Eligibility

• Visual disabilities that make it difficult to read standard print ranging from total blindness to conditions that cause vision to diminish when straining to read smaller type. Conditions such as macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, and strabismus may affect vision to the extent that reading becomes difficult or impossible.
• Physical disabilities of the hands that make it difficult to hold a book or turn pages, such as stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, arthritis, neuropathy, and injury or loss of the hand. Individuals with traumatic brain injuries, that impair comprehension of the written word, are also eligible.
• Reading disabilities such as dyslexia.

Each of these disabilities may be served by one or more media options:

• Digital audiobooks and magazines, which are downloaded by library staff onto flash drive cartridges and sent via the U.S. Postal Service directly to patrons through free matter, and digital downloads accessed directly by patrons through the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) app. This service gives access to all of the library’s digital audiobooks as downloads directly onto a patron’s personal device, such as a smartphone or tablet. By phone request, personalized DoD for books and magazines in audio and/or Braille, available only digitally, can also be downloaded onto a cartridge for you to pick-up, in person, from the Philadelphia location. These options would benefit patrons who have any of the eligible conditions.
• Braille books and downloads are available for blind and deaf-blind individuals. Downloads of a large collection of digital braille files can be accessed through a refreshable braille device that presents the braille text by electronically raising and lowering different combinations of pins in braille cells.
• Large print books with a typeface of at least 14-point can be enjoyed by patrons with visual disabilities that allow for this level of acuity.
• Tactile and Braille Early Literacy Kits contains books with braille and print, textures, and sound buttons. Also included are toys to reinforce concept development such as puppets, touch-and-feel picture cards, as well as early literacy tip cards for caregivers. For preschool-grade 2.