Books for the Blind
{{Short description|United States program that provides audiobooks to the visually impaired}}
The Books for the Blind Program is an initiative of the United States National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) which provides audio recordings of books free of charge to people who are blind or visually impaired.{{Cite news|url=https://www.loc.gov/nls/about/organization/reports-speeches/alternatives-future-operations-books-blind-program-section-1/|title=Alternatives for Future Operations of the Books for the Blind Program: Section 1 - National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) {{!}} Library of Congress|work=National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) {{!}} Library of Congress|access-date=2018-03-11|language=en-US}}{{Cite journal|last=Asch|first=Adrienne|last2=Mudrick|first2=Nancy R.|date=2013-06-11|title=Blindness and Visual Impairment|url=http://socialwork.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.001.0001/acrefore-9780199975839-e-37|language=en|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.001.0001|isbn=9780199975839}} The program has included audio recordings of books since 1934 and digital book efforts began in 1996.{{Cite news|url=https://www.loc.gov/nls/about/organization/history/|title=History - National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) {{!}} Library of Congress|work=National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) {{!}} Library of Congress|access-date=2018-03-11|language=en-US}}
History
See also National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
In 1931, the United States passed the Pratt-Smoot Act to provide blind adults with access to books. Before audio recordings, books were made available in braille. Beginning with 19 libraries in 1931, the network as of March 2018 was 55 regional libraries, 32 subregional libraries, and 14 advisory and outreach centers serving the United States and its territories.{{Cite news|url=https://www.loc.gov/nls/about/network-libraries/about-local-network-libraries/|title=About Local Network Libraries - National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) {{!}} Library of Congress|work=National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) {{!}} Library of Congress|access-date=2018-03-11|language=en-US}} The program was expanded in 1952 to include blind children, in 1962 to include music materials, and in 1966 to include individuals with physical impairments that prevent the reading of standard print.https://www.loc.gov/nls/reference/factsheets/copyright.html NLS Factsheets: Copyright Law Amendment, 1996: PL 104-197 The Books for the Blind Program was the model for the effort in the 1950s for captioned films for the deaf leading to the Captioned Films Act of 1958.{{Cite web|url=https://dcmp.org/learn/379-described-and-captioned-media-program-seventy-years-of-progress|title=Described and Captioned Media Program: Seventy Years of Progress|website=dcmp.org|language=en|access-date=2018-03-11}}
Audio recordings were first created on vinyl when the Pratt-Smoot Act was amended in 1933 to include "talking books", and later, in 1969,{{cite book |title=Information Literacies for the Twenty-First Century |chapter=Something New Has Been Added: Aural Literacy and Libraries |publisher=G. K. Hall & Co. |author=Virgil L. P. Blake |year=1990 |pages=203–218 }} on proprietary cassette tape and player,{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/nls/specs/101-3.pdf |title=Performance Specification Cassette Book Machine 2003 |publisher=Library of Congress |author= |date=April 2003 |accessdate=January 25, 2014}} becoming the preferred format. Currently, books for the blind and visually impaired can be downloaded from the NLS's Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) system, which allows for digital books on desktop computers and some mobile devices.{{Cite news|url=https://www.loc.gov/nls/about/services/braille-audio-reading-download-bard/|title=Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) - National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) {{!}} Library of Congress|work=National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) {{!}} Library of Congress|access-date=2018-03-11|language=en-US}} In 2016, a Wi-Fi symbol was added to the NLS's logo to represent the inclusion of wireless connectivity to the programs.{{Cite web|url=http://dbs.myflorida.com/Library/Newsletter/2016-fall-eng.html|title=Florida Division of Blind Services|website=dbs.myflorida.com|language=en|access-date=2018-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312144053/http://dbs.myflorida.com/Library/Newsletter/2016-fall-eng.html|archive-date=2018-03-12|url-status=dead}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan/0,9327,7-381-88857_89599-79831--,00.html History of the program (with a state of Michigan emphasis)]
- [http://thatallmayread.ca/explore-history/early-reading-technologies/reading-by-sound/ CNIB: Reading by Sound: Pre-1950]. Describes a similar service in Canada.
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Category:1931 establishments in the United States
Category:Organizations established in 1931