The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped,Library of Congress

Abstract

Following establishment of a library service for blind and physically handicapped individuals in the Library of Congress on March 3, 1931, the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped programme has grown to serving nearly 800,000 adult and juvenile patrons with an audio/braille collection in excess of 23,000,000 items (325,000 titles). In 1999, 22,665,000 books and magazines were circulated to eligible patrons resident in the United States and to US citizens living in other countries. The advent of digital technology has led to extensive provision of bibliographical and locational information as well as the direct provision of braille materials. Work is under way to develop a digital audio book standard through the National Information Standards Organization (NISO). Scheduled for acceptance in December 2000, the next step being pursuit of an International Standards Organization (ISO) standard and to promulgate the standard through the world.