Kentucky Talking Book Library

The Kentucky Talking Book Library was established in 1968 as the Kentucky Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Our mission is to provide library service to individuals who have a visual or physical disability that prevents them from using standard print materials. We send books on tape and Braille books through the mail at no cost to our patrons.

We are part of a nationwide network of cooperative libraries headed by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, which is a division of the Library of Congress that was established in 1931. We serve patrons in 111 counties from our library located in the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives in Frankfort. The Louisville Talking Book library located in the Louisville Free Public Library serves those patrons who live in Jefferson County. Another subregional library, the Northern Kentucky Talking Book Library, serves those in Boone, Kenton, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Owen, Grant, and Pendleton counties.

Eligibility for Service

Anyone who has difficulty reading standard print material or who is unable to hold a book and turn the pages is eligible for our service. The condition may be temporary or permanent, as long as a competent authority endorses the application.

Some examples of qualifying conditions are:

Dyslexia or other reading disabilities may qualify an individual for service as long as the condition is the result of an organic dysfunction. A statement signed by a medical doctor is needed to certify these patrons as eligible.

Collection

We have more than 50,000 titles in Braille and on cassette tape that are selected to appeal to people of all ages and with a wide range of interests. We have popular fiction such as Romances, Westerns and Mysteries, and non-fiction such as Biographies, History and Religion.
It generally takes a few months between when a book is published and when it is available from our library, and we have multiple copies of each title.

The National Library Service provides most of our collection. However titles for our Kentucky collection are recorded in the KTBL by the KTBL Volunteer Recording program. These are books about Kentucky, books by Kentucky authors, or those of local interest to Kentuckians.

The collection is not limited to books. More than 70 magazines are available by free subscription on cassette or in Braille. We also have close to 300 Descriptive Videos—these are VHS movies with added narration for those who are unable to watch the action onscreen.

We do not have textbooks, large print books, musical recordings, or language instruction tapes because they are available through other means. Textbooks can be obtained through education programs such as Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (www.rfb&d.org). Large print books, musical recordings, and foreign language instruction tapes are generally available from public libraries.

Braille music scores and Braille or recorded music instruction are available directly from the Music Section of the National Library Service, nlsm@loc.gov.

Playback Equipment

The Talking Book Library will provide patrons with a specially created cassette player on which to listen to our books. Our books are recorded on standard audio cassettes designed to play at half commercial speed (15/16 IPS) and using four tracks. This configuration can pack up to six hours of reading time onto one cassette. This allows us to use fewer tapes and to protect the author's copyright, since they will not play on regular cassette players.

These players are specially designed for those who are blind. They have large keys with raised symbols. An instruction tape comes with it. Special attachments, such as headphones, pillow speakers and sound amplifiers are available by special request.

Repairs or replacement will be made at no cost to the patron. Call us for instructions on how to return or exchange a player. If one of our cassette players is returned to your library, call us and we will send you a postage-free box in which to send it to us.

Cassette player with cassette books in mailing containers Click on the image for full view.

Print/Braille picture book Click on image for full view.

Standard cassette player features Click on image for full view.

Easy cassette player features Click on image for full view.

Book Selection, Delivery and Return

Patrons may call our toll-free telephone number (800-372-2968) to request books by title, author or subject. They may receive a bi-monthly catalog to browse, or they may have their librarian select books for them based on their reading preferences.

Requests are kept on file and sent on a regular basis, so a patron does not have to call each time he wants a book. A circulation pattern will be established for each patron upon initiating service.
(The average patron receives a book every week or two.)

Reading materials are delivered to patrons by the US Postal Service in special mailing containers. The loan period is 30 days. To return items, simply turn over the address card so our pre-printed address shows. (The card is notched for those who cannot see the address.)
The address card is marked “Free Matter for the Blind” so patrons do not have to pay any return postage.

To Apply for Service

To obtain an application, call our toll-free number (1-800-372-2968) or download one from our website. In addition to basic information about the patron, each application must be signed by competent authority certifying that the individual qualifies for our service. Librarians are considered competent authority, along with health professionals, teachers, social workers, and government agency staff, but only medical doctors may certify reading disabilities. We will be glad to provide your library with applications to keep on hand.

Once we receive an application for service, we will contact the person by letter or telephone. Each patron is assigned to one of our 3 librarians, who will explain how the service works. She will find what kinds of things the patron enjoys reading, and will determine how many items to send, and how often to send them. The patron will then have a familiar name and voice to speak to when contacting the library.

Contact Information