This information covers
braille books,
giant print books and music resources.
For Talking Books, see the
Borrowing Talking Books page.
Number of loans
You can borrow six books at a time.
Requesting books
Choose books from our
library catalogue.
When you join the library, we will automatically set up a personal bookshelf for you. Your personal bookshelf is the list of books you would like to read. You can start adding titles to it straightaway.
We recommend that you aim to have at least 15 titles on your personal bookshelf. This means if some of the books on your shelf are out on loan, there are still plenty of others we can send you.
We can help you with choosing books if you are stuck for ideas. You can also suggest books which we might add to our stock. We are happy to reserve any books which are out on loan to another reader.
Book delivery
Books are delivered and returned free of charge under the Articles for the Blind scheme. We can arrange to send your books to a different address, in addition to your home address, if this helps you. This could be:
-
a school or college address
-
an office or work address
-
a neighbour's or helper's address
-
a holiday address (so books don't have to go in your luggage).
If you do not receive a book within 7 to 10 days, please ring the library. There may be a delay in the post, but we can confirm that we have dealt with your request.
Please note that, although we send all volumes of a book at the same time, they can become separated in the post.
Loan periods
Braille, Giant Print and Moon books can be borrowed for up to three months.
Please return your books as soon as you have read them, as other readers may be waiting.
You may renew your books by phone, letter or email, unless they are required by another reader.
Returning books
The last date for returning your books is given on a braille slip which you will find with the return labels in the first volume of your consignment (alternative arrangements are made for Moon and giant print readers).
The return labels are self-adhesive, simply remove the backing and stick to the address panel on the bag.
There is no need to wait until you finish the entire book before starting to return the volumes. Please return them to your local Post Office. There is no charge and no forms to fill in.
If you have a problem returning your books, please let us know and we can put you in touch with Royal Mail.