What Are Talking Books, and Who Can Get Them Free?

Talking books are audiobooks that national libraries and charities lend to people who can't easily read print, including readers with sight loss, dyslexia or physical disabilities. RNIB (UK) and the NLS (US) are free, Calibre Audio costs adults £3 a month, and Bookshare and Learning Ally charge US adults a yearly fee.

That's the short version. The part the search results leave out is why the same service can feel out of reach: the word "talking books" hides a legal category, a form with someone else's signature on it, and at least five organisations across two countries that don't explain themselves to each other.

Every figure below comes from the organisation's own pages. Where a page didn't say, I've said so.

Why Does Finding a Talking Books Service Feel Harder Than It Should?

You type "talking books app" into a search bar. Maybe it's for you. Maybe it's for your mum, whose eyes have been getting worse for two years and who has quietly stopped finishing paperbacks.

The first page of results is audiobook stores. Credits, monthly plans, a free trial that wants a card number. Further down there's a charity page with the word "blind" in the first line, and you stop reading, because she isn't. Not in the way the page seems to mean. She can see the shape of the paragraph. She just can't turn it into words without a lamp, a magnifier and ten minutes of squinting that ends in a headache.

So you close the tab. Not for her.

Or it's you. You were the kid who got moved to the other table for reading, and you've spent twenty years working around print with highlighter pens and audio you pay for monthly. "Talking books" sounds like something for people with a real condition. Other people.

Or you got further. You found a sign-up page and it has a line that says certifier, or competent authority. A professional has to sign to say you can't read print properly. You've got a nagging voice asking whether you're allowed. Whether you're taking a place from someone who needs it more. Whether the optician will say "but you can read the chart".

That voice isn't evidence about you. It's what you get when a service is described in the vocabulary of a copyright exception and not in the vocabulary of how reading feels.

Here's the mechanism. The libraries in this post can lend you books that Audible-style stores never will, and they can make accessible copies of books that were never published in an accessible form. They can do that because copyright law allows it for a defined group of readers. The international version is the Marrakesh Treaty, adopted on 27 June 2013 and administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization. It creates "mandatory limitations and exceptions" to copyright for "the blind, visually impaired, and otherwise print disabled," in WIPO's wording.

So the signature on the form is the paperwork the law needs so the library can say this reader is inside the exception. Nobody is grading your eyes.

Call it the print-disability gate. The gate is legal, not medical. A lot of people who'd walk through it never try, because they think it's a test they'd fail.

Bookshare, the largest US collection, defines the category more widely than most people expect: "any condition that makes it difficult or impossible to read standard printed text or text on a screen." It lists learning or processing conditions, vision, and physical conditions, and says an IEP or 504 plan isn't required.

You're probably more eligible than you think. The rest of this post is the map.

What Is a Talking Book, Exactly?

A talking book is a recorded or read-aloud book lent through a library or charity service to someone who qualifies under an accessibility exception. The name is old. The US talking book service began under the Pratt-Smoot Act, which became law on 3 March 1931, according to the Library of Congress.

The format has changed more than the idea. Early talking books were pressed on records. Cassettes took over, and digital cartridges and downloads came later.

That history also explains the other phrase in your search bar. "Books on tape" was a company before it was a category. Duvall Hecht, an Olympic gold medallist, founded Books on Tape in 1975 as a mail-order rental service for unabridged audiobooks on cassette, according to Publishers Weekly's obituary. The name stuck for any recorded book, long after the tapes went.

Today's apps do the same job on a phone. The audio is much the same as a commercial audiobook. The difference is everything around it.

Three different tools, three different jobs. Most confusion comes from using one word for all of them.

Which UK Talking Books Service Fits You?

The UK has two main talking book libraries. They differ on cost, on who they describe, and on how you get the books.

RNIB Talking Books

RNIB's own page says: "Our Talking Books service is absolutely free." Delivery and returns are free too. The library has over 40,000 fiction and non-fiction titles. You can borrow up to six books at a time, with no limit on how many you borrow over a year.

Books arrive as a digital download, on DAISY CD (one book per disc) or on a USB stick (three books per stick). RNIB also says you can get books through an Alexa-enabled device. To sign up, the page tells you to ring the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or email the team. You can also register for the online library.

One thing the page doesn't do is list eligibility criteria. RNIB's announcement of its Alexa skill describes users as people registered for the online library who are blind or partially sighted, or who have an impairment that prevents or limits reading standard print. That announcement is undated, so ask the helpline what applies now.

A separate service, RNIB Bookshare, is aimed at education, for "blind and partially sighted learners and learners with print-related disabilities."

Calibre Audio

Calibre Audio's website says it supports "anyone unable to see, read, or comprehend printed text due to difficulty or inability." It lists dyslexia, visual impairment or blindness, physical dexterity problems such as Parkinson's, arthritis or MND, and brain injury or cognitive impairment.

The cost is stated plainly: "£3 per month or £30 a year." Younger members are free, and so are schools. Pages I found disagree on where the age cut-off falls, so check it on Calibre's site before you sign anyone up. You can stream through My Calibre, download through the Dolphin EasyReader app on iOS and Android, have a memory stick posted to your home, or use Synapptic, specialist software for people with sight loss. The site says "thousands" of audiobooks and doesn't give a precise count.

If the person you're signing up has dyslexia and no eye condition, Calibre is the one whose wording says so outright.

Which US Talking Books Service Fits You?

The US has three main routes. One is a government library, one an ebook library for education and work, and one a human-narrated charity.

NLS and BARD

The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled is part of the Library of Congress. Most services run through a network of cooperating libraries that, in the NLS's words, has grown to more than 90 and serves every state and territory.

The service is free: books and magazines are mailed or available for instant download at no charge. NLS serves US residents and US citizens living abroad who can't read or use regular print because of a visual or physical limitation. Its categories are blindness, visual disability, physical limitation, and "perceptual or reading disability." Temporary disabilities can qualify for temporary service, and honourably discharged veterans with blindness or a print disability get priority.

The form needs a competent authority to certify it. NLS lists doctors of medicine or osteopathy, ophthalmologists, optometrists, registered nurses and therapists. Professional staff at hospitals, institutions or welfare agencies also count, such as educators, social workers, counsellors and librarians. If none of those is available, a professional librarian or another person acceptable to the Library of Congress can certify.

A caution on dyslexia. A 2005 Federal Register notice describes the reading disability category as one resulting from "organic dysfunction," and some state libraries say only certain doctors can certify it. NLS's own page uses broader wording. If dyslexia is your route in, ring NLS on 800-424-8567, the number on its own page, and ask what they accept before you book an appointment.

BARD, the digital download service, gives patrons "hundreds of thousands" of books, magazines and music scores, with "dozens" added each week. You enrol through your network library. The BARD Mobile app is free. NLS patrons can borrow a talking-book player on long-term loan, and NLS says it's running an open beta of an Alexa skill called My Talking Books.

Bookshare

Bookshare says it has over 1.3 million titles. The reading experience is "listen to words read aloud, follow with karaoke-style highlighting, enlarge text, or read in braille." Bookshare Reader is a free app for web browsers, smartphones, tablets and Alexa-enabled speakers.

Cost depends on who you are. Qualified US students join free through an award from the Office of Special Education Programs. The fee for non-student individuals in the US is $79.99 a year, according to Bookshare's help centre, with a one-time discount to $59.99 if you ask for it on grounds of financial need.

For proof of disability, a professional with the right expertise must confirm a qualifying condition. Membership of NLS or Learning Ally "can serve as verification of eligibility," which makes one approved application unlock the others.

Learning Ally

Learning Ally offers 80,000+ human-narrated titles. Its app has human-read audio, highlighting, vocabulary and notes. Its individual membership FAQ lists annual membership with unlimited downloads at $135. Proof of eligibility has to arrive within 30 days of registration, and there's a financial assistance form if the fee is a hardship. The adult programme is for "adults with documented print disabilities."

The services at a glance

Who Signs the Form, and What Happens Next?

For most of these services, someone with professional standing confirms you can't use standard print. For NLS that's the competent authority. For Bookshare it's a professional with the right expertise, and it can be a form sent in by you or by them. For Learning Ally it's proof within 30 days.

The practical order that saves the most time:

1. Pick the service by what you're reading, not by how you feel about the label. Fiction and general books: RNIB, Calibre or NLS. Textbooks and work reading in the US: Bookshare. Narrated educational titles: Learning Ally.
2. Ring before you apply. The RNIB Helpline and the NLS network library line exist to answer "do I count?". It's their job.
3. Find your certifier early. A GP, optometrist, nurse, therapist, teacher or social worker may already know your history. Sorting this first is usually the slow part.
4. Apply once, then reuse the proof. Bookshare accepts NLS or Learning Ally membership as verification.
5. Sort the player. A phone app is enough for most people. NLS and some UK services also post devices, discs or USB sticks if a phone isn't what you want.

These services ask you to show you're within a category.

What About Free Audiobook Apps and Text-to-Speech?

Not everyone qualifies for a talking book service, and not everything you need to read is a book.

Libby, the app from OverDrive, is the closest mainstream equivalent: OverDrive's own page says you can borrow ebooks and audiobooks from your local library for free, and it lends what that library has licensed. There's no eligibility form. The trade-off is the catalogue, which your library chooses, and waiting lists for popular titles.

Then there's everything that isn't in any catalogue. The PDF from your bank. The 40-page report from work. The article someone sent. The email you've read twice without taking it in. No talking book library will record those. That's where text-to-speech does the job.

Alexandria is one tool in that group, and it isn't a talking book service. It has no narrators, no catalogue and no eligibility process. What it does: the free tier reads articles and documents aloud with neural-quality voices, highlights each word as it's spoken, and runs from 0.5x to 5x speed. PDFs are read in Alexandria's web app reader. Alexandria never stores the text it reads aloud. The voices are synthetic, and some people find that tiring over a whole novel. That's the honest reason to keep a talking book membership for books.

For a longer look at reading your own files this way, see how to listen to PDFs and how to listen to your Kindle books. There's also a page on text-to-speech for accessibility covering dyslexia, ADHD and low vision.

What Couldn't I Confirm?

Three things, so you're not caught out.

RNIB's own Talking Books page says it's free and how to sign up, but doesn't list who is eligible. The helpline will answer that.

The RNIB Alexa skill announcement I found is undated, so check the skill still works for you.

Learning Ally's individual price and 30-day proof rule come from its own FAQ and application form. Whether a financial assistance request changes the proof requirement isn't stated, so ask.

Prices change. Treat the figures here as what each organisation's site said when this post was written, and check the page before you pay.

The First Move

If the question was "is this for me, or for my mum?", you've got your answer: probably yes, and the form is the smallest part of it. Pick one number from this post, ring it, and ask the one question that matters: "What do you accept as proof?"

Frequently Asked Questions

Are talking books the same as audiobooks?

No. Audiobooks are commercial products you buy or subscribe to. Talking books are lent by libraries and charities to people who can't easily read print, under copyright exceptions built for that purpose. That is why the catalogue is different, why most services are free or cheap, and why you may need someone to confirm your eligibility.

Do you have to be blind to get talking books?

No. Calibre Audio supports anyone unable to see, read or comprehend printed text, including people with dyslexia, arthritis, Parkinson's or a brain injury. The US National Library Service and Bookshare also cover physical and reading disabilities. Rules differ by service, so check each organisation's own eligibility page.

Are RNIB Talking Books really free?

Yes. RNIB's own page calls its Talking Books service absolutely free, with free delivery and free returns. You can borrow up to six books at a time, with no limit over the year. To sign up, call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or register for the online library.

How much does Calibre Audio cost?

Calibre Audio's website says the service costs £3 per month or £30 a year, and that schools and younger members can use it for free. Check the age cut-off on Calibre's site. You can stream through My Calibre, download through the Dolphin EasyReader app on iOS and Android, or have a memory stick posted to your home.

How do I join the US National Library Service Talking Book program?

Apply online through the NLS enrollment site, or send a printed application to your local network library. A competent authority, such as a doctor, optometrist, nurse, therapist or professional agency staff member, must certify it. The service is free. Call NLS on 800-424-8567 to find your local library.

What is the difference between Bookshare and Learning Ally?

Bookshare lends accessible ebooks with read-aloud and highlighting, over 1.3 million titles, and costs US adults $79.99 a year (free for qualified US students). Learning Ally offers over 80,000 human-narrated titles and lists an individual membership at $135 a year. Both ask for proof of a qualifying disability.

Is there a talking books app?

Yes, several. NLS patrons use the free BARD Mobile app. Calibre uses Dolphin EasyReader. Bookshare has a free Bookshare Reader app, and Learning Ally has its own. RNIB offers digital download and an Alexa skill. You need to be a member of the service first.

Can text-to-speech replace a talking books service?

Not fully. Text-to-speech can read almost any web page or document, but a synthetic voice is not a trained narrator, and it can't give you a library's catalogue of recently published books. Many people use both: a talking book service for books, and text-to-speech for everything else they have to read.