Braille & Talking Book Program

Automated Telephone System

Beginning in April 2013, the South Dakota State Library upgraded to an automated phone system. Now, when you call 1-605-773-3131 or 1-800-423-6665, you will be directed to the following options:

Braille and Talking Book
1. Patrons with last names beginning with A-M
2. Patrons with last names beginning with N-Z; Libraries, nursing homes, other facilities
3. Schools, children, young adults
4. Talking Book Machines, Volunteers, other questions or concerns

Please remain on the line to hear these options again or press "0" to return to the main menu.

Access Catalogs:

Catalog (WebOPAC)
Web Link to Braille and Talking Book Online Catalog

BARD Login
Web Link to BARD Login

WebOPAC is an internet based online catalog and ordering site. You must have an internet connection. Anyone may check WebOPAC and search by author, title, subject, narrator, series, or annotation. However only active library patrons with a User ID and a Password may order books.

BARD, Braille and Audio Reading Download, is a password-protected web site that enables eligible readers to download any of the thousands of titles recorded by National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) for its readership.

Many searching methods are available, including by author, title, subject, narrator, and keyword. Avid readers might prefer to check the "Recently Added" link to find new titles.

Why wait for the postal service to deliver your books? Download from BARD 24 hours a day, seven days a week!

Libraries for blind adults were established by an Act of Congress in 1931. The law has been amended four times: in 1952 to include blind children, in 1962 to include music materials, in 1966 to include individuals with physical impairments who are unable to read standard print, and in 1981 to include individuals with a reading disability which is based on a physical dysfunction.

The South Dakota Braille and Talking Book Program started in 1969.

The South Dakota Braille & Talking Book Program provides many of the same books and magazines that are found at your public library except they are in Recorded and/or in Braille format. We even loan you a player to play the Recorded books on. This service is paid for by federal and state funds and is provided at no charge to the patron. This includes toll-free calls to the State Library, player replacement and no postage when mailing materials back to the library.

Mission:

Hands reading braille book The mission of the Braille and Talking Book Program is to provide equal access to print materials in a format acceptable to all citizens of South Dakota who cannot read standard print. The inability to read standard print may be caused by a visual impairment that prevents seeing the print, a physical disability that prevents holding the materials and/or turning the pages, or a learning disability caused by an organic dysfunction. The alternative formats include large print, Braille, audio books or electronic files.

SD B&TB Latest News

Spring/Summer 2013 Prairie Trails Newsletter

Latest Children's Books now available!

Interested in becoming a Volunteer?

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Prairie Trails Memorandum

Volume 8, Issue 1 | Spring/Summer 2013
Articles include "Automated Phone System", "South Dakota Has New State Librarian", "Are You Ready for Summer Reading?"

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