Talking Book Service is made available to institutions in Oregon by the Oregon State Library’s Talking Book and Braille Services (TBABS). This service is provided to institutions and agencies whose clientele may include blind, low vision, and physically disabled persons eligible for materials from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS). Institutions and agencies include hospitals, assisted living facilities, retirement centers, nursing and convalescent homes, rehabilitation facilities, schools, and public libraries.
 
Library services to institutions are Free. All materials are sent and returned postage paid; no cost is incurred by the institution.

The director or authorized representative of the institution completes a TBABS Institutional application (links below) and returns the original copy to Talking Book and Braille Services.  Upon receipt of the enrollment application, a TBABS staff person will make contact with the institution and complete the registration process.
 
 
Institutional Application: Word, Pdf  
 
We encourage institutions to use talking book equipment and books in a couple of ways:

1. Provide a demonstration to eligible users about what is available to them as a registered individual patron of the Talking Book library. If the individual is interested, we will supply equipment and books to the individual patron. Again, there is no cost for eligible individuals.
2. Use the equipment and talking books in group activities in the institution for those who are print disabled and/or physically disabled.

Institutions and their staff are also eligible for Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) accounts.  BARD is the NLS downloadable audio book service that enables users to access any digital book from any computer with an internet connection.  Books are downloaded onto a user’s computer, then transferred to play on an NLS digital player using a USB flash drive or blank cartridge.  Multiple staff at an institution can have BARD accounts, and are encouraged to use these accounts for the following:

1. Demoing the BARD service to interested patrons or perspective clients
2. Helping clients who may not have a computer with internet access download books
3. Making several copies of the same book available for book groups or other group activities

 
At this time, public library accounts will be limited to demo only access, meaning library staff will only be able to download any of four (4) copyright-free books that have been published by the NLS:

• Biography of the Blind (DB 42343)
• Braille into the Next Millennium (DB 50969)
• Talking Books: Pioneering and Beyond (DB 27607)
• That All May Read (DB 20002)

 
Public libraries will still be able to search for any book available on BARD in order to show the breadth and depth of the collection, but they will only be able to download the NLS copyright-free books.
 
If you are a staff member of an institution already registered for Talking Books Service and would like to apply for BARD service, please follow this link to the online application.  If you are not registered, please follow the instructions above under the Enrollment header before applying for BARD.

One demonstration talking book player and audio book will be assigned to an institution.   Accessories are available, but only when a need is demonstrated.

The institution should assign a specific staff member to be responsible for equipment, talking books, and any other materials loaned by TBABS to an institution. These items are federal property, and institutions are accountable for their locations and condition. Equipment and materials should be returned to TBABS when they are no longer being used.

The institution’s staff member responsible for equipment and book oversight is encouraged to maintain contact with TBABS, giving updates on program needs and usage. TBABS staff will also maintain communications with the institutions on an active basis. It is to the mutual benefit of the institution and TBABS to maintain ongoing dialogue regarding patron library services.