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National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled

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National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled

A free, accessible library service providing talking books and braille materials or its territories or are U.S. citizens living abroad.
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The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) (formerly National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, provides braille and talking books and magazines to eligible readers, who live in the U.S. Individuals may be eligible for the program if they are blind, visually impaired, or have a physical disability that prevents them from reading

regular print. Library materials are distributed through a network of cooperating libraries, where they are circulated by postage-free mail. Braille and talking books are also available for download through the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) website and the BARD Mobile app.

09/04/2026

Taken together, the headlines announcing Gloria Steinem’s death on Wednesday pretty much tell the story of her public life. The New York Times called her the “Personification of the Women’s Movement.” To the Los Angeles Times, she was a “Charismatic Feminist and Co-Founder of Ms. Magazine.” For the UK’s Sky News, she was the “Feminist Campaigner Who Famously Went Undercover as a Pl***oy Bunny.” And to round out the story, Today .com noted that Steinem was “Christian Bale’s Stepmom.”
In a 2015 memoir, “My Life on the Road (DB83003),” Steinem recounted her impoverished childhood in Toledo, Ohio, after her parents’ divorce; early career as an in-demand freelance journalist; and her fight for women’s equality in all aspects of society. She offered a feminist perspective on the iconic actress Marilyn Monroe in “Marilyn (DB25894).” Among the biographies of Steinem in the NLS collection is “The Education of a Woman: The Life of Gloria Steinem (DB42747),” a definitive 1995 account by feminist scholar Carolyn G. Heilbrun. And for readers in grades 2-4, there’s “Gloria Takes a Stand: How Gloria Steinem Listened, Wrote, and Changed the World (DB95959)” by Jessica M. Rinker.
[Image: Gloria Steinem at a 1972 news conference. Photo by Warren K. Leffler, U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. ]

09/02/2026

Join us on Zoom for a full slate of practical, patron-focused events this month. All take place at 7 p.m. eastern time. Get details on how to join each session and listen to recordings of previous sessions at the links below.
The next Many Faces of BARD program will be held this Thursday, a week earlier than usual. The topic will be Introducing the Web Player. Our new Web Player allows a patron to listen to BARD titles directly on the BARD website and stream them across multiple NLS devices. After the presentation and demonstration, we will take your questions about all things BARD for the remainder of the hour. Find out more at www.loc.gov/nls/news-and-updates/many-faces-of-bard?loclr=fbnls.
(The Many Faces of BARD will return to its usual date on the second Thursday of the month in October.)
The topic for the Thursday, September 17, Smart Speaking to the Smart Speaker program will be Effective Use of the Reading History and the Streaming History and What’s the Difference. Get details at www.loc.gov/nls/news-and-updates/smart-speaking-to-the-smart-speaker?loclr=fbnls.
And the topic for the Tuesday, September 29, That All May eRead program will be Effectively Using the Dictionary on the eReader. Get details at www.loc.gov/nls/news-and-updates/that-all-may-eread?loclr=fbnls.

[Image: An NLS Braille eReader on top of a sheet of hard-copy braille.]

08/31/2026

With the start of the school year, it’s always a good idea to check in with your little ones to see how their vision is doing. If it feels like they might be struggling to read or keep up in class, NLS may be able to help.
NLS provides the same materials that a public library would, including children’s, teen and young adult books in audio and braille. Whether your child has a reading disability like dyslexia or a visual impairment, NLS can help keep them reading on grade level.
All our services are free. Plus, there are no waitlists for material from NLS!
To learn more about how we serve young learners with reading disabilities, visit www.loc.gov/nls/who-we-serve/reading-disabled?loclr=fbnls.

[Image: A young student takes an eye exam. iStock.]

08/28/2026

As part of our celebration, NLS collaborated with the Library of Congress' Geography & Map Division to produce tactile versions of 10 Revolutionary War-era maps. In this video, the Geography & Map Division’s Lena Mattson and NLS’ Meg Carmouze and Amber Pearcy explain how it's done.

08/27/2026

NLS has been celebrating by making historical artifacts at the Library of Congress accessible. 250 years ago, the Battle of Long Island was fought — the first major battle in the Revolutionary War and the largest engagement of the entire war. The battle pitted General George Washington's Continental Army against British forces commanded by General William Howe. After being pushed back to their primary defensive position on Brooklyn Heights, the Continental Army made a heroic escape back to Manhattan that was a high point of Washington's military career. Now NLS shares accessible and downloadable versions of German-French surveyor George-Louis Le Rouge's famous map of the Battle of Long Island as well as other maps and documents from American history – including a map that Washington drew of his Mount Vernon estate in 1766. Learn more about these documents and American250 at www.loc.gov/nls/america250?loclr=fbnls.
[Image: Attaque de l'armée des provinciaux dans Long Island du 27. aoust 1776; dessin de l'isle de New-York et des Etats. Library of Congress Geography and Map Division.]

08/25/2026

Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday at age 80, was many things over her 60-year professional career: singer, songwriter, actor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, cultural icon – and a tireless advocate for literacy. “Everywhere I go, the kids call me The Book Lady,” she said in a PBS interview. Parton’s Imagination Library has been sending books to children — one book a month until they turn five — since 1995. And on February 27, 2018, she came to Washington, D.C., to dedicate the 100 millionth Imagination Library book — a story she wrote, “Coat of Many Colors” — to the Library of Congress. (Watch and listen to the video of her appearance at https://www.loc.gov/item/2021687564?loclr=fbnls.) Imagination Library is still going strong; in 2023 it gifted its 200 millionth book.
Parton’s 1994 memoir, “Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business (DB39868),” is a definitive account of her life, from her impoverished childhood in East Tennessee to her rise to fame in Nashville and beyond. Parton also told her story in last year’s “Star of the Show: My Life on Stage (DB133565).” “Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters (DB92810)” collects interviews with Parton going back to 1967, when she was 21.
Parton discusses her passion for fashion in “Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones (DB117524),” and she and her sister share favorite recipes in “Good Lookin’ Cookin’ (DB127729).”
The NLS collection also has children’s books by Parton, including the autobiographical “Coat of Many Colors (DBC32781)” and “Dolly Parton’s Billy the Kid Makes It Big (DB114353),” about a bulldog with an ear for music.
“Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics (BR24608, DB102063)” is an annotated collection of lyrics from 175 of her songs. The NLS Music Collection has piano scores for “I Will Always Love You (DBM04628)” and “Hardcandy Christmas (DBM03726).” And Popular Music Lead Sheets, No. 132 (BRM37679) includes a braille score for “Jolene.”
Search the NLS catalog for many more books by and about Parton.
[Image: In a screenshot from a video of her appearance at the Library of Congress on February 27, 2018, Dolly Parton reads “Coat of Many Colors” to a group of children.]

08/23/2026

The Latin Lover lives! 100 years ago, Rudolph Valentino died, becoming the immortal romantic icon of Old Hollywood. Tens of thousands of fans attended his public viewing in New York City, his adopted hometown.
Though never known as a literary man, several famous silent films starring Valentino were adapted from popular novels of the day, including “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” and “The Sheik,” both from 1921. "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (DB10271)” by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez follows landowner Julio Madariaga's family, whose members take opposing sides in World War I. In "The Sheik (DB54081)” by E.M. Hull, an influential early 20th-century popular romance, a reckless Englishwoman is kidnapped on a desert outing but falls in love with her captor.
Want to learn more about Valentino himself? Try "Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino (DB58562)" by Emily Wortis Leider, who examines the mystique surrounding the Italian-born actor, who broadened American masculine ideals. If you want to understand the stars before the "talkies" era, check out "Silent Stars (DB50342)" by Jeanine Basinger, a celebration of "misunderstood or underappreciated" silent movie A-listers, including such greats as Valentino, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Lon Chaney and canine hero Rin-Tin-Tin.
[Image: Autographed head and shoulders portrait of Rudolph Valentino, c. 1920-26. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Collage of newspaper front pages announcing Valentino's death.]

08/21/2026

The 2026 National Book Festival is tomorrow! Whether you’re planning to take part in person at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in downtown D.C. or stream some of the programs from your couch, here are five tips to help you make the most of your day:
1. Don’t forget to register for your free tickets if you are attending in person. Tickets are required to enter the building but not for individual programs. You’ll also want to plan out your arrival route to avoid Freedom 250 Grand Prix road closures around the city.
2. Review one of the three targeted guides — for in-person attendees, streamers, and children and families — to help you navigate all the festival has to offer. If you have limited time to prepare for tomorrow, start with the attendee guide.
3. For a quick look at all festival events, download the festival program and map in print or electronic braille. While not all programs will be live streamed tomorrow, most will be available on the festival website in the coming weeks.
4. In addition to live streaming main stage programs on the festival website, C-SPAN’s Book-TV will offer live, uninterrupted television coverage of select festival programs and exclusive interviews from C-SPAN’s stage in the Grand Lobby.
5. You’ll want to remember your festival experience, so don’t forget to buy a festival-branded keepsake from the Library of Congress store, either in Hall D or online. A variety of items, including baseball caps, tote bags and wine glasses, are available. Books by many of the speakers will also be for sale, and some authors are doing signings after their appearance.
Get all the details, reserve a free ticket and watch live streams at loc.gov/bookfest?loclr=fbnls!
Which program are you most excited about? Tell us in the comments!

08/20/2026

We’re just two days away from the 2026 National Book Festival! Today we’re turning the spotlight on novelists Tia Williams, Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Chloe Gong, who will all be speaking and signing books during the festival. Each has a unique style and blends genres, yet all focus on romance and family and their intersections with identity.
In Williams’ “Seven Days in June (DB103670),” a single mom and erotica writer rekindles a relationship with a reclusive literary author. In Moreno-Garcia’s “Velvet Was the Night (DB104794),” a secretary who lives for the next issue of Secret Romance envies her next-door neighbor. In Gong’s “These Violent Delights (DB102495),” Juliette and Roma play out a Shakespearean dynamic on the mean streets of Shanghai in the 1920s.
The National Book Festival takes place this Saturday, August 22, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in downtown D.C. The festival is free and open to everyone, but tickets are required. Many events on the main stage will be live streamed for those who can’t be there in person. Get all the details, reserve a free ticket and watch live streams at loc.gov/bookfest.
[Image: (L to R) Tia Williams (photo by Chandra Wicke), Chloe Gong (One Grid) and Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Martin Dee)]

08/19/2026

The 2026 National Book Festival takes place in just three days! Today we’re highlighting a few children’s and YA authors who also appeal to readers of all ages.
• “Saturday Night Live” alumna Kate McKinnon will be talking about the latest book in her bestselling fantasy series, which began with “The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science (DB128064).”
• Coretta Scott King Award-winning author and illustrator Kadir Nelson will speak about his new children’s book, “Basket Ball: The Story of the All-American Game (DB 134820),” which covers the history of hoops.
• Head back to the early 2000s to find your inner princess with Meg Cabot (“Princess Diaries [BRC00869, DB51524])” and Shannon Hale (“Princess Academy [BR16781, DB63020]).” They’ll revisit their bestselling modern-classic novels that taught millions of readers an important lesson: being a princess is not as easy as you might think.
The National Book Festival takes place this Saturday, August 22, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in downtown D.C. The festival is free and open to everyone, but tickets are required. Many events on the main stage — including Kate McKinnon’s talk — will be live streamed for those who can’t be there in person. Get a complete schedule and other details, reserve a free ticket and watch live streams at loc.gov/bookfest?loclr=fbnls. And if you do come in person, stop by the NLS table in Hall D and say hello!

[Image: Kate McKinnon (photo by Alexandra Carillo-Vaccino), Meg Cabot and Kadir Nelson (by George Deloache)]

Address

Library Of Congress, 101 Independence Avenue SE (mail Stop #4960)
Washington D.C., DC
20540

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 4pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 4pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 4pm
Thursday	8:30am - 4pm
Friday	8:30am - 4pm

Website

http://www.loc.gov/nls

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