Residents of Massachusetts who are blind and visually impaired or who cannot read print because of a physical disability can receive braille, large print or audio books and magazines through the mail, free of charge.

People who cannot see to read a regular print book or who cannot manipulate a book because of arthritis, paralysis, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome or other physical disabilities, or who have a reading disability such as dyslexia, qualify for services. They may borrow audio Talking Books or braille books through special libraries that are part of a Library of Congress program called the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS).

All kinds of books are available through the national collection, from mysteries to fantasies to biographies to cookbooks to children's books. Thousands of titles are in the collection for every reading taste. Magazines are also available in braille and on tape.

The patron calls the Talking Book Library and requests books, or a reader advisor selects books for him. Books are sent through the mail free of charge, and when the patron is finished with them, they are returned, again postage-free. Magazines are also sent through the mail, but most of them do not need to be returned.

In addition to the national collection, the Massachusetts libraries have over 5,500 large print books that are available for loan to Talking Book patrons. This collection includes fiction, biographies, westerns, mysteries, children's books and much more.

The Perkins library in Watertown has a collection of books in contracted and uncontracted jumbo braille. These books enable many people from across the country who are blind and who have an impaired sense of touch, such as those with diabetes, to read braille books.

Free braille calendars are available from the Perkins Library. These small calendars fit in a backpack, purse or briefcase, and each month begins on a new page. Important dates and holidays are listed at the bottom of the page. A "Personal Dates" page at the back can be used to add important birthdays, anniversaries etc.

The library may also have volunteer-produced books about the state or use interlibrary loan to make audiobooks and other commercially-produced materials available to their patrons.

The Perkins library serves the entire state, and the Worcester library loans books to patrons in Hampden, Middlesex and Worcester Counties. The Perkins library also houses a large braille collection, and loans braille books to patrons in Massachusetts and to the Talking Book libraries in the District of Columbia, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

To find out more and request an application, call the library that serves your area (see contact information below). Request and complete the application and start reading today!


Braille and Talking Book Library
Perkins School for the Blind
175 North Beacon Street
Watertown, MA 02472-2790
Telephone: (617)972-7240
Toll-free (In-state): (800)852-3133
FAX: (617)972-7363
Email the Perkins library or visit their website


Talking Book Library
Worcester Public Library
3 Salem Square
Worcester, MA 01608-2074
Telephone: (508)799-1730 and (508)799-1645
Toll-free (In-state): (800)762-0085
TDD: (508)799-1731
FAX: (508)799-1676
Email the Worcester library or visit their website Serves: Hampden, Middlesex, and Worcester counties