Welcome to the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center! We provide free library service for anyone unable to read regular print because of low vision, blindness, or a physical disability. We have books and magazines on tape as well as playback equipment. Books and magazines are mailed free to and from library patrons, wherever they reside. There is no charge, whatsoever, to the patron. Currently, we serve approximately 5,000 active readers. Our office is open 8:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M. Monday-Friday.

The Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center is part of a statewide and national network of libraries. This sub-regional library serves the blind and physically handicapped in central Illinois. The Center is part of a state network administered by the Illinois State Library, a division of the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State, and a national network under the administration of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), a division of the Library of Congress. The Center is locally administered by the Alliance Library System (ALS).

For more information, contact us at info@mitbc.org.

Our service is a free library program of braille and recorded books and magazines available to residents of Illinois who are not able to use standard print because of a visual, physical, or learning disability.

See the link below for more complete information on eligibility. However, in summary, you are eligible for the program if you are legally blind; visually impaired with a condition such as Macular degeneration or cataracts; or if you have difficulty holding a book or turning pages because of a permanent or temporary physical impairment; or reading disabled (due to an organic function such as dyslexia.)

We provide recorded and Braille books and popular magazines. There are over 60,000 titles available including popular fiction and non-fiction, bestsellers, classics, history, biographies, children's books and more.

We provide free playback equipment. Books and magazines in the collection are recorded at a slower speed than conventional recordings and require special players. Players are mailed postage free. The library repairs and replaces equipment as necessary at no cost to our clients.

The books and equipment are sent to readers through the mail postage-free. Readers can also return books postage-free.

Eligibility
If you cannot comfortably read print because of a visual or physical impairment, you are eligible for this program. Click on the above link for details. Call us if you have questions. You may be surprised to learn that arthritis is a qualifying condition, as is a temporary condition like carpal tunnel or a broken wrist.

What is Available
We have thousands of books and magazines on tape and in Braille including bestsellers, mysteries, westerns, romances, biographies, cookbooks, children's books, and more. Call us for a publication catalog!

How to Sign Up
If you need an application, click on this link or have questions about the program, please contact us! Your local public library is also an excellent place to get information about the program or to hear a demonstration of our players.

Machine Service
Because the Talking Library books and magazines are recorded at a slower speed than commercial recordings, special playback machines are required to listen to them. Patrons are loaned a machine, which they may keep as long as they are using the Talking Book Library service. Machines needing service or repair should be returned to the library. A replacement machine will promptly be sent to the patron, free of charge.

View Instructional Video about Cassette Machine

About the National Program
The Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center is a sub-regional library and is part of a state and national network of libraries.

The following services are available to MITBC registered patrons:

MITBC Newsletters
MITBC sends a newsletter to patrons on a quarterly basis.

Reader Advisors
Our friendly staff enjoy assisting you. We can recommend popular titles or tell you about the latest books to arrive in our collection. We're happy to help with your orders.

Old-time Radio Catalog (Word doc) :: (pdf)
We have over 700 old-time radio shows available to loan to you.

Descriptive Video Catalog
Descriptive videos are regular TV programs or movies with added verbal description of the action, costumes, settings, etc. that would aid the low-vision viewer.

World War II: POW Stories (video)
A thirty-minute VHS video with three former WWII POWs talking with middle and junior high students about their war experiences. The video is available for purchase by the public for a charge of $10.

Radio Information Service
Using a special radio receiver, listeners hear readings from local newspapers, including weekly grocery store ads and other local information. National newspapers and magazines are included.

Lobe Library
This is a new service from the Illinois State Talking Book and Braille Service in cooperation with three other states. If you would like to participate, call for more information. This provides portable listening on MP3 players.

Reference and Referral
Contact your Reader Advisor or the Outreach Staff if you need reference information or if you need to locate an agency or organization. With Internet access and our collection of catalogs, we can provide you with a variety of information.

Catalogs
Talking Book Topics
Braille Book Review

TumbleTalkingBooks! TumbleTalkingBooks is an online, 24/7 audio book library that includes unabridged high quality audio versions of classics of American and world literature, non-fiction, fiction, and children and teen books. TumbleTalkingBooks is ideal for readers of all ages and abilities and those learning English as a second language.

TumbleReadables Library! TumbleReadables are a collection of large print electronic books which allows you to read books online by simply clicking a button. No downloads. No special software. TumblePad Reader, with its innovative font size slider, enables the viewer to raise the font size to up to 34 point, bringing the joy of reading to young and old. If you have questions, please contact Karen Bersche at MITBC.

TumbleBookLibrary for children! Animated, audiobooks for children! Read online! No library card or device needed! Click on this link to download the free Flash player you will need to view and listen to the books. The TumbleBookLibrary is a collection of TumbleBooks (animated, talking picture books) TumblePuzzles, TumbleQuizzes and TumbleResources for Teachers. TumbleBooks are created from existing picture books which they have licensed from children's book publishers and converted to the TumbleBook format. If you have questions, please contact Karen Bersche at MITBC.

Magazines
Subscriptions listed are provided free of charge by the Illinois Regional Library or by NLS/BPH. Contact your Reader Advisor for a copy of "Magazines in Special Media" for a listing of other periodicals available from their publishers. Associated Services for the Blind also provides a fee-based subscription service for certain magazines.

Web-Braille
Web-Braille is an Internet, web-based service that provides, in an electronic format, many Braille books and all Braille magazines produced by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS).

The Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Service maintains a list of new adult and new juvenile titles received each week.

To Serve You Better

Return the books in the same container. Use the mailing label that was attached to the green mailing container. The reverse side of the label has our return address. The barcode on the label is needed to check-in the book. If you mix up the tapes and containers, they will not be checked in properly and you will receive overdue notices.

If you find a stray tape that didn't get returned with the rest of the book, please include it with the next book you return. We keep books with missing tapes for several months, hoping that we can eventually match them with their missing tapes.