Talking Book Service

Services & Programs
Recorded materials on cassettes and digital book cartridges are available on loan by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, a division of the Library of Congress. Both digital and cassette recordings require specially designed playback equipment which is also supplied on free loan to eligible individuals and institutions wherever they reside.
Roanoke Public Libraries Talking Book Service
Available Media
A wide variety of books and magazines are available on recorded media and by download from the BARD website. Just a few of the categories you can choose from are adventure, bestsellers, religion, business, children's materials, gardening, history, poetry, sports, travel, and westerns. "Talking Book Topics", a bimonthly catalog of titles, is available in large print or on cassette.

The Roanoke Public Libraries' talking book service covers the cities of Roanoke, Salem, Covington, and Clifton Forge as well as the counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, and Roanoke.

Resources

Braille and Audio Reading Download
BARD stands for the National Library Service's Braille and Audio Reading Download. This is a free service featuring thousands of downloadable Talking Books and magazines and is a second way to receive digital books in addition to those delivered via U.S. Mail.

Patrons can register for BARD online. You must be registered with the Roanoke Public Library Talking Book Service, have an active email address and high-speed internet as well as knowledge of downloading, unzipping, and transferring files to downloaded books. Once books are downloaded they can be stored on a flash drive or digital talking book cartridge.

You can purchase blank cartridges for your digital talking book machine at Perkins Products and the American Printing House for the Blind.

For additional information about BARD, check out their website!