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Established by an act of congress in 1931, the talking book program serves
blind adults and children by providing books and other printed materials
in audio form.
It is available to any resident of the
United States or American citizen living abroad who is unable to read or
use standard print materials as a result of a temporary or permanent
visual or physical limitation. Eligibility can be certified by authorized
medical personel and in some cases professional librarians.
Special players are required for the media
which comes in two forms, records and cassettes. The records are 10 inch
discs which play at 16rpm. The cassettes use a special four track, half
speed NLS format allowing a tape which normally plays for 90 minutes, play
for six hours. In both cases, this saves money and also makes the books
unusable by the public, a requirement under the U.S. copyright law that
permits NLS free use of copyrighted material.
Talking books are not sold, but loaned to qualified
people, along with the appropriate player.
More info on the Talking Book Program can be found on the NLS website:
http://www.loc.gov/nls/index.html
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