Category Archives: Talking Books & Braille

Serving colorblind patrons in your community

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Colorblindness may not be a common occurrence you see every day. About 300 million people are colorblind across the world. While that is a small percentage of our overall population, that doesn’t mean that your library can’t be prepared to serve patrons who are colorblind.

According to the National Institute of Health, colorblindness “means a person see colors differently than most people. Most of the time, color vision deficiency makes it hard to tell the difference between certain colors. Usually, color vision deficiency runs in families. Most people who have color vision deficiency don’t have problems with everyday activities.”  Most of the issues for colorblind people come from red-and-green combinations as a pair of opposites in design in posters, presentations, etc. The first rule of making a palette for colorblind – avoid combining red and green.

Graphic showing colorblindness test with number one.

If you want to continue supporting colorblind patrons, purchasing a pair of color correcting glasses, like the kind made by EnChroma could help enhance their use of the library. Or the glasses could be put into circulation through a “library of things” so a colorblind patron could test them out before deciding to buy a pair for themselves.

Below is a list of resources and articles about supporting those who are colorblind:

“Libraries offer corrective glasses to color-blind patrons”
“Improve Accessibility for Users Who are Visually Impaired with These 9 Tips”
“The best charts for color blind viewers”
“Designing For (and With) Color Blindness”

This post was written by Abby Chumin, librarian in the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library, and previously appeared in the April 2025 Collaborative Summer Library Program newsletter.

Disability Pride Month

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July is Disability Pride Month. It is meant to honor the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that was established on July 26, 1990. Ultimately, it seeks “to honor the achievements, identities, history and contributions of individuals with disabilities, all while advocating for a more accessible and inclusive society,” according to the Statewide Independent Living Council. Every Disability Pride Month, advocates strive to reduce the stigma surrounding disabilities. More than one billion people worldwide have some form of disability – including one in four adults in the U.S.

Graphic of flag that reads Celebrating Pride Disability Month.

Flag symbolism
The disability pride flag has five different color stripes, each representing a different type of disability.

  • Red: Physical disabilities.
  • Gold (Yellow): Cognitive and intellectual disabilities (neurodivergence).
  • White: Invisible and undiagnosed disabilities.
  • Blue: Psychiatric and mental health disabilities.
  • Green: Sensory disabilities (deafness, blindness, audio processing, etc.).
  • Charcoal gray background: Mourning and rage for victims of ableist violence and abuse.

The theme for Disability Pride Month this year is “The World Works Better With Us.” It is meant to underscore the importance of disabled individuals in schools, work and everyday life. The Indiana Talking Books and Braille Library embodies that theme by offering a plethora of books, magazines, resources and equipment to its disabled patron base.

During Disability Pride Month – and every month – the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library at the Indiana State Library ensures that equitable access to materials, information and programs is upheld as law. A wide range of individuals use the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library. Anyone with a visual impairment or physical impairment – and those who have a reading disability, like dyslexia – are welcome to join Indiana the Talking Book and Braille Library program. The Indiana Talking Book and Braille library offers a wide range of books in braille, large type and talking book format. Most importantly, the library offers a large selection of books with a disability focus – from fiction to nonfiction – to ensure patrons feel seen.

Picture of the Indiana State Library.

The Indiana State Library.

While the Indiana State library does include one assisted technology computer terminal, patrons seeking additional accessibility resources can visit the Indianapolis Public Library. The library offers accessibility workstations with assistive technology, sensory inclusive environments and universal changing stations. Six branches are officially designated as Certified Autism Centers. All locations are ADA compliant.

The Indianapolis Public Library also offers books and digital resources as part of the Expanding Our Story grant from the Clowes Foundation. Resources include online lectures celebrating Disability Pride Month and exhibits. The library occasionally presents sensory-friendly story times, too.

Securing accessibility resources is an effective step toward living an independent and equitable life. These resources are made possible by those who advocate for a more accessible and inclusive society, during Disability Pride Month and beyond.

This post was submitted by Kiley Brinker, reader advisor at the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library.

Sources
https://disability.lacity.gov/understanding-disability-pride-flag
https://www.indypl.org/
Celebrating Disability Pride Month 2026 | Indiana Statewide Independent Living Council

Indiana Voices at the Indiana State Library

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Did you know that the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library produces audiobooks via Indiana Voices at the Indiana State Library?

Audiobook aficionados know that a storyteller’s voice can create tangible experiences. Narrating is not just the task of reading out loud, but the art of inviting others into the story. For patrons of the Indiana Voices program of the Indiana State Library’s Talking Book and Braille Library, volunteer narrators do just that.

Together with Indiana State Library staff, volunteers bring Hoosier words and voices to people who cannot use standard printed materials due to a visual, physical or reading disabilities, and live in the state of Indiana or across the country. Cozy mysteries, local history, true crime, authors from Indiana and more are recorded in the program, but what goes into the process of recording an audiobook?

Picture of recording studio. Narrators begin work on their titles outside of the studio, reading ahead for thorny sentences and unfamiliar pronunciations. Once they are confident in their preparation, they arrive at the downtown Indianapolis studio to narrate for an hour. A monitor outside the booth follows along in the text to catch mistakes and alert the narrator.

It may take months to finish a title, but when the back cover is eventually closed, the audiobook is sent to a volunteer reviewer for a final examination. Reviews are tasked with finding any error that the monitor may have missed. Corrections are recorded, mistakes are edited out and the finished book is made available to Talking Books and Braille Library patrons.

Reading out loud may sound easy, but each title represents up to four times as many behind-the-scenes hours as the total runtime of the audiobook. It takes dedication to bring an author’s words to life!

In 2026, Indiana Voices has already completed six books:

  • “Bird Girl: Gene Stratton-Porter Shares Her Love of Nature and the World”  By Jill Esbaum. Juvenile nonfiction, biography, nature – DBC17873
  • “The Lucky One” by Lori Rader–Day. Fiction, suspense, thriller –  DBC17842
  • “I’ll Storm Hell: A Biographical Novel of ‘Mad Anthony’ Wayne” by Noel B. Gerson.  Historical fiction, Revolutionary War, war stories – DBC17823
  • “Oliver P. Morton and the Politics of the Civil War and Reconstruction” by A. James Fuller. Biography, Civil War history, war nonfiction, U.S. history – DBC17822
  • “The Improbable Wendell Willkie: the Businessman who Saved the Republican Party and his Country and Conceived a New World Order” by David L Lewis. Biography, U.S. history, presidential candidates – DBC17820
  • “Tales from the Indianapolis 500: A Collection of the Greatest Indy 500 Stories Ever Told” by Jack Arute and Jenna Fryer, forward by A.J. Foyt. Biography, sports biography, automobile racing – DBC17874

Picture of log sheet.

Volunteers are needed to do all of these task. Opportunities are open to join the work of providing Indiana-related titles to audiobook readers. Indiana is made up of many individual voices, representing different Hoosier communities, identities and experiences, all of which contribute to authentic interpretations of Indiana books. Volunteers from all the different communities and cultures in the state of Indiana are invited to apply. Volunteers are expected to work at least one hour every other week.

For those interested in learning more about volunteering with Indiana Voices as a narrator, monitor or as a reviewer, please visit the Indiana Voices website or contact Judy Gray, Indiana Talking Books and Braille Library supervisor, via phone at 317-232-0609 or via email.

Patrons interested in receiving audiobook materials from Indiana Voices should contact the Indiana State Library’s Talking Book and Braille Library at 317-232-3684.

This blog post was written by Judy Gray, Indiana Talking Books and Braille Library supervisor.

Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library braille book project

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In July of last year, the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library started an 18-month braille book weeding and cleaning project. The library’s braille collection contained books from before the 1970s through present day and – outside of a minor cleanup in 2017 – had not received much attention as far as cleaning, shifting and maintenance in the last decade. All of the braille books in the collection have been provided by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled through the Library of Congress, and as such, weeding has previously been discouraged.Book in a garbage bin. However, due to age, rough handling and heavy usage – as well as leaks and temperature control issues – a portion of the braille books were no longer usable or fit for circulation. Additionally, many of the older nonfiction books contained outdated information on medicine, health, technology, job training and legal information. With the objective of maintaining the quality of the collection, each member of the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library staff was assigned a handful of sections from the braille collection and charged with weeding out these damaged and outdated items, and cleaning and shifting the remaining books.Basement with dismantled shelving. The amount of weeding was significant in the beginning, since the project started with the oldest books, which had been circulating longest, therefore receiving the heaviest damage. After the first few rounds of weeding, cleaning and shifting became the priority. Like all Talking Book and Braille Library collections, the braille collection is sent by mail to patrons statewide. Without regular cleaning, dirt and grime easily accumulated on book covers, inside pages and subsequently on the shelves. Similarly to the weeding, the need for cleaning was heavier in the earlier stages of the project.Empty bookshelves. The Talking Book and Braille Library staff is currently in the final stages of the 18-month braille book project. With weeding and much of the cleaning finished, the main focus has become shifting the collection. Since new braille books continue to arrive on a weekly basis, staff is eager to finish the last of the shifting and open a portion of the storage room for the incoming braille books. The braille book project will officially be completed in December.

This post was submitted by Camden Wright, Indiana Talking Books and Braille Library. 

Vision Expo returning to the Indiana State Library

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On Saturday, Sept. 13, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library will present Vision Expo, an event that provides resources and information for individuals with vision loss, families of individuals with vision loss and service providers. This year, many returning, as well as several new vendors and organizations, will be available for attendees to meet.

Vision Expo 2025 logo.A new addition to this year’s event is the game room. The room will be set up so participants of Vision Expo will be able to play some of the new accessible games that the Talking Book and Braille Library now has in its collection. These games include braille-adapted versions of Monopoly, Scrabble and Uno, in addition to large print and braille playing cards. Soon after Vision Expo, these games will be available for library patrons.

Presentation in a meeting room. Vision Expo takes place every other year at the Indiana State Library. Founded in 2006 by former Talking Book librarian Carole Rose, Vision Expo was designed to connect interested consumers with the resources available to support and promote independent living for individuals experiencing vision loss. In 2023, the event had more than 150 participants.

The Indiana State Library is located at 315 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis. Attendees may also enter via the Senate Avenue door on the east side of the building. There is no registration required for this free event.

Please visit the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library website for updates about Vision Expo as they becomes available, including information about speakers, vendors and exhibitors.

This post was submitted by Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library staff. 

Did you know that the Indiana State Library has a recording studio?

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Yes, the Indiana State Library has a recording studio! It’s part of the Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library, and it’s used to record audio books and audio magazines. This program is called Indiana Voices. Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library employee Jannell Summers is the program coordinator for the Indiana Voices program. She oversees all aspects of the program here at the Indiana State Library. The Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library serves citizens of Indiana who are blind or visually impaired, have a physical disability that makes using a standard book difficult or have a reading disability.

Indiana Voices records books written by authors who have a connection to Indiana; books with a subject that has a connection to Indiana; and books about Indiana history. Unfortunately, most people will never be able to listen to our books. Indiana Voices records books to be uploaded to the Braille & Audio Reading Download Service, most commonly known as BARD. This is an app produced by the National Library Service for use by talking book and braille libraries all over the nation. The reason Indiana Voices can only upload books to this site for use by our patrons is because the Legislative Branch of the United States government gave us permission to record any book for this service without violating their copyright protections.

During 2024, Indiana Voices recorded 10 books and magazines for the BARD service. These include:

Local authors
“Zeek the Zigzag Zebra” by NT Lucy is a juvenile fiction book. All four books currently in the series were recorded by the author in our studio.

“Now You See It/ Him/ Them” by Gene DeWeese and Robert Coulson is an adult fiction mystery. This book was recorded by Indiana Voices volunteer Lisa Calabro.

Books set in Indiana
“The Ghosts of Jungle Park” by Tom W. Williams is an adult nonfiction book. This book was recorded by Indiana Voices volunteer Kathleen Munsch.

“I Saw Santa in Indiana” by Shannon Anderson is a juvenile fiction book. This book was recorded by Indiana State Library employee Karen Perry.

Magazines
Outdoor Indiana is the state’s premier magazine, featuring the best of state parks, lakes, wildlife, forests, trails, hunting, fishing, wildflowers and outdoorsy people. Volume 87, Number 4 was read by Indiana State Library employee Doug Conrads.

Volunteering for Indiana Voices
Indiana Voices can always use more volunteers, and we have two positions that we are always looking to fill.

Narrators and readers: These volunteers are recorded reading the books and magazines. An hour every two weeks is all that we ask of your time, but you must be able to come to the Indiana State Library in Indianapolis.

At-home reviewers: These volunteers work from home listening to the finished books and read along to find errors that need to be corrected. Everything you need is sent to you electronically. An hour or two a week is all that we ask of your time.

To find out more information about volunteering, contact Jannell Summers via email or call her at 317-234-2128.

Read more about the Indiana State Library’s Volunteer Program here.

This blog post was written by Judy Gray, Indiana Talking Books and Braille Library supervisor.

Visually Impaired Preschool Services

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Did you Know?

90% of what a child learns is through their vision.
85% of the foundation of learning happens the first five years of their life.

Did you also know that located in the heart of downtown Indianapolis is an exceptional preschool for children with visual impairments? It is called Visually Impaired Preschool Services, or more affectionately known as VIPS. It is an inclusive, nonprofit organization that was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1985 and “provides vision-specific, early intervention for young children, birth to three, who are blind or visually impaired and comprehensive support to their families.” It has since expanded to Indiana. Indiana’s VIPS took root in 2011 through the efforts of a teacher for blind and low vision children, who was also the mother of a legally blind child.

Their efforts paid off over time, because VIPS grew. In 2022, their new facility opened, and it is astounding. It has a sensory room, several playrooms, a little library section with print and braille board books, a kitchen area, a doctor’s room and so much more. There are even apartments above VIPS that can be leased out to families with visually-impaired children who need them. They offer a wide range of programming and services such as home visits, orientation and mobility services, preschool readiness programs, parent empowerment programs, summer programs and story times to name a few.

Those of us at the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library love to go over to the VIPS facility for outreach and to provide story times for the children and their parents to enjoy. These story times allow us to read stories to the children and allow the parents and children to become familiar with braille books.

Besides partnering with us at the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library, VIPS also partners with others in the community for outreach, such as the Indiana School for the Blind and the Indiana State Department of Health. This is to ensure that all the visually-impaired children they serve receive all the essential resources and help they need. The kind staff at VIPS is dedicated to the growth and happiness of the children and families they serve.

So, if you, or anyone you know, has a young child in need of the Visually Impaired Preschool Services you won’t be disappointed by all they have to offer. VIPS can be contacted at via their website, by calling 317-961-5001 or by visiting 1212 Southeastern Avenue in Indianapolis.

Visually Impaired Preschool Services is a non-profit organization and accepts donations.

This post was submitted by Kylie Brinker, reader advisor, Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library at the Indiana State library. 

Visually Impaired Preschool Services. “VIPS Indiana – Visually Impaired Preschool Services.” Visually Impaired Preschool Services, 12 Apr. 2024, vips.org/vips-indiana/.

Have you heard about Twin Vision Books?

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Did you know that the Indiana Talking Book Library has a robust collection of Twin Vision braille books? The Talking Book Library houses hundreds of Twin Vision braille books for you to enjoy, but what exactly are Twin Vision braille books?

Here is just a small example of the many Twin Vision books we have in house.

In 1960, Jean Dyon Norris had the idea to create a way that blind children could read with their sighted parents, or blind parents could read bedtime stories to their sighted children. Norris found a way to create books that contained print with pictures along with the same text in braille.

Two book in the collection: “Stack the Cats” and “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”

“I heard this blind mother talking about her children,” Norris recalled. “She said, ‘My children just don’t understand why I can’t read books to them.’” She went home that night and dug out a copy of a book her son had loved as a child, “Fuzzy Wuzzy Puppy.” Using a slate and stylus, the most labor intensive of braille transcribing methods, she created the first Twin Vision braille book (Colker, 1990).

The interior of “Stack the Cats.”

Norris started creating Twin Vision braille books on her kitchen table and distributing them to friends that needed them. Her work grew into creating libraries that included Twin Vision books. Eventually, the National Federation of the Blind and the National Library Service followed her lead and started manufacturing these books.

The interior of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” with the braille overlay pulled up so it is visible.

All this history leads us to today, and our collection. We have the old classic Twin Vision books, as well as newly-published books for kids and adults alike to enjoy together.

If you are interested in any of our twin vision books, give us a call at 800-622-4970.

This post was written by Abby Chumin, librarian in the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library.

Colker, D. (1990, March 29). “Once more, with feeling: Twin vision translates classic children’s stories into Braille.” Los Angeles Times.

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting information about the Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library

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The Indiana Talking Book and Braille library would like to share some interesting information from our history and our current service. For more information about the National Library Service visit here, or visit the Indiana State Talking Book & Braille Library website.

  • The first embossed books were mailed to Indiana patrons in 1905. This means that the Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library has been serving patrons for 119 years. The Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library became a regional library of the National Library Service in 1934.
  • The original collection of embossed books was made up of 300 volumes; 200 were donated books. The Indiana Talking Book & Braille library now has over 25,000 braille books.

A photograph of an ordinary aisle in the braille room.

  • The concept of a national library for the blind was developed in 1897 by John Russell Young, the Librarian of Congress, when he established a reading room for the blind with about 500 books and music items in raised characters.
  • Congress created the National Library Service in 1931 out of concern for veterans who were blinded in World War I. Veterans still get priority today.
  • On March 3, 1931, the Pratt-Smoot Act established the National Library Service for the Blind and it became part of the Library of Congress.
  • Braille was created by Louis Braille in in 1824 while he was still a teenager. A more uniform system of Braille was established in 1933.
  • The first talking books were recorded as records in 1934. According to the National Library Services web site, among the titles chosen for the first orders of talking books were the Declaration of Independence; the Constitution of the United States; Washington’s “Farewell Address;” Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address;” Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” “The Merchant of Venice,” and “Hamlet;” Kipling’s “Brushwood Boy;” and Wodehouse’s “Very Good Jeeves.”
  • Between 1935 and 1942, as part of the Works Project Administration, 5,000 talking book machines were created.
  • Children were added to the mission of the National Library Service in 1952. Patrons with physical or reading disabilities were added in 1966.
  • The Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library currently has over 23,000 large print books. Public libraries in the state of Indiana are welcome to check out collections for their patrons’ use.

The Indiana Talking Book & Braille library owns a large variety of large print books.

  • In 1979, the American Library Association published “Standards of Service for the Library of Congress Network on Libraries for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.” It has been updated multiple times since then.
  • In 1997, the FBI seized from music pirates $200,000 worth of state-of-the-art duplicating equipment and donated it to the talking book program.
  • In the history of the National Library Service, they have provided records and record players, cassette tapes and cassette players, reel to reel tapes, digital duplication of books on demand and digital players and refreshable braille e-readers to the talking book program.

Many different types of talking book players and their media.

  • The Indiana Talking Book & Braille library presents Indiana Vision Expo every two years. In 2023, the event had more than 150 participants. The next Vision Expo will be in September of 2025.
  • In 2023, the National Library Service made braille on demand books available to their patrons. These books are embossed and sent to the patron to keep.
  • In 2024, the Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library will be sending out braille e-readers to patrons who can use them.

A Zoomax Braille E-reader.

  • The Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library has seven staff members working toward getting books to their patrons.
  • In 2023, the Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library had almost 5,000 active users, and circulated more than 400,000 items.

This blog post was written by Judy Gray, Indiana Talking Books and Braille Library supervisor.

A day in the life of the Talking Book and Braille Library staff members

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The following details the general day-to-day workings in the basement level of the Indiana State Library where the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library conducts its circulation operations. Those who work in this department help many people who are unable to use standard printed reading material – and may not be able to use the library – gain access to library materials. This allows hundreds of people to take part in the Talking Book and Braille Library every day.

The process begins in the basement of the Indiana State Library, where hundreds of books are circulated to and from patrons. The basement is like nearly any other part of the library’s stacks, with the small exception being that all items are a part of the Talking Book and Braille Library and each item being circulated is a different form of an accessible book. From large print books to audio books to braille, every day there is an ebb and flow of accessible reading material sent out and returned, and here is how it works:

The day starts with requested large print books being pulled from the shelves in the stacks of the basement. They are then checked out to be sent through the InfoExpress courier service to the requesting libraries to be held for their patrons. From there, these books are transferred to the State Library’s circulation desk where they are processed by circulation staff and sent on their way via the courier service. Any incoming books are brought down and checked back in as well.

TBBL staff opening the returned mail to check in the talking books cartridges.

Next, large print and braille books are mailed directly to patrons through the Talking Books and Braille Library. These books are pulled from shelves in the same manner as the other books, as well as checked out, but rather than being sent to circulation, these books are bagged up along with their associated mailing cards and set in mail tubs to be sent out later in the day through the United States Post Office. The cases used for the braille books are tough, black, Velcro-enclosed boxes that help in the safety of the books during transportation. All these books are mailed as “free matter for the blind,” and no postage is paid by the library or the patrons.

After all the outgoing physical books have been finished, next comes the audio book duplication. Audio books are distributed through the Talking Book and Braille Library via Duplication on Demand. USB drives that are larger than traditional drives, and are easier to manipulate, are then placed inside a small machine connected to a computer known as Gutenberg. While connected to Gutenberg, books that have been assigned to patrons are copied onto the USB drives and within a few minutes are ready to be sent out. The cartridges are pulled from the machine, causing their mailing cards to be printed along with the books contained on the device. The cartridges are placed inside their special blue mailing cases, along with their card for the destination, and sent along with the rest of the mail. Every day, anywhere from 100 to potentially upwards of 500 of these are sent out, with each USB containing anywhere from one to around 10 books.

A mail tub with outgoing talking book cartridges.

Alongside the Duplication on Demand cartridges, digital players must be sent out as well for patrons to be able to listen to these books. Players are held on to, often for years at a time, so the amount of players circulating each day is far lower than the amount of cartridges. They are kept waiting on shelves ready to be sent out as needed. Headphones are occasionally sent along with these players and are kept in the same area. Mailing cards are printed for all requested devices and they are checked out in KLAS, and sent out as well. This marks the end of the outgoing materials from the basement section of the Talking Book and Braille Library.

Talking book players are stored here until they are either sent to a patron or sent to the repair shop for evaluation and cleaning.

Next comes the incoming material. Every day, just as hundreds of books split between the three types go out, a similar amount comes in. Mail tubs arrive in the middle of the day at the loading dock. Mail is separated and sorted, and then the process of checking everything in starts. Books are checked back in, making them available to be borrowed again. Duplication on Demand cartridges are separated from their cases and scanned to become available to be overwritten with new books the following day. Players are marked to be refreshed or repaired and placed on holding shelves where they will be sent to the repair group in Fort Wayne. The repair group is a volunteer organization that works with talking book players from the Indiana State Library, as well as a few other states. Once at the repair group they will be checked for any issues, fixed of any that are found, and returned later to become available for circulation once again. Alongside these returned materials from patrons, repaired machines could arrive with this mail as well.

Hopefully, this look into the day-to-day operations of the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library has been informative and insightful.

This post was submitted by Derrick Fraser, Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library.