Guest Author - Carla Ruschival
Residents of Indiana who are blind and visually impaired or who cannot read print because of a physical disability can receive braille or audio books and magazines through the mail, free of charge.
People who cannot see to read a regular print book or who cannot manipulate a book because of arthritis, paralysis, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, or other physical disabilities, or who have a reading disability such as dyslexia, qualify for services. They may borrow audio Talking Books or braille books through special libraries that are part of a Library of Congress program called the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS).
All kinds of books are available, from mysteries to fantasies to biographies to cookbooks to children's books. Thousands of titles are in the collection for every reading taste. Magazines are also available in braille and on tape.
Books are sent through the mail free of charge, and when the patron is finished with them, they are returned, again postage-free. Magazines are also sent by mail, but do not need to be returned.
The Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library in Indianapolis serves the entire state. Other libraries, called subregionals, are branches that serve specific counties.
Indiana also has regional Talking Book Service Centers in the central libraries of the Allen County, Anderson, Kokomo/Howard County, Monroe County, Morrison Reeves (Richmond), St. Joseph County, Tippecanoe County, and Vigo County public libraries. These centers encourage talking book patrons to make greater use of their local libraries, and increase public awareness of the "talking book service". The regional centers maintain a collection of 30 to 100 cassette titles, and circulate these titles to walk-in patrons registered with the talking books program.
The Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library has a collection of about 900 locally-produced recorded books, and another collection of about 12,000 large print books. Interlibrary loan may also be used to make audiobooks and other commercially-produced materials available to patrons, and digital books may be downloaded for use with notetakers and MP3 players.
The Indiana library offers several magazines in alternative formats that are not available through the NLS system on a national basis. Patrons may subscribe to magazines about diabetes, children's magazines such as Humpty Dumpty and Sports Illustrated for Kids, or popular magazines such as Newsweek, Redbook, Saturday Evening Post, Southern Living, Time and Reader's Digest.
To obtain an application or request books, locate the library that serves the county in which you live. If you do not find your county listed, then your books will come from the Indianapolis library, and you should contact them directly.
Indiana State Library
Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Telephone: (317)232-3684
Toll-free (In-state): (800)622-4970
TDD: (317)232-7763
FAX: (317)232-3728
Email the Indianapolis library or visit their website
Bartholomew County Public Library
536 Fifth Street
Columbus, IN 47201
Telephone: (812)379-1277
Toll-free (In-state): (800)685-0524
FAX: (812)379-1275
Email the Columbus library or visit their website
Serves: Bartholomew, Clark, Crawford, Decatur, Floyd, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington counties
Blind and Physically Handicapped Services
Elkhart Public Library
300 South Second
Elkhart, IN 46516-3184
Telephone: (574)294-2619
Email the Elkhart library or visit their website
Serves: Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Marshall, St. Joseph, and Starke counties
Northwest Indiana Subregional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
Lake County Public Library
1919 West 81st Avenue
Merrillville, IN 46410-5382
Telephone: (219)769-3541
TDD: (219)769-3541
FAX: (219)769-0690
Email the Merrillville library or visit theit website
Serves: Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, and Porter counties
Talking Books Service
Evansville-Vanderburgh Public Library
200 SE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
Evansville, IN 47713-1802
Telephone: (812)428-8235
Toll-free (In-state): (866)645-2536
FAX: (812)428-8215
Email the Evansville library or visit their website
Serves: Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Martin, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties
