Apply for Services
To apply for service, complete one of the following applications depending on whether you are an individual patron or an institution that works with eligible populations (school, non-profit organizations, libraries, assisted living communities, hospitals). You can print it out and mail it to us, or complete the fillable PDF document, save it, and email it to us at ncabls@dncr.nc.gov.
Before starting your application, please review the eligibility requirements.
Instructions for Applications
Services are available to all North Carolina residents who are unable to read standard print due to one or more of the following conditions:
- Visual impairment, either permanent or temporary, that cannot be corrected with reading glasses
- Physical disability causing an inability to turn pages or comfortably hold a book for extended periods of time
- Perceptual or reading disability
Facilities such as schools, public libraries, hospitals, and nursing homes, which regularly serve clients meeting the eligibility requirements, may also apply for service.
The full eligibility criteria are available on the website of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS).
For those not residing in North Carolina, you can apply through your state’s network library.
All applications must be submitted with a signature from a certifying authority, who may be any of the following*:
- Doctor of Medicine
- Doctor of Osteopathy
- Ophthalmologists
- Optometrist
- Registered Nurse
- Therapist
- Professional staff of hospitals, care facilities, institutions, and public or welfare agencies, such as:
- Educator
- Social Worker
- Case Worker
- Counselor
- Rehabilitation Teacher
- Certified Reading Specialist
- School psychologist
- School Superintendent
- Librarian
*A certifying authority may not be a relative of the applicant, even if otherwise qualified.
A. Veterans
- In the lending of books, recordings, sound reproducers, musical scores, instructional texts, and other specialized materials, preference shall be given at all times to the needs of blind and other print disabled persons who have been honorably discharged from the armed forces of the United States.
B. Institutions
- The reading materials and sound reproducers for the use of blind and print disabled persons may be loaned to individuals who qualify, to institutions such as nursing homes and hospitals, and to schools for the blind or print disabled for use of such persons only. The reading materials and sound reproducers may also be used in public or private schools where eligible students are enrolled; however, the students in public or private schools must be certified as enrolled in the school and eligible on an individual basis via the annual student list form and must be the direct and only recipients of the materials and equipment. Individual applications must be submitted for any student qualifying due to a reading disability, as they must be certified as eligible by a medical doctor. For more information on certification requirements for students with reading disabilities, please refer to the NLS on Qualifications for Talking Books with Reading Disabilities
To establish or continue offering service at your school, please first read and fill out the ABLS Guidelines and Procedures form for Educators and Schools. Then please fill out the list of qualifying students using the ABLS Annual Student List form
Please return these forms to:
Accessible Books and Library Services
State Library of North Carolina
1841 Capital Boulevard
Raleigh NC 27635.
The high-volume player and headphones are designed for use only by patrons who are hearing impaired. This high-volume player and headphone combination will produce a sound level of up to 120 dB in adults. If you require greater amplification to hear the recordings, this high-volume player and headphone combination is not suitable for you.
To submit your application: (1) complete Part I, applicant information; (2) have a physician or audiologist complete Parts II and III to certify your
hearing impairment and review warnings related to use of the high-volume player and headphones; (3) submit the application to SLNC-ABLS.
All patrons applying for the high-volume player and headphones must be certified as hearing impaired by a physician or audiologist.