Hawaiʻi State
Public Library System

Library for the Blind and Print Disabled

LBPD offers a variety of materials services to support literacy and access to information for people with visual and other types of print disabilities.

• Books & magazines: LBPD has thousands of titles available in audio, large print and braille formats. Direct mail subscriptions for magazines available free of charge.
• Catalogs: The National Library Service for the Blind publishes catalogs of new books and magazines on a bimonthly basis.  These catalogs are available in audio and electronic formats.
• Booklists: Lists of new large print books are mailed out to registered users at least 3 times a year.
• BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download): This web-based system allows registered users to download books and magazines in audio and electronic braille formats. Users must have a computer with an Internet connection in order to download and unzip files.  BARD also has mobile apps available for Apple and Android devices.
• Machines and equipment: Special machines designed to play our audio books and magazines are available for long-term loan. We also offer accessories like special headphones, speakers and amplifiers as well as radio receivers for those who sign up for our Radio Reading Service.  See machine and equipment policies.
• Transcribing services: Our registered patrons can request transcription of regular print materials into audio or braille. Material may be transcribed only if not already available in the desired format.
• Radio Reading Service: LBPD broadcasts radio programming over a closed-circuit frequency for registered patrons. Narrators read articles, obituaries, grocery ads, and more from local newspapers and magazines.  A special radio receiver is provided by LBPD.
• Accessible computers: LBPD has computers with Internet access that are equipped with magnification software that enlarges everything on the computer screen and screen reader software that turns text to speech for many computer applications.
• Magnifiers: If you need printed materials like letters, newspapers, and magazines magnified, LBPD has a video magnifier available for public use. It does not have printing capability.