National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled

National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled A free, accessible library service providing talking books and braille materials or its territories or are U.S. citizens living abroad.

The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) (formerly National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, provides braille and talking books and magazines to eligible readers, who live in the U.S. Individuals may be eligible for the program if they are blind, visually impaired, or have a physical disability that prevents them from reading regular print. Library materials are distributed through a network of cooperating libraries, where they are circulated by postage-free mail. Braille and talking books are also available for download through the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) website and the BARD Mobile app.

Let’s light this candle! NASA invites you to an accessible webinar all about the RS-25, the engine to be used for the fu...
09/19/2026

Let’s light this candle! NASA invites you to an accessible webinar all about the RS-25, the engine to be used for the future Artemis lunar missions, on Friday, October 2, at 2 p.m. eastern time. The two-hour online event includes an audio-described video of an RS-25 engine test, a Q&A with an RS-25 engineer and a panel on accessibility in space and science that includes Dr. Kimberly Arcand, a visualization scientist at NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. To learn more about the RS-25 and the event, visit www.nasa.gov/general/nasa-hosts-virtual-artemis-webinar-for-blind-low-vision-community. RSVP for the webinar by next Friday, September 25, at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeAgtokLIPaZ-FCpdjz0JPtBrTOmKu5xwjYPz4hGg3MKrJxzg/viewform.

[Image: An RS-25 engine. Photo courtesy of NASA.]

To help you celebrate , which began Tuesday and runs through October 15, here are four popular Spanish-language novels ...
09/17/2026

To help you celebrate , which began Tuesday and runs through October 15, here are four popular Spanish-language novels in English translation from some notable contemporary authors — all available for immediate download from BARD.
“Song of Ancient Lovers (DB135018)” by Laura Restrepo. The award-winning Colombian author — who has penned over 11 popular novels since 1989 — alternates the biblical tale of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba with that of a Latin American writer named Bos Mutas, who is himself obsessed with the Queen of Sheba and travels to contemporary Yemen. There he meets a Somali midwife, and together they navigate a war-torn landscape.
“Clean (DB125463)” by Alia Trabucco Zerán. The critically acclaimed Chilean author presents a riveting mystery about a woman who comes from the countryside to Santiago to work as a housemaid and nanny for a middle-class family but then is accused of murder.
“My Favorite Scar (DB132068)” by Nicolás Ferraro. From a master of Argentine neo-noir comes a tale of 15-year-old Ámbar Mondragón and her gangster father who are on a bloody quest for revenge in the border regions of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.
“Your Steps on the Stairs (DB129968)” by Antonio Muñoz Molina. In this psychological thriller from one of Spain's most celebrated writers, a man travels to Lisbon ahead of his wife to prepare their newly purchased flat, while she stays in New York to oversee a research project about memory. During his time in the flat, his own mental state deteriorates in his new surroundings and his solitude.
We’ll give you time to read these, then offer a few more suggestions later during Hispanic Heritage Month!
[Image: Covers of the four books mentioned in this post.]

September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month, and we want to make sure you know that you don’t have to choose betwee...
09/14/2026

September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month, and we want to make sure you know that you don’t have to choose between BARD and a card.
It’s a common question we hear from potential NLS patrons: Can I still use my usual library even if I sign up for NLS? And the answer is a resounding yes, of course!
While NLS is the nation’s accessible library, we know that local libraries provide more than just books — they connect patrons with resources, community events and other materials, like DVDs and CDs.
Some NLS network libraries are even part of their local or state library systems.
If you haven’t checked out your local public library, this is the month to do so. Visit https://www.usa.gov/libraries-and-archives to explore all sorts of libraries and to find the public library nearest to you.

[Image: Federal Arts Project poster from 1941 promoting the use of libraries. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.]

It may not feel like it yet, but fall is fast approaching. Hollywood is getting serious about the upcoming awards season...
09/12/2026

It may not feel like it yet, but fall is fast approaching. Hollywood is getting serious about the upcoming awards season, and multiple book-to-screen adaptations are coming in the next two months. If you want to read or reread the book before catching the movie, NLS has our patrons covered. Here are just a few of the options:
• Based on the 2021 novel “The Book of Magic (DB105374)” by Alice Hoffman, “Practical Magic 2” follows the Owens family as they face a new crisis 25 years after “Practical Magic (BRC01770, DB40461)” was released.
• “The Love Hypothesis (BR24019, DB104892),” a contemporary romance by Ali Hazelwood, features a fake relationship between two scientists.
• Widely considered one of John Steinbeck’s masterpieces, “East of Eden (BR12565, DB17082)” is a multigenerational saga that takes place in California’s Salinas Valley around the turn of the 20th century. The book is also available in French (DBF99828) and in Spanish (DB14508).
• “Verity (BR24135, DB106208)” is Colleen Hoover’s dark novel that follows Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer who’s hired to complete a successful series started by Verity Crawford before she was incapacitated. Lowen uncovers more than expected when reviewing Verity’s notes, leading to many twists and turns.
• The latest adaptation of Jane Austen’s first novel, “Sense and Sensibility (BR11520, DB22282),” reminds us how both sense and sensibility are needed to find true happiness. It’s also available in French (DBG12321) and in Portuguese (DB107966).
• If dystopian science fiction is your preference, Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Klara and the Sun (BR2410, DB102764)” may be of interest. Klara, an “Artificial Friend,” is purchased to be a companion for a sickly teenager. Set in a genetically altered future, the novel follows Klara as she navigates this complex landscape.
• Finally, an animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ “The Cat in the Hat (BR16724, DB90643)” is coming to the big screen. The most recent NLS audiobook version includes multiple Seuss stories with celebrity narrators. Kelsey Grammer reads the title story.
[Image: Covers of four of the books above ("The Book of Magic," "East of Eden," "The Love Hypothesis" and "Verity") are shown on a movie screen in a crowded theater. Background image from iStock.]

Michael Hingson was working on a sales presentation in his office in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on Septem...
09/10/2026

Michael Hingson was working on a sales presentation in his office in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, when the hijacked plane struck. His guide dog, Roselle, likely saved his life, helping him down 78 flights of stairs to safety before the building collapsed. Hingson, an NLS patron since childhood, told that story in “Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero (BR19434, DB73300).” Middle school-agers can read about Hingson and his yellow Labrador retriever in “Running with Roselle: How a Blind Boy and a Puppy Grew Up, Became Best Friends, and Together Survived One of America’s Darkest Days (BR23406, DB101215).” People magazine interviewed Hingson, now 76, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks; you can read the story at the link in the first comment below.
[Image: Michael Hingson with another guide dog at the NLS 80th anniversary celebration in 2011. NLS photo.]

has been living long and prospering for six decades: the premiere episode of the original TV show aired on NBC in 19...
09/08/2026

has been living long and prospering for six decades: the premiere episode of the original TV show aired on NBC in 1966! The newest book related to the Star Trek franchise in the NLS collection — and there are dozens — is a collaboration between William Shatner, the first actor to play Captain Kirk, and renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. "Cosmos Confidential: Bill & Neil's Excellent Bromance (DB136303)" is an unscripted conversation between the two icons who have shaped our culture's view of space, societal representations and the beauty and complexity of the universe.
For a behind-the-scenes look at the original series, check out Shatner’s "Star Trek Memories (BR09441, DB37629)." Leonard Nimoy, the first Mr. Spock, also shares stories of the series and his life in two autobiographies with contrasting titles: "I Am Not Spock (DB13399)" from 1975 and "I Am Spock (DB43757)" from 1995.
To beam in to the fictional world of Star Trek, begin with Alan Dean Foster's "Star Trek: A Novel (BR18913, DB70035)," in which the fates of young James Kirk and teenaged Mr. Spock dramatically change when a Romulan vessel attacks Kirk's Federation starship.
And visit www.loc.gov/item/2024742302?loclr=fbnls to hear George Takei, who played Mr. Sulu, discuss his poignant book, “My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story (DB122066).”

[Image: The NASA Space Shuttle Enterprise, named after the fictional starship, with Star Trek TV cast members and creator Gene Roddenberry in 1976. From L to R, NASA Administrator Dr. James C. Fletcher, DeForest Kelley (Dr. "Bones" McCoy), George Takei (Mr. Sulu), James Doohan (Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), Roddenberry, Congressman Don Fuqua and Walter Koenig (Ensign Pavel Chekov). Public Domain.]

1950s rock ‘n’ roll star Buddy Holly was born 90 years ago in Lubbock, Texas. Holly and his band, the Crickets, topped...
09/07/2026

1950s rock ‘n’ roll star Buddy Holly was born 90 years ago in Lubbock, Texas. Holly and his band, the Crickets, topped the charts with hits such as “That’ll Be the Day” and “Maybe Baby.” But it was his death in a 1959 plane crash — “the day the music died” in Don McLean’s song “American Pie” — that made Holly immortal, forever 22 with his horn-rimmed glasses and Fender Stratocaster guitar. (That plane crash also took the lives of Hispanic heartthrob Ritchie Valens and the radio DJ known as the Big Bopper.)
You can read about Holly’s life and lasting influence in several biographies in the NLS catalog, including “Rave On (DBC11883)” by British journalist Philip Norman and “Buddy Holly (DBC18043)” by fellow Texan Ellis Amburn. And NLS patrons who play guitar can learn Holly’s “I’m Gonna Love You Too” in a Bill Brown audio tutorial (DBM02946).

[Image: Statue of Buddy Holly on a walk of fame that honors West Texas musicians in Lubbock, Texas. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.]

Yesterday was National Be Late for Something Day, but we didn’t get around to posting about it until today. Perhaps we n...
09/06/2026

Yesterday was National Be Late for Something Day, but we didn’t get around to posting about it until today. Perhaps we need to read Andrew Santella’s “Soon: An Overdue History of Procrastination, from Leonardo and Darwin to You and Me (DBC27473).” It offers insights from psychologists, philosophers and behavioral economists on why we put things off. In “Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It (BR05946),” Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen suggest that the major cause of procrastination is fear of something — whether that’s success, failure, separation or attachment — and offer advice on how to break the habit. Some might argue that procrastination is a sign of laziness. But in “Laziness Does Not Exist (DB109318),” social psychologist Devon Price gives practical tips for overcoming society’s pressure to always do more. If the task you’ve been putting off involves decluttering your home, you might find inspiration in the ever-popular Marie Kondo’s “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (BR21362, DB80607, DB88991 [Spanish] and DBG15097 [French]).” And it’s never too early to learn to be on time. For kids in grade 2 or younger, we have “The Easter Bunny That Overslept (BR16010, DB59226)” by Priscilla and Otto Friedrich.

[Image: A sign outside the cubicle of one of our coworkers reads “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow just as well.” Various sources say Mark Twain came up with that as a rejoinder to Benjamin Franklin’s maxims encouraging industriousness.]

If you’re in the Washington, D.C., area, you’re invited to join the Library of Congress and NLS for an exclusive screeni...
09/05/2026

If you’re in the Washington, D.C., area, you’re invited to join the Library of Congress and NLS for an exclusive screening of “Brailled It” on Monday, September 14! “Brailled It” is a groundbreaking feature documentary that follows three blind and low-vision students competing in the Braille Challenge, an international academic competition. This unique 75-minute movie was filmed entirely through immersive sound and chest-mounted cameras worn by the students.
This screening is designed to bring together blind and sighted participants, creating opportunities for connection through shared experiences. Guests can participate in a tactile exploration of the Library’s historic Thomas Jefferson Building as well as inclusive hands-on activities and NLS resource displays, including tactile maps, music materials, accessible games and simulated braille coloring sheets. Free tickets can be reserved at www.loc.gov/item/event-422942/the-brailled-it-experience-cinema-for-all/2026-09-14?loclr=fbnls.
If you’re not able to make it in-person, join us for a virtual screening and panel discussion in October sponsored by the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled. The on-demand movie showing runs October 7 through October 13 and the panel discussion is October 13 at 7 p.m. eastern. Register for the screening and panel discussion at https://msla.maryland.gov/Pages/Brailled-It.aspx.

[Image: The poster for “Brailled It,” showing a Perkins-style brailler with festival award laurels above it, the movie’s title in print and simulated braille and, at the bottom, a compact block of film credits.]

Taken together, the headlines announcing Gloria Steinem’s death on Wednesday pretty much tell the story of her public li...
09/04/2026

Taken together, the headlines announcing Gloria Steinem’s death on Wednesday pretty much tell the story of her public life. The New York Times called her the “Personification of the Women’s Movement.” To the Los Angeles Times, she was a “Charismatic Feminist and Co-Founder of Ms. Magazine.” For the UK’s Sky News, she was the “Feminist Campaigner Who Famously Went Undercover as a Pl***oy Bunny.” And to round out the story, Today .com noted that Steinem was “Christian Bale’s Stepmom.”
In a 2015 memoir, “My Life on the Road (DB83003),” Steinem recounted her impoverished childhood in Toledo, Ohio, after her parents’ divorce; early career as an in-demand freelance journalist; and her fight for women’s equality in all aspects of society. She offered a feminist perspective on the iconic actress Marilyn Monroe in “Marilyn (DB25894).” Among the biographies of Steinem in the NLS collection is “The Education of a Woman: The Life of Gloria Steinem (DB42747),” a definitive 1995 account by feminist scholar Carolyn G. Heilbrun. And for readers in grades 2-4, there’s “Gloria Takes a Stand: How Gloria Steinem Listened, Wrote, and Changed the World (DB95959)” by Jessica M. Rinker.
[Image: Gloria Steinem at a 1972 news conference. Photo by Warren K. Leffler, U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. ]

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