The South Carolina Talking Book Services (Blog #4)

Administered by the South Carolina State Library, the South CarolinaTalking Book Services, https://www.sctalkingbook.org/, provides access to a variety of resources and programming for individuals of all ages that have a difficult time accessing physical books. This includes individuals that have difficulty hearing, seeing and/or physically holding a book.

 

To access the materials, a person or an organization must complete an application which includes authorization from a certified professional (e.g., physician, nurse, agency). 

Application for Individual 

 

Once approved, audio books, Braille and Audio Reading Downloads (BARD), Braille, large print books, audio descriptive DVDs, magazines, and assistive devices can be accessed. Orders for physical items to be shipped can be completed online, by phone, fax, mail, or email. No postage is charged and no fines are levied if items are held past their due date. Assistive devices are grouped in the “Petting Zoo” and allow individuals to experiment with devices to find what works best for them. For example, there are different powered magnifying lenses and text-to-speech readers. In addition to the "Petting Zoo" the SC Talking Book Services provides a book club, an art program for blind and visually impaired students and access to the Summer Reading Program many public libraries are using this summer. 

 

Summer Reading Program

 

 

As a school librarian, this resource could be shared with specific students in need of these resources, their classroom and special education teachers, and caregivers to access materials not otherwise available. For example, I searched for The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, and found talking books in English and Spanish and BARD editions of the three series of books. No large print editions were available. A powerful magnifying glass would allow a student with low vision to read a graphic novel such as Hey Kiddo, by Jarrett Krosoczka.

 

Resources:

Collins, S. (2014). The hunger games trilogy. Scholastic.

 

Krosoczka, J. (2018). Hey, kiddo. First edition. New York, NY: Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic.