BARD Website provides Digital Audiobooks for the Blind and Physically Handicapped

The Library of Congress provides the National Library Service (NLS) for the blind and physically handicapped.  Recently the NLS has begun switching from audiobooks on recorded cassettes to digitally recorded audiobooks--available on a special cartridge and for download.  These digital audiobooks are available for eligible subscribers only and must be played through the Digital Talking Book Machine (DTBM) player provided by the NLS through state libraries or by an equivalent machine purchased by an eligible subscriber.

The NLS now has a Braille and Audio Recording Download (BARD) website which subscribers can use to download digital audiobooks in a compressed (Zipped) format.  These downloaded digital audiobooks can be extracted to a file on a computer system, then the extracted file folder can be copied onto a USB drive that has no other pre-loaded software.  The DTBM need to see the file folder and can access the book files.

While these books have been released as recently as October, 2009, there are already some updates to the software.  These can be accessed at a special DTBM update website.    These updates are also in zipped format and need to be downloaded and extracted on a computer.  Then the extracted file folder needs to be copied to its own USB drive so the DTBM can read the update and initiate it immediately.

My mother received her "advanced" DTBM (which allows bookmarking of downloaded books) in early November.  We needed to update her software before her machine played downloaded audiobooks.  After updating the machine, we have discovered that the PNY 2GB USB 2.0 drives available from WalMart at $9.98 work well for both downloaded audiobooks and downloaded updates.  BARD will be adding to its collection throughout the year and beyond.  It currently makes books and magazines available in digital audio format in multiple languages.

My mother (who has macular degeneration in both eyes) started working with the cassette tape players provided by the NLS earlier this year.  She had many problems with the recorded cassettes because she is also hard of hearing and, though we have external speakers that let her hear what is played, the combination of the narrators voice and the cassette recording made it extremely difficult for her to understand the audiobooks received on cassette.  The cassette player also works with audiobooks from public libraries and she was able to understand many of those.

The DTBM player is both easier to operate and has a much clearer sound quality.  It is much easier for Mom to understand digital audiobooks played on this machine.

Mom lives in Carol Stream, IL, and is supported by the Voices of Vision Talking Book Center based in Geneva, IL.  Her online membership registered with Voices of Vision transferred to the BARD website in one working day.  Mom needed an e-mail address and had to complete two online forms to be able to open her BARD account and download digital audiobooks.

The mission of the NLS is "That All May Read" and they are doing a terrific job at making that happen for thousands of blind and physically handicapped individuals, free of charge.  The materials mailed to the people using the service and being returned to the Talking Book Centers move through the U.S. Post Office free of charge ("Matter for the Blind and Physically Handicapped").

This service and the new BARD service and DTBM are keeping Mom connected to the world in ways that she would otherwise not have access to.  I am very thankful for the support of the Library of Congress, the National Library Service, and of the Voices of Vision Talking Book Center and all those involved in adding to the quality of life for their patrons.

I first saw the DTBM at the July 2009 Annual Conference and Exhibition for the American Library Association in Chicago, IL.  The Library of Congress had an exhibit at McCormick Place and their representative showed me how the player worked.  At the time he said that they were being made (in China) and would be avaliable soon for distribution in the USA.  We received a letter in early October allowing Mom to request the player as soon as it became available and she was one of the first to receive one in this area.  The cartridge is "wrapped around" a USB drive and the DTBM reads one book at a time.

The DTBM can access multiple books on the same USB drive by holding down the green PLAY button as the machine advances through the folders on the drive. I will still have a few drives available for Mom can free space on the drives by erasing the books when she is finished with then, then can load other books on the same drive.