Friday March 2nd, 10:30-11:30 am
Book lovers who are
visually impaired or have difficulty holding or reading standard print
materials will want to come to Crowell Library on Friday, March 2 at 10:30 a.m.
to learn about the Braille Institute’s free services. Attendees will have an opportunity to sign up
for a one-year free license for Bookshare (www.bookshare.org), an online
accessible library with over 550,000 titles in audio and Braille. As part of a statewide pilot program, Braille
Institute is providing free access to Bookshare for eligible library patrons.
Bookshare users will also receive free training, in-person or over the
telephone. Braille Institute staff will
lead hands-on demonstrations and explain the resources available to anyone with
visual impairments or movement disorders. Attendees will have the opportunity
to explore mainstream devices, such as smartphones and tablets, as well as
special adaptive technology designed to help continue one’s lifelong love of
reading and learning.
Braille Institute is
a nonprofit organization headquartered in Los Angeles whose mission is to
eliminate barriers to a fulfilling life caused by blindness and severe sight
loss. Each year, Braille Institute serves tens of thousands of people at six
centers throughout Southern California. Braille Institute provides an
environment of hope and encouragement through integrated educational, social,
and recreational programs. The Braille staff and
volunteers understand that losing one’s vision can be scary, and they believe
that it is not the end of independence, but a new way of living.
Many who are blind or visually
impaired—or who have reading or other physical disabilities—often cannot use
printed materials, depriving them of reading materials that most take for
granted. Braille Institute's Library Services—the Southern California branch of
the National
Library Service (NLS), a network coordinated by the Library of
Congress—has solved this problem for more than six decades by providing free
books for the blind and visually impaired. Come to Crowell Library on Friday, March 2 at
10:30 a.m. and learn all about these fabulous services.
