By: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress
This blog post was contributed to Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress as part of our recognition of October as Dyslexia Awareness Month and Blindness Awareness Month.
Inclusion and acceptance at school are important to all students, and for students with disabilities, reading and enjoying the same books as their classmates can be an important part of fitting in.
Two boys enjoy a book on digital cartridge using an NLS audiobook player.
“It’s huge to be able to have access to the same books all your friends are reading,” says Brian, who is blind. “To be able to talk about the same books others are reading, as a kid, is about being part of the community, being able to engage.”
Readers of the OSERS blog may already be familiar with Bookshare, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)-funded digital e-book platform, which is free to eligible students in the U.S. and includes access to textbooks and other books in a variety of accessible, digital formats. To learn more about Bookshare, visit Bookshare.org or watch this episode of the EdTech for All Webinar Series, which features an educator, developer,and student sharing their Bookshare experiences.
Like Bookshare, the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS), a free program of the Library of Congress, provides books in accessible formats for children, teens, and adults who are blind, have low vision, or have difficulty using printed materials because of a physical or reading disability. For students, those books are a window on the world—and that’s not all.
“I spent so many years feeling isolated . . . when I couldn’t read books like the Harry Potters and the Twilights,” motivational speaker Molly Burke, who lost her vision as a child to retinitis pigmentosa, told NLS’s national conference in 2022. “I really believe so much of the bullying I experienced was due to what the sighted students perceived as a lack of an ability to connect with me, a lack of relatability.”
If she’d had access to the books everyone was talking about, she said, “Who’s to say how much easier schooling would have been for me in terms of friendships and relationships? So, it’s more than just reading—it allows us to connect with people around us in more meaningful ways.”
An NLS Braille eReader, a refreshable braille display.
NLS offers eligible students reading materials in audio and braille in a variety of genres: mystery and detective stories, science fiction and fantasy, animals and wildlife, sports and recreation, historical fiction, reading-list favorites, and more. Once enrolled, students can download books and begin reading right away using NLS’s BARD website or BARD Mobile app, or they can get audiobooks or hard-copy braille books delivered by mail free of charge from one of nearly 100 NLS network libraries throughout the country. NLS also provides on loan audiobook players and refreshable braille displays.
NLS isn’t only for people with visual or physical disabilities. It also serves people with reading disabilities such as dyslexia.
A mother in Washington State told us about the impact NLS has had on her son, who was diagnosed with dyslexia in elementary school.
“He felt a lot of shame at not being able to read some of the books his fellow students were reading,” she said. “But soon after his diagnosis, I learned that NLS provided services not only for those with low or no vision, but also to those who had reading disabilities.”
Working with the youth librarian at the NLS network library in Seattle, “I immediately got him set up,” she says. “He received his free NLS audiobook player and started receiving books—Minecraft stories, Percy Jackson and more. I noticed he spent less time watching TV and playing video games. He enjoyed listening in bed. He’s moved on to BARD downloads now and listens to books on an iPad. This service has really helped him learn to love reading, and I am so appreciative.”
A student with dyslexia listens to a book using the NLS BARD Mobile app on his smartphone.
With more than 60,000 books for young readers in the NLS collection, it can be hard for a new patron to know where to begin. To help, NLS produces lists of books for children and teens on specific topics, such as The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis and the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We regularly update our list of Newbery Award and Honor Books in the collection. It’s also easy to search for books for young readers in the NLS Catalog and on BARD.
NLS also provides free online resources for students, teachers, and parents that anyone can use. For example:
- Video Gaming Accessibility guide curates the work and products of individuals and organizations who have taken up the challenge of adapting games and controllers for people with disabilities.
- Transition from School to Independent Living discusses transition programs and assistive technology that students with disabilities can use to help with living independently.
- Twenty Books That Promote Disability Awareness for Children Pre-K through Sixth Grade lists books that teach children with and without disabilities about disability awareness, people-first language, sign language and braille.
You can find more of these resources, including Resources for Children and NLS Informational Publications, on the NLS website.
NLS serves eligible U.S. residents and American citizens living abroad of all ages, from preschoolers to centenarians. We strive to ensure that disability stops no one from experiencing the lifelong joy of reading.
Want to learn more about us? Visit our How to Enroll page for details on eligibility requirements and how to apply.
Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.