[Michlib-l] Exciting News from BTBL & NLS

[Wambaugh, Stephanie (LEO)]

If you're not familiar with the Michigan Braille and Talking Book Library (BTBL), now is your chance! We serve all of Michigan, and are a great resource for your patrons who struggle using standard print books. Keep reading for news on some exciting updates, and/or watch this quick 7 minute zoom video for a brief overview of our entire service: https://zoom.us/rec/share/GN3h2HdoCzOKJOJczB7t5oRRVeiASRAG4RDhtdeLF0jEvnHejfJF-jSInkyf4_Ux.kAguaDDqGSLAptGR

Want to become a Demo Site to help connect us with your patrons? Email me off-list for more details.


As you may know, the Michigan Braille and Talking Book Library (BTBL) provides books and magazines in audio and braille, free of charge, to people who are blind, have low vision, or have a physical, perceptual, or reading disability that makes it difficult to read regular print. We are reaching out to you to announce some exciting news.

The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) has implemented a long-awaited change to make it easier for people with reading disabilities to enroll for our services. Now reading specialists, educators, librarians, and school psychologists will be able to certify the eligibility of applicants with reading disabilities.

NLS has long made its services available to people with reading disabilities. Up to now, however, a doctor of medicine or osteopathy was required to certify that an applicant's reading disability was "the result of organic dysfunction." This requirement was a high bar for potential patrons to hurdle, and network libraries had urged NLS to relax it. A 2016 Government Accountability Office report on NLS also noted that it is now widely accepted that a medical diagnosis is not necessary to determine if a person has a reading disability.

Before implementing this change, NLS needed Congress to amend the eligibility language in its authorizing legislation. This was accomplished in the 2018 Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act and the 2019 Library of Congress Technical Corrections Act. The final regulatory step was publication of the new language in the Federal Register, which was done this winter.

The legal language regarding the certifying authorities for any NLS applicant now reads as follows:

§701.6  Loans of library materials for blind and other print-disabled persons
(b) Eligibility
(ii) Eligibility must be certified by one of the following: doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopathy, ophthalmologist, optometrist, psychologist, registered nurse, therapist, and professional staff of hospitals, institutions, and public or welfare agencies (such as an educator, a social worker, case worker, counselor, rehabilitation teacher, certified reading specialist, school psychologist, superintendent, or librarian).

In addition, NLS has now made it even easier for Certifying Authorities to verify a person qualifies for our service- a physical signature is no longer required on our applications!  BTBL and NLS now accept hand or type written names on the signature line of the application, as long as all details requested about the certifying authority are filled out. We are currently working on a fillable form application to make this process even smoother! In the meantime, the attached application has the new eligibility language listed.

BTBL, with NLS, offers many benefits to students and people of all ages who have difficulty reading regular print materials. Users can instantly download tens of thousands of audio and electronic braille books from the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) website to their mobile phones or tablets, or receive audio books and hard-copy braille books by postage-free mail. Our catalog includes a wide range of titles, from classics to new releases, for children, young adults, and adults.

For additional information about this program, visit www.michigan.gov/btbl<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.michigan.gov%2Fbtbl&data=04%7C01%7CWambaughS%40michigan.gov%7Cc0fd59cf91f44980baff08d904f17d47%7Cd5fb7087377742ad966a892ef47225d1%7C0%7C0%7C637546257500122201%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=YZM5YxJ9uvIh7WUR4oNMuovvNIWou%2F9YPlh3XOtDiOE%3D&reserved=0> or www.loc.gov/thatallmayread<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.loc.gov%2Fthatallmayread&data=04%7C01%7CWambaughS%40michigan.gov%7Cc0fd59cf91f44980baff08d904f17d47%7Cd5fb7087377742ad966a892ef47225d1%7C0%7C0%7C637546257500122201%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=cXBxlPCAy8Erm2m%2BNBPQ2YDduTSZqS%2FZyb1hUM8znpY%3D&reserved=0>. My colleagues and I are eager to answer any questions you have and help eligible readers-including students-register! You can reach us at btbl at michigan.gov<mailto:btbl at michigan.gov> or 1-800-992-9012.

Stephanie Wambaugh
Librarian
BSBP Braille & Talking Book Library
P.O. Box 30007
702 W. Kalamazoo St.
Lansing, MI 48909

1-800-992-9012 / wambaughs at michigan.gov<mailto:wambaughs at michigan.gov>

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