Accessible Books and Library Services

for Blind and Print Disabled

The State Library of North Carolina Accessible Books and Library Services (SLNC-ABLS) is a free, convenient library service for North Carolinians who are unable to read standard print due to low vision, blindness, or a physical, perceptual, or reading disability.

The service is completely free for users, who receive titles by downloading them and/or having the materials mailed directly to and from their residence at no cost.

How It Works

  • 1

    Determine Eligibility

    To utilize SLNC-ABLS, a person must have a qualifying condition, such as blindness, which must be certified by a competent authority such as a medical professional, social worker, activities director of a care facility, public library staff member, and others.

    Eligibility Information

  • 2

    Apply

    Submit an application for yourself, someone else, an institution, or a school. Applications are available in English and Spanish. Completed applications can be submitted via email, mail, or fax.

    Applications

  • 3

    Personalize Your Service

    Once an application has been approved, you will receive a phone call from a Reader Advisor, who will set up your account in a way that works best for you.

    You can contact Reader Advisors by phone, chat, or email. They are available to answer questions, help with the application, change your service, and help select books to read.

    Maybe you love westerns and romance, or you can’t get enough biographies. There are more than 150,000 braille and audiobook titles available along with over 100 magazines. Books and movies can be chosen by genre, author, title, series, or subject. You can contact the library any time to update your reading preferences.

    Accordion
    Tab/Accordion Items

    Materials can be selected for you in three ways:

    • Automatically picked based on the preferences you share with us
    • Selected for you by Reader Advisors
    • Only receive books you request.

    If books are selected automatically or by staff, you can always contact us to request specific titles you want.

    You can request books you want to read from any of our collections by phone, mail, email, or on our online catalog.

    Phone: Call 1-888-388-2460 or 984-236-1100. We are available by phone from 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., Monday through Friday. We are closed on holidays. Callers may leave voice messages.

    Mail book requests to: SLNC-ABLS, 1841 Capital Blvd., Raleigh, NC 27635

    Email book requests to: ncabls@dncr.nc.gov

    Online Catalog: You can search the online catalog to see what books we have available. You can also make requests through the online catalog. Please call the library or send us an email if you do not know your user ID or password. 

  • 4

    Receive Audiobooks, Braille, and Movies

    SLNC-ABLS offers materials in audio, braille, large print, and video with descriptive audio. Materials are sent at no cost (for delivery or return) via the U.S. Postal Service. When you are ready to return any items, simply turn the mailing card over, slide it back into the case, and put the case in your outgoing mail. No trip to the post office needed.

    Download Options

    Audio and braille can also be downloaded to a computer or device via the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) service. BARD Express is an easy way for you to access BARD on your computer. The BARD Mobile app is available from Google Play, the App Store, and Amazon for Android, iOS, and Kindle devices. Patrons or their caregivers can receive help with BARD from a Reader Advisor.

    Learn more about all you can download and borrow