Library

The Braille and Talking Book Library gives Western Australians who are vision impaired access to print in an alternative format.

Each year, the Braille and Talking Book Library helps more than 2,000 people with vision impairment enjoy the pleasure of a good book.

Resource Centre

The Library Resource Centre is open to all Association clients.  It has listening posts where clients can relax and enjoy a good book, and a range of other technology.

Lending Service

Library users, with a vision impairment, throughout Western Australia can choose from a large collection of talking books that are delivered to their home via the post. The range of over 5,500 different titles includes fiction, non-fiction and children's books. Large print crossword puzzles are also available from the Library. Library users can also visit the Library at any time during working hours to listen to books and access the catalogue.

Personalised talking book selections, based on individual preferences and interests, are made possible through the Library's computer database. Regular listings of new titles are available in large print, Braille, audio, e-mail and computer disk format, allowing members to make their own title selections.  The library’s catalogue can also be reviewed and requested over the internet through our On-Line Public Access Catalogue.  A library lending service of Braille books is also provided to Western Australian Braille readers. Similar to the talking books, Braille books from a broad range of titles are posted to each borrower's home.

Braille and Talking Book production

Each year the Library produces hundreds of audio books and thousands of Braille pages. Some of this material is for its own lending collection, some for other libraries and still other items are produced at the request of specific individuals. These requests include books, exam papers, timetables, recipes, letters, manuals (for example home appliances or computers), greeting cards, maps, knitting patterns, documents and menus.

Braille transcription service

The Association provides a Braille transcription service for clients, organisations and members of the public.  Requests may include provision of texts and examination papers for tertiary students, government reports, cookery books, vocational materials, bus and train timetables, greeting cards for a friend or relative who is vision impaired or a child’s story book. Staff provide an in-house Brailling service for people who are vision impaired \ who serve on the Association’s Committees and the Board of Directors, as well as producing newsletters, service information, accounts and letters to clients.

Other materials are able to be produced such as tactile maps and diagrams. Adhesive Braille labels are frequently used and can be applied to household items and can also be placed over the print in children’s books to enable both people who  sighted and vision impaired to read a book together.