GLS Refresher and Reminders

Submitted by Jen Bell

Did you know that Georgia residents of any age who are unable to read standard print due to a visual, physical, or reading disability are eligible to join GLS, the Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, for free? GLS serves all of Georgia with books and magazines in braille and audio that are available through postage-free mail or via download. GLS is a network library of the NLS, the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, from the Library of Congress. 

Applications for GLS can be found here. Once completed, they can be emailed, mailed, or faxed. Each application has a section for a certifying authority to sign, verifying that the applicant meets the eligibility requirement to join GLS. As professional library staff, we are allowed to certify these applications. If a patron fills out an application on paper, please fill out the certifying authority section and sign it. If you are helping a patron fill out the PDF online, just type your name in the signature field - they don’t require you to physically sign it. 

Eligibility requirements to qualify for GLS services are: 

• Individuals who are legally blind or cannot see well enough or focus long enough to read standard print, even with glasses
  
  
• Individuals who are unable to hold or turn pages of print books
  
  
• Individuals who have been diagnosed with a perceptual or reading disability that makes printed works inaccessible
  
  
• Those with a temporary disability may qualify on a temporary basis

However, people who never learned to read or who are learning English as a second language are not eligible.

Once GLS receives a properly certified application, their goal is to send the talking book player plus two cartridges (which hold up to 10 books per cartridge) via US mail within seven working days. In addition to the talking book player, patrons will receive access to BARD, a mobile app for audiobooks. Some patrons may prefer the app to the player since there is no waiting for the mail and all of the audiobooks are always available. If you know your patron does not want the player, you can note “BARD only” when you submit the application. 

Active GLS members are also able to request and receive up to five hard-copy braille titles per month, which are theirs to keep. This print-on-demand service is from the National Library for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS). 

Take a minute to look at the GLS website to see even more of what they offer and if you have any questions, please let me know!