Services to Institutions

Registering for Service

Do you work in a nursing home, a school or other institution that services persons who can no longer read standard print, or have difficulty holding a book? Institutions can register individual patrons for talking book and/or braille service by using the Adult Individual online application. You may also register to receive a deposit collection in your agency, for use by eligible patrons. Deposit collections are typically 30 to 50 books loaned to an agency and rotated quarterly, so your patrons will always have a new batch of books to choose from.

To sign up for recorded and/or braille books and magazines, please use our Institution online application, write to us, or call to request an application and brochure. Applications must be signed and certified by a professional (see list at the back of the application). Applicants with a reading or learning disability must have their application certified by a Medical Doctor. After the application has been processed, we'll send you the cassette player(s) and a "welcome packet" containing sample catalogs of our books and magazines. If you asked us to choose books for you, you will also receive a few books in the subject areas you specified on your application. Cassette players to institutions are limited to one player for every four users. Please take a look at the NLS fact sheet on service to institutions for more information.

Reader Advisory Services

Help in choosing or finding books and magazines is a phone call away. Reader advisors are available during library hours to help:

in choosing books
in finding subject or genre bibliographies
finding books through interlibrary loan
finding books in languages other than English
with problems or concerns about your service

You can also order books from your Talking Book Topics and the from the National Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, as well as from our Audio Book Studio. It's also easy to make and track your requests by searching the Andrew Heiskell Library's PAWS catalog. We also offer tours of the library, and our Outreach Librarian is available for visits to your agency.

Award Winners

The following links can help you in choosing books. Don't forget to look at our adult Booklists.

Music Services

The library has books about music, but not musical recordings. The Music Section of National Library Service provides instructional books, braille and large print scores, and music reference services.