FREMONT -- Birchard Public Library recently received a grant for $1,665 through the Library Services and Technology Act to buy six VictorReader Stream machines, compact digital readers designed for use by the blind and visually impaired.
The digital reader allows users to download and listen to books from a variety of sources, including the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
The State Library of Ohio, in partnership with the Library Services and Technology Act Advisory Council, the National Federation of the Blind, and Universal Low Vision Aids collaborated to develop the grant program.
With the grant, each digital reader cost the library $92.50, which was matched by $277.50 in federal funds. The Friends of Birchard Public Library contributed $100 toward the purchase.
The VictorReader Streams will be available to patrons who qualify for the Talking Book Program, and will be loaned through the library's Outreach Department. The library also plans to partner with the Sandusky County Board of Developmental Disabilities to see how the readers might benefit members of their next chapter book club.
"The ability to download free audiobooks is expanding every day, and Birchard Public Library is now in a position to help make these resources available to blind and disabled individuals in our communities," said library director Pam Hoesman.
