Kentucky Talking Book Library

Kentucky Talking Book Library Kentucky Talking Book Library provides audiobooks and braille to readers with print disabilities. KTBL is located in Frankfort, KY.

The Kentucky Talking Book Library is a free service provided by the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. KTBL provides audio and braille books and magazines for Kentuckians who are blind, have low vision, or are otherwise unable to read print. It is part of a nationwide network of cooperative libraries headed by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, a division o

f the Library of Congress. The Kentucky Talking Book Library collection includes both fiction and non-fiction, with items suitable for children, teens, adults, and seniors. Materials are sent by mail or can be downloaded from the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) website.

• Digital audio Talking Books and a special Talking Book player
• Embossed braille books
• Digital braille and a special braille eReader
• BARD—downloadable audio and braille books available 24/7
• BARD Mobile—download and play books on your smartphone or tablet
• Kentucky books—audio books about KY or by KY authors; recorded in the KTBL studio
• Print/braille books—children’s picture books with a braille overlay
• Audio and Braille magazines by mail or download

Communication through agency-related social media is considered a public record under KRS 171.410(1) and will be managed under the terms of KRS 171.410 through 171.740 and 725 KAR Chapter 1. Any posting to these social media pages may be subject to disclosure to third parties. The Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives reserves the right to address or remove any posts or comments at its discretion. The Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives has not evaluated and does not endorse any products advertised or opinions expressed on these pages​.

June is LGBTQ Pride Month!We’ve selected a few titles that highlight the LGBTQ community.DB 129909, BR 26357 (in-process...
06/03/2026

June is LGBTQ Pride Month!
We’ve selected a few titles that highlight the LGBTQ community.

DB 129909, BR 26357 (in-process): Atmosphere: A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
DB 129879: The Lilac People: A Novel by Milo Todd.
DB 105073, BR 25332: Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune.
DB 104015, BR 24064: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo.
DB 105358: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske.

To request these or any other title on digital cartridge or for help signing up for BARD, please contact the Kentucky Talking Book Library at 1-800-372-2968, (502) 564-5791, or [email protected].

On June 1, 1792, the area once known as Virginia’s District of Kentucky was admitted to the Union as the 15th state in t...
06/01/2026

On June 1, 1792, the area once known as Virginia’s District of Kentucky was admitted to the Union as the 15th state in these United States. To commemorate the 234th anniversary of statehood, we’ve picked these selections about the people and places that have shaped Kentucky.

DBC 15981: Hidden History of Western Kentucky by Berry Craig
DBC 03673: Wide Neighborhoods: A Story of the Frontier Nursing Service by Mary Breckinridge
DBC 08471: Mud Creek Medicine: The Life of Eula Hall and the Fight for Appalachia by Kiran Bhatraju
DB 103412: Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America’s First Frontier by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin
DBC 03672: Embattled Capital: Frankfort, Kentucky in the Civil War by James M. Prichard

To request these or any other title on digital cartridge or for help signing up for BARD, please contact the Kentucky Talking Book Library at 1-800-372-2968, (502) 564-5791, or [email protected].

The next meeting of the KTBL Book Club will be on Zoom at 3:30 pm ET on Tuesday, June 16. We will be discussing My Frien...
05/26/2026

The next meeting of the KTBL Book Club will be on Zoom at 3:30 pm ET on Tuesday, June 16. We will be discussing My Friends by Fredrik Backman. DB 129483, BR 26313.

"Most people don't even notice them--three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it's just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures. Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love. Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa's care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting's birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she'll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don't always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art."-- From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

If you would like to join the KTBL Book Club, please contact the Kentucky Talking Book Library at 1-800-372-2968, (502) 564-5791, or [email protected].

KTBL will be closed on Monday, May 25 for Memorial Day. Messages may be left at ktbl.mail@ky.gov, 800-372-2968, or 502-5...
05/20/2026

KTBL will be closed on Monday, May 25 for Memorial Day. Messages may be left at [email protected], 800-372-2968, or 502-564-5791.

Because of today’s scheduled KTBL Road Show, the offices of the Kentucky Talking Book Library will be closed on Friday, ...
05/15/2026

Because of today’s scheduled KTBL Road Show, the offices of the Kentucky Talking Book Library will be closed on Friday, May 15, 2026.

We encourage those that are able to visit us at the McDowell Center in Louisville from 1:00pm until 4:00pm on Friday. Drop by anytime during the program to meet your librarians, see the new Talking Book player, and meet our community partners!

Otherwise, feel free to call 800-372-2968 and leave a message or send an email to [email protected] and we will respond when we return to the office on Monday, May 18.

Tomorrow's the day!Visit us in Louisville at the Charles W. McDowell Center for the Blind at 8412 Westport Road in Louis...
05/14/2026

Tomorrow's the day!

Visit us in Louisville at the Charles W. McDowell Center for the Blind at 8412 Westport Road in Louisville on Friday, May 15 from 1:00 to 4:00pm.

Drop in any time during the program to meet your librarians, see the new Talking Book Player, and meet community partners including NFB-Newsline, Central Kentucky Radio Eye, Braille Tales, the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation, and more! Staff at the McDowell Center will also be offering tours of the facility.

Our librarians can also sign you up on site if you qualify for talking books but haven’t signed up yet! If you’re already a talking books user with questions about your account or access to BARD, they can provide assistance.

We hope to see you there!

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. To celebrate, we’ve curated a selection of fiction titles tha...
05/12/2026

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. To celebrate, we’ve curated a selection of fiction titles that illuminate some of the many, varied experiences of Asian Americans.

DB 116439: The Best Possible Experience by Nishanth Injam
DB 114930, BR 24934: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
DB 104421: Made in Korea by Sarah Suk (For Senior High and Older)
DB 90653: American is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo
DB 98416, BR 23494: Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

To request these or any other title on digital cartridge or for help signing up for BARD, please contact the Kentucky Talking Book Library at 1-800-372-2968, (502) 564-5791, or [email protected].

It’s almost time!Visit us in Louisville at the Charles W. McDowell Center for the Blind at 8412 Westport Road in Louisvi...
05/08/2026

It’s almost time!

Visit us in Louisville at the Charles W. McDowell Center for the Blind at 8412 Westport Road in Louisville on Friday, May 15 from 1:00 to 4:00pm.

Drop in any time during the program to meet your librarians, see the new Talking Book Player, and meet community partners including NFB-Newsline, Central Kentucky Radio Eye, and Braille Tales. Staff at the McDowell Center will also be offering tours of the facility.

Our librarians can also sign you up on site if you qualify for talking books but haven’t signed up yet! If you’re already a talking books user with questions about your account or access to BARD, they can provide assistance.

We hope to see you there for our KTBL Roadshow Resource Fair!

Check out what’s being checked out!Here are the top five most downloaded books on BARD by KTBL patrons in April:Leading ...
05/06/2026

Check out what’s being checked out!

Here are the top five most downloaded books on BARD by KTBL patrons in April:
Leading the pack this month: The Invisible Woman: A Thriller by James Patterson and Susan DiLallo, DB 134328

"No one sees her, but she sees everything. Elinor Gilbert was once a young woman with a thriving career at the FBI. Now decades past solving crimes with the bureau, she is personally and professionally forgettable. Which is exactly what her former FBI boss needs. He disguises Elinor as a middle-aged nanny, and casts her as an agent on the inside of his investigation into a New York art dealer suspected of ties to organized crime. But as Elinor pushes toward the truth, her superpower -- anonymity -- morphs into a fatal flaw. The more the invisible woman integrates into her "host" family, the more dangerously memorable she becomes." -- From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Narrated by Marni Penning. Approximate Reading Time: 7 hours, 27 minutes.

The rest of the top 5:
2. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, DB103718
3. Dead Med by Frieda McFadden, DB134470
4. The Intruder by Frieda McFadden, DB133584
5. The Widow by John Grisham, DB133042

To request these or any other title on digital cartridge or for help signing up for BARD, please contact the Kentucky Talking Book Library at 1-800-372-2968, (502) 564-5791, or [email protected].

A long time ago in a library not that far away…May the 4th be with you on this Star Wars Day! This is not a trap, celebr...
05/04/2026

A long time ago in a library not that far away…

May the 4th be with you on this Star Wars Day! This is not a trap, celebrate with these five selections.

DB 92292: Star Wars and Philosophy edited by Kevin S. Decker and Jason T. Eberl
DB 77244: William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher
DB 91341: Star Wars Lost Stars by Claudia Gray (for senior high and older)
DB 86648: The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
DB 87748: Star Wars Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

To request these or any other title on digital cartridge or for help signing up for BARD, please contact the Kentucky Talking Book Library at 1-800-372-2968, (502) 564-5791, or [email protected].

Address

300 Coffee Tree Road, PO Box 537
Frankfort, KY
40601

Opening Hours

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

Telephone

+15025645791

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