The Braille & Talking Book Library (BTBL) lends braille books, talking books (physical and digital audiobooks), audio magazines, and descriptive video DVDs to eligible readers in Alameda County by mail, for free!
It's located in Sacramento, CA, and it's our local outpost of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS). BTBL
Who Can Use BTBL?
To be eligible, you must have a certified authority* confirm that you are permanently or temporarily:
• Legally blind, with vision in the better eye of 20/200 or less with corrective glasses, or
• Have a visual field no greater than 20 degrees in diameter, or
• Be unable to see well enough or focus long enough to read standard print, even with corrective glasses, or
• Be unable to handle print books or turn pages because of a physical disability, or
• Be certified as having a perceptual or reading disability of sufficient severity to prevent reading printed material in the usual manner.
*As of February 2021, certification may be made by librarians.
What's Provided for Free?
• Talking book players
• Audiobooks and magazines on digital cartridge (no late fees)
• Free delivery and mailing — no postage required
• Downloadable/streaming audiobooks and electronic braille
• Braille
Available Reading Material
• Over 100,000+ books
• 3,000 to 5,000+ new audiobooks and 600+ Braille books added each year
• 50 new locally recorded books on California interest added each year
• Popular magazines
• Foreign languages
Sign Up or Get Help
• Apply for Braille & Talking Book Access.
• Need an application mailed to you? Request one: btbl@library.ca.gov or 800-952-5666
• Need assistance completing and/or certifying a Braille & Talking Book Library application? Ask us! In-person or online.