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Services for the Visually Impaired

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Talking Books

Talking Books and Braille Service for Nassau County Residents:

Reading is a pleasure no one has to lose because of failing vision. Talking Books is a free library service for individuals who cannot hold, handle or see well enough to use regular print books. If eligible, you may borrow audio recordings of many popular books and magazines that will be delivered right to your door – or even over the internet. The Glen Cove Public Library provides applications for the New York Public Library’s Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library. Once your application has been received and confirmed, the Andrew Heiskell Library will register you for service and send you the requested equipment, along with an information packet containing a welcome letter, sample catalogs of available books and a guide to their library services. Talking books may be returned postage free, so there’s never a direct cost to you.

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Choice Magazine Listening

Choice Magazine Listening is a nonprofit organization that provides audio recordings of memorable articles, stories, interviews, essays and poems from approximately 100 leading magazines, completely free of charge, to blind, visually impaired, physically disabled or dyslexic adults. Based in Port Washington, New York, Choice Magazine Listening has proudly served the blind and print-disabled community since 1962. Their experienced editors are always on the lookout for literature that best captures the human experience. Four times a year, subscribers receive (by mail or download) 12 hours of outstanding unabridged articles, fiction, and poetry, read by professional narrators and recorded on a format consistent with that used by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. For additional information, or to inquire about this valuable service, click here or call 1-888-724-6423.

National Library Service

National Library Service (NLS) is a free library service available to U.S. residents and citizens living abroad whose low vision, blindness, or physical disability makes it difficult to read regular print. Local cooperating libraries throughout the United States mail NLS talking books, magazines, and playback equipment directly to enrollees at no cost. Braille books and magazines are also available at no cost. Braille and talking books and magazines also may be downloaded from the Internet through the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) service.

To learn more about this free library service, please call 1-888-NLS-READ (1-888-657-7323) (toll free) or click here to visit the National Library Service website.

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