Talking Book Center

05/05/2026

Help us help readers! The Talking Book Center is looking for new board members for outreach and fundraising! Send us an email if interested!

04/21/2026

It's National Library Workers Day - our favorite day of National Library Week!

Today we celebrate the hardworking, dedicated library professionals who power possibility in our neighborhoods, our schools, and our places of higher learning. As library workers across the U.S. continue to face challenges to their jobs and harassment from bad actors, it's essential we show up for them and voice our support for the work they do every day.

Thank you, library workers - libraries work because YOU do!

04/21/2026

We are grateful to the Friends of the Staunton Library for their continued financial support of the Talking Book Center. Their new t-shirts will be available for purchase soon!
(Image shows light blue shirt design with a drawing of the iconic Staunton watering can and
a quote from Cicero "if you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.")

04/17/2026

We are here at the Staunton Parks & Recreation Staunton Senior Health Expo at the Gypsy Hill Park gym! Come visit and check out local resources for seniors!

04/14/2026

Come visit and check out what resources are available!

Join us this Friday, April 17, 9am-1pm at the Gypsy Hill Park Gym.

The Staunton Senior Health Expo combines complimentary health screenings and informational booths on a broad variety of senior wellness needs. Attendees can enjoy coffee and refreshments, a gift basket raffle, and wind their way through booths designed to promote health and wellness.

04/09/2026

Thanks to Salute of Virginia and JMU Empowerment3: Overcoming Barriers for hosting a veterans resource event today. So many connections made! So many great services in our area supporting veterans!

04/02/2026

NewsThis USPS program is a lifeline for blind and disabled people Participants get free reading material and equipment through the U.S. Mail March 12 at 5:07 a.m. ET | Updated March 13 at 3:34 p.m. ET Jason Broughton, director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, holds u...

03/05/2026

Some of you might be celebrating National Cheese Doodle Day today. Or National Chocolate Fondue Day. Or even National Absinthe Day. (Who comes up with these things?) But here’s a day we can all get behind: as part of Consumer Protection Week, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has designated March 5 National Slam the Scam Day!
Here are just a few tips from the SSA to help you :
● Hang up or ignore suspicious calls or messages. Government employees will NEVER threaten you or demand immediate payment.
● If you receive a suspicious call, text or email that mentions Social Security, ignore it and report it at www.ssa.gov/scam. Report other government imposter scams to the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.FTC.gov.
● Gift cards are for gifts. Don’t use a gift card to pay the IRS or Social Security, tech support, a family member in trouble, ransom or to avoid arrest or deportation, a member of the military or to keep your utilities on.
● And here’s a timely one: If you get a text or email about a “tax refund” — especially one that asks you to click a link to verify your identity and receive your money — it’s likely a scam. Send it to the junk folder and delete it! The real IRS and state tax offices won’t contact you by text, email or social media to get your information.
You can find more useful tips at www.ssa.gov/scam and https://consumer.ftc.gov/scams. NLS also has a list of resources to help older people and people with disabilities spot and avoid fraud: https://www.loc.gov/nls/services-and-resources/informational-publications/fraud-awareness-and-prevention-for-older-adults-and-people-with-disabilities?loclr=fbnls. And NLS patrons can use this booklist to find titles in our collection that provide an overview of scams and advice for avoiding them: www.loc.gov/nls/new-materials/book-lists/scams?loclr=fbnls.
Let’s all work together to !
[Image: A Slam the Scam graphic from the Social Security Administration.]

03/03/2026

Happy Birthday to the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled!

The Tuesday, March 3, 1931, edition of the Washington Evening Star included stories about two pieces of legislation signed that day by President Herbert Hoover. One — featured at the top of the front page — established Saturday “half holidays” for federal and District of Columbia government employees. The other — reported on Page 5, next to a photo of two Sigma Omega Sigma sorority members planning a card party later that week — required that construction workers on all federal government and District of Columbia buildings be paid “regular average local wage scales.”
But while it might not have made headlines, the president signed another bill that day that has since benefited millions of people: the Pratt-Smoot Act, the legislation that established NLS.
What began 95 years ago as the Library of Congress Project, Books for the Adult Blind with 157 titles embossed in raised type now has more than 350,000 audio and braille books, magazines and music appreciation and instructional materials, with a total annual circulation of more than 22 million items. And we couldn’t do it without the nearly 100 cooperating libraries that provide direct service to our patrons in every state and U.S. territory.
We look forward to continuing to serve U.S. residents and citizens abroad who have vision loss, dyslexia or other print disabilities — so That All May Read — for many more years to come!
[Image: A birthday cake for NLS. iStock photo with added text.]

02/08/2026

01/26/2026

The Talking Book Center will be closed on Tuesday, January 27th