The Talking Book Program (TBP) provides free library services to qualifying Texans with visual, physical, or reading disabilities. TBP is part of the National Library Service to the Blind and Print Disabled, a program administered by the Library of Congress. The TBP collection consists of more than 100,000 titles, including hundreds of titles in Spanish, and some in French, German, Russian, and other languages.

Eligibility
To qualify for TBP service, your students must meet one or more of the following four criteria:

Blindness - Visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with corrective lenses or the widest diameter of visual field subtending an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees.
Visual Disability - Inability to read standard printed material without special aids or devices other than regular glasses.
Physical Disability - Inability to read or use standard printed material as a result of physical limitations, such as paralysis, extreme weakness, missing arms or hands.
Reading Disability - Organic dysfunction of sufficient severity as to prevent reading standard printed material in a normal manner.

Applications will need to be signed by a certifying authority. Certifying authority is defined to include doctors of medicine and osteopathy, ophthalmologists, optometrists, registered nurses, therapists, professional staff of hospitals, institutions, and public or welfare agencies (e.g., reading specialists, dyslexia specialists, speech-language pathologists, social workers, case workers, counselors, rehabilitation counselors, teachers and superintendents). In the absence of any of these, certification may be made by professional librarians or any person whose competence under specific circumstances is acceptable to the Library of Congress. Certifying authorities are not permitted to certify relatives.

You will have to submit individual applications for your students who are not registered with TBP.

For more information or for questions:
Visit www.texastalkingbooks.org or call 1-800-252-9605 or 512-463-5458 in Austin.