Talking Books (Books for the Blind)

Books for the Blind (a.k.a. Talking Books) is a United States program which provides audio recordings of books free of charge to people who are blind or visually impaired. With additional legislation and appropriations, Books for the Blind began incorporating digital talking-book formats with leadership from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS). Services include digital lending and distribution, the latter via the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) program (formerly Web-Braille), which is more convenient compared to a physical braille book or older audio formats provided under the original library lending system since both provide the whole book on single media (memory-card or USB drive) through digital lending, or via immediate download through BARD.

In 1931, the United States passed the Pratt-Smoot Act to provide blind adults with access to books. Before audio recordings, books were made available in braille. Beginning with 19 libraries in 1931, the network expanded to 55 regional libraries, 36 subregional libraries, and 14 advisory and outreach centers serving the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. The program was expanded in 1952 to include blind children, in 1962 to include music materials, and in 1966 to include individuals with physical impairments that prevent the reading of standard print.

Audio recordings were first created on vinyl when Pratt-Smoot Act was amended in 1933 to include "talking books", and later, in 1969, on proprietary cassette tape and player, becoming the preferred format. As a hurdle to the distribution and playback of talking books, the copyright law proviso requires talking-books be produced in "specialized formats...exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities", becoming a de facto form of digital rights management for copyright holders. Additionally, since the player needs to be accessible, it needs to be created with the blind in mind. In 2001, the NLS held a contest to come up with the most practical player, as of 2004, no winner or design had been chosen.

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