The library houses a large collection of recorded materials as well as reference materials. For recorded and Braille materials that are provided by the National Library Service (NLS) but not currently in stock at the Bainbridge Library, the Regional Library in Atlanta can be contacted to Interlibrary Loan the requested materials.

Patrons may either come to the library to pick their own books or pick up the books that are wanted, or the books can be sent out in the mail free of charge going and returning.

Deposit collections are also available for use by residents of nursing facilities (ie. convalescence home, nursing homes, hospitals) and for individuals in facilities such as Senior Citizens Centers. The collections are housed in the various facilities or in public libraries. These collections are periodically changed to provide readers with a variety of reading materials.

THE TALKING BOOK PROGRAM
A free national library program of Braille and recorded materials for blind and physically handicapped persons is administered by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress. With the cooperation of authors and publishers who grant permission to use copyrighted works, National Library Service selects and produces full-length books and magazines in Braille and on recorded disc and cassettes. Reading materials are distributed to a cooperating network of regional and sub regional (local) libraries where they are circulated to eligible borrowers. Reading materials and playback machines are sent to borrowers and returned to libraries in reusable containers and mailing cards are sent with each item so that it can be returned by postage-free mail. Established by an act of Congress in 1931 to serve blind adults, the program was expanded in 1952 to include children, in 1962 to provide music materials, and again in 1966 to include individuals with other physical impairments that prevent the reading of standard print.

BOOKS AND MAGAZINES
Readers may borrow all types of popular-interest books including bestseller, classic, mystery, westerns, romance, science fiction, history, biography, religious, children's books and foreign-language materials. Readers may also subscribe to more than seventy popular titles, such as Good Housekeeping, Consumer Reports, Ebony, Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, Newsweek, and Jack & Jill in Braille and recorded formats.

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
Machines needed to play the discs and cassettes, which are recorded at slower than conventional speeds to enable more recording per cassette or record, are loaned for as long as recorded materials are being borrowed and repairs/replacements are provided free of charge. An amplifier is available for blind and physically handicapped readers who are also certified as hearing impaired. Other devices are provided to aid readers with mobility impairments in using playback machines.

ELIGIBILITY
You are eligible for the Library of Congress program if:

* You are legally blind - your vision in the better eye is 20/200 or less with correcting glasses, or your widest diameter of visual field is no greater than 20 degrees.

* You cannot see well enough or focus long enough to read standard print, although you wear glasses to correct your vision.

* You are unable to handle print books or turn pages because of a physical handicap.

* Or, you are certified by a medical doctor as having a reading disability, due to an organic dysfunction, which is of sufficient severity to prevent reading in a conventional manner.

The following adaptive equipment is available for use in the Bainbridge Subregional Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped:

KURZWEIL READING EDGE MACHINE:
The Reading Edge is a machine that will read a printed page aloud. The machine can also be connected to a cassette recorder and the machine can read the text while the cassette machine records it to enable the user to have a copy to take with him/her. We also have a Braille printer that can be connected to the Reading Edge, which allows the scanned text to be transferred into a Braille copy.

PERKINS BRAILLER:
This machine is the equivalent of a Braille typewriter. The library has two of these braillers, one for in-house use and one available for checkout.

BRAILLE-N-PRINT SLIM LINE:
This is a computer card that attaches to the bottom of the Perkins Brailler. This card allows a dot matrix printer to be connected to the Perkins Brailler and when something is typed on the Brailler, a print copy is generated on the dot matrix printer. This is only available on the brailler for use in the library.

PUBLIC ACCESS COMPUTER TERMINAL:
This is a Pentium IBM Clone with large print and Braille overlay keyboard. It has Zoomtext software that enlarges the text on the screen for the visually impaired and that speaks what is on the screen or typed in. This computer has Microsoft Word 97 installed and has access to the Internet.

OPTELEC 20/20+:
This machine enlarges materials that are placed underneath it by projecting it on the screen. The material can be enlarged up to 60 times its normal size.

The Perkins Brailler is currently the only machine available for checkout. We can make arrangements with the Public Libraries in the area so that this machine can be available for temporary checkout in all 11 counties.

Further information and/or an application form is available by calling (229) 248-2680 or 1-800-795-2680, or by coming by the library at:

Bainbridge Sub Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
Southwest Georgia Regional Library
301 S. Monroe St. (the corner of Shotwell and Monroe Sts.)
Bainbridge, GA 39819

Our operating hours are:
Monday - 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Tuesday - 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Wednesday - 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Thursday - 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Friday - 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

If there is anyone that you know of who might be eligible for the Talking Books service, please have them contact us or let us know and we can contact them.