NLS at the Library of Congress

National Library Service (NLS) is a free braille and talking book library service for people with temporary or permanent low vision, blindness, or a physical, perceptual, or reading disability that prevents them from using regular print materials. Through a national network of cooperating libraries, NLS circulates books and magazines in braille or audio formats, that are instantly downloadable to a personal device or delivered by mail free of charge.

Patrons now have access to richer, more detailed descriptions of new titles added to the NLS collection. NLS now uses publisher-provided book descriptions for most new titles. These longer descriptions give patrons more insight into book topics and content and make it easier for patrons to identify titles of interest to them. These descriptions appear – in the NLS Catalog, on BARD, and in NLS publications – as written by the publishers.