Serving the Blind and Physically Handicapped in the United States of America

Since the early 1930s federal legislation has enabled the Library of Congress to offer free library service to blind and physically handicapped individuals resident in the United States as well as to U.S. citizens overseas. Technological changes in the program have mirrored and sometimes anticipated transformations and developments in the world of consumer electronics. Braille is now accessible over the Internet by means of specialized keyboards; audiobooks, originally cut onto rigid shellac 78-rpm disks, have progressed to flexible discs and a refined analog cassette technology that will in turn soon be replaced by digital flash-memory cartridges playable on efficient, reliable, lightweight, and portable machines. The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped looks forward to the inauguration of its new digital system in 2008. Introduction One of the hallmarks of a civilized, humane society is the extent to which it cares for its people who have disabilities. Today, an estimated two million Americans are so visually impaired that they cannot read standard print. Another one million Americans have a physical disability that prevents them from holding a book. Because people receive up to 90 percent of their information through sight, blindness can result in reduced mobility, diminished employment opportunities, problems in performing tasks associated with daily living, and a general sense of isolation from sighted people. Digital technology, however, now helps many of these people living in the United States and abroad to enjoy books and magazines in their LIBRARY TRENDS, Vol. 55, No. 4, Spring 2007 (“Library and Information Services for Visually Impaired People,” edited by Helen Brazier and David Owen), pp. 796–808 Courtesy of Library of Congress