The Needs Of Blind Veterans

Tuesday, March 1, 2005

Books That Speak To The Needs Of Blind Veterans (NAPSA)—Read all about it— America’s veterans are getting older. It’s estimated that close to 10 million of this country’s nearly 25 million military veterans are now in their senior years. For many, everyday activities such as reading a newspaper are becoming a challenge. Even younger veterans injured in service may find they now need help with tasks they used to manage easily, such as turning the pages of a book or reading the print of the sports page. Fortunately, a free library service is available to help veterans of all ages whose low vision, blind- ness or physical handicap makes it difficult to read or use a stan- dard printed page such as a newspaper. The National Library Ser- vice for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress network of regional libraries brings books and magazines on cassettes and in braille straight into the hands of veterans and other qualifying American residents andcitizens. The program, known as Talk- ing Books, loans members a wide selection of recorded books and magazines, braille books and magazines, and music scores in braille and largeprint. The program has been popular with veterans and veterans groups for sometime. In fact, they are someof the most avid users of NLS services. Requests from veterans for specific materials receive first priority over others. Tom Miller, Executive Director of the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) and a veteran totally blinded by a land mine in Vietnam A free library service is available to help veterans with a physical handicap that makesit difficult to read. in 1967, is a longtime supporter of the Talking Books program and invites more veterans to enroll. Said Miller, “It is a benefit far too many of us don’t take advantageof.” Applications may be requested from the closest regional or subre- gional library. A searchable list of locations is available at the Web site www.loc.gov/nls. The applica- tion requires the signature of an official source such as a doctor, case- worker or an NLSregional librar- ian in order to join the program. Many veterans groups and pro- grams mayassist with this process. Once an application is completed, the playback equipmentfor the Talking Books program will be sent within three working days. An initial shipment of books and catalogs is usually sent within following two working days. NLS reader advocate mayalso low up to better personalize the An folthe selection of materials. Materials are shipped and returned via the U.S. Postal Service at no cost. To learn more, call 1-888-NLS- READ (1-888-657-7323).