Guest Post: National Library Service's Braille on Demand

Contributed by NLS Representative

As part of its braille modernization initiative, NLS is launching the Braille-on-Demand pilot project on Monday, June 20, 2022. This project will allow active NLS patrons to request and receive one hard-copy braille title per month, which they can retain for their personal use. If an individual who is not registered as a patron submits an order, NLS will refer the individual to their local network library to begin the process of becoming a patron.

Braille titles will be limited to books that are currently available on BARD, the NLS Braille and Audio Reading Download service. At this time, requests are limited to one book per patron per month. Only complete titles will be distributed. Requests for partial titles (for example, volume one of a three-volume book) will result in receiving the entire book.

The form to request a braille-on-demand book can be found linked from https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NLSbrailleondemand. Patrons may complete the form themselves or contact their network library for assistance. They may also contact NLS Reference at nlsref@loc.gov for assistance in completing the form.