Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
1.
What is Insight
for the Blind?
4.
How can I listen
to the books ?
What
is Insight for the Blind?
Insight
for the Blind records books and magazines on tape for free
distribution to blind persons and those with other physical handicaps that
prevent reading in the conventional manner. Material is also recorded expressly
for small children and young people for both school studies and recreational
reading.
Our
goal is to help print handicapped individuals become better informed with an
independence that leads to a higher quality of life.
Our
master tapes are sent to the Library of Congress in
Insight
for the Blind was founded in 1975 by Caroline Mansur. From a single booth
recording facility we have grown to become the largest of only three volunteer
recording studios in the
Both
our physical plant and production methods have become national models for other
studios recording this type of material.
While
many of our readers are performers or broadcasters by trade, their work at
Insight is done strictly on a volunteer basis. Each narrator must pass a
rigorous screening by the Library of Congress, and is held to the same
standards as professional narrators who do the same work at commercial studios.
In addition to narrators, volunteers are needed to review and edit recorded
materials.
How
can I listen to the books ?
Anyone
who is certified as unable to hold a book or read ordinary print can borrow
these materials postage-free and keep them for as long as required.
Residents of those areas with Talking Book libraries may choose a book from the
shelves, as a sighted person might.
After
receiving the necessary playback equipment, Braille or Talking Books can be
ordered from one of more than one hundred sixty cooperating libraries throughout
the nation.
Braille
and Talking Books - recordings on discs and cassettes - cannot be bought at
local bookstores. They are available on loan to eligible handicapped residents
of the
If
you know someone who can use the Library of Congress free reading program -
someone temporarily or permanently disabled, you can help that person fill many
leisure hours, continue studies, or just keep in touch with the world.
To
get more information on this free program contact the National Library Service
for the Blind and Physically Handicapped The Library of Congress, Washington
D.C. 20542 Call 1-800-424-8567
Internet http://lcweb.loc.gov/nls/