Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (GLS) has a new website launched this week that makes it easier to sign up or access audio or braille books and other low vision resources. The redesigned website has improved accessibility features and has been tested for ease of reading with screen reading devices. The URL is https://gls.georgialibraries.org.

“The removal of barriers that prevent lifelong learning through reading is our ultimate goal,” said Kristin White, state director for Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. “Our services provide a sense of community, independence, and entertainment. We want our patrons, caregivers, and advocates to easily access the information they need.”

Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled also is launching a new TV and radio PSA that will air statewide to raise awareness of the free services they provide. The state’s public libraries are encouraged to share the PSA with their local media as well.

“There are many people across Georgia who could benefit from our services but they don’t know we exist,” said White. “We hope our new PSA and website can help reach them so they have the opportunity to keep reading and pursuing their goals.”

Through Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Georgia Public Library Service provides library services for individuals who are blind or whose physical abilities require the use of books and magazines in audio format or in braille. Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled lends talking books and the easy-to-use talking book players needed to use them free of charge and also offers talking books and magazines online and through the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) Mobile app. Reader advisors are available to help patrons with any questions or to select books via phone.

Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled isn’t just for those who are blind. Individuals also are eligible if they are low vision, temporarily, or permanently physically unable to hold a book and turn the page, or have reading disabilities such as dyslexia.

Sign up for Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled: The application can be filled out by hand or computer and has basic questions such as name, address, qualifying condition, and the types of reading materials that interest the patron. The application includes a place for the certifying authority to sign. After staff receive the application via postal service or email, they will be in touch to provide the service delivery in the way that the patron prefers.

Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled is a network library of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, a division of the Library of Congress, and receives funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services. The new website and PSA were funded by the American Rescue Plan Act. Contact Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled: 800-248-6701, gls@georgialibraries.org, or gls.georgialibraries.org.