023,             https://youtu.be/xeIpbsrg7w4?si=OLx0Dgp7kheWhw-l.

“How the Evolution of the Brailler Expanded Braille Literacy.” Perkins School for     the blind, https://www.perkins.org/how-the-evolution-of-the-brailler- expanded-braille-literacy. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.

“Louis Braille.” Encyclopedia Britanica, 2 Jan. 2023,             https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Braille/additional-info#history Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.

Vernon, Tim. “Is Braille Relevant in 2017?” Perkins School for the Blind,             https://www.perkins.org/resource/braille-relevant-2017.                          Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.

The post From “Night Writing” to Braille Displays – Recognizing the Positive Impact of Braille on National Braille Week appeared first on RealSAM USA.

If you have been reading all your life, it may be hard to imagine that many people struggle to read standard print and many others cannot read print at all. Thanks to NLS, anyone who is print disabled due to temporary or permanent blindness, visual impairment, or any other physical or learning disabilities can register to have access to over 300 thousand printed items in Braille, e-Braile, and audio formats. 

A quick look back to how NLS began

The very first efforts to provide library services for blind people began with 8 embossed books donated to the Boston Public Library in 1868. Soon many other major city libraries began circulating a limited number of embossed books. 

In 1897 John Russel Young, Librarian of Congress, set up a reading room for the blind with about 500 books with raised characters. This was an early vision to form a national library for people with visual impairment.

Years later, in 1931 the Pratt-Snoot Act became law, and the National Library Service was established. 

Around the same time audiobooks, also known as Talking Books, were being developed. Many advocates, including Helen Keller, led NLS to produce audiobooks along with Braille books.  

Books from NLS

It took decades of significant efforts, volunteers, advocates, acts of Congress, and technological advancements to make NLS what it is today—an efficient network of libraries providing free services in all 50 states and US territories: Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and Guam. Additionally, NLS is available to US citizens and military families living abroad.

Registered members have access to magazines, books, and even music books and scores for all ages. NLS provides free and extended loans of standard and advanced book players. Readers can specify what type of books they are interested in. These can be mailed to them as requested or on a regular schedule, either as Braille books or as audiobooks on USB cartridges for their NLS book players. There are children’s books that include a combination of pictures, large print, and Braille allowing both a child who is visually impaired to read on their own, or a visually impaired parent or grandparent to read to them.  

The NLS Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) website allows NLS patrons to download e-Braille books and audiobooks that can be loaded onto a flash drive for NLS book players. Finally, with the BARD Mobiles app, NLS content can be played on IOS, Android, and Kindle devices making it possible for any print disabled person to read anywhere, any time.

To Learn more about books for the blind, visually impaired, and print disabled, check out these related resources:

• RNIB Talking Books and the New Reading Services Platform 
• Books for the Blind, Visually Impaired, and Print Disabled from NLS BARD
• Streaming Audiobooks on the RealSAM Pocket

By Guenivir Kendrick

REFERENCE: 

History – national library service for the Blind and print disabled (NLS): Library of Congress. National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) | Library of Congress. (2022, October 31). Retrieved April 22, 2023, from https://www.loc.gov/nls/about/organization/history/

Overview – National Library Service for the Blind and print disabled (NLS): Library of Congress. National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) | Library of Congress. (2023, March 28). Retrieved April 22, 2023, from https://www.loc.gov/nls/about/overview/#:~:text=Established%20by%20an%20Act%20of,to%20provide%20refreshable%20braille%20displays

The post The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled: Library of Congress – “That all may read.”   appeared first on RealSAM USA.