Wolfner Library Can Help Your Eligible Students
What is Wolfner Library?
Wolfner Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped is the public library for residents of Missouri who are blind or visually impaired, or have physical disabilities which prevent them from using standard print. This includes people who have reading disabilities caused by an organic dysfunction and of sufficient severity to prevent their reading printed material in a normal manner.
Who administers Wolfner Library?
Wolfner Library is a regional library of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), a federal agency under the Library of Congress. NLS provides the equipment and most of the books Wolfner Library loans to users, and Wolfner Library must abide by the federal regulations governing their use.
Wolfner Library is also a division of the Missouri State Library under the Office of the Secretary of State of Missouri. The library is located in the James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Center in Jefferson City, Missouri.
What types of books does Wolfner Library have?
Wolfner Library has a variety of popular fiction, classics, and nonfiction, with one important difference. The books in Wolfner’s collection are braille, recorded cassette, and large print. Recorded cassettes comprise the greatest proportion of the collection. Each book is the complete, unabridged edition.
Can my students play Wolfner Library cassettes on any tape player?
Although the cassettes look like “regular” cassettes, they have four tracks instead of two and are recorded at a different tape speed. They cannot be played on a regular two-track tape player. Wolfner Library provides playback machines on indefinite loan to eligible individuals and institutions at no charge as long as they borrow Wolfner Library books every year.
What types of braille books can Wolfner provide?
In addition to “regular” braille books, the collection includes some print/braille titles. A print/braille book includes not only the braille, but also the illustrations and the text of the story in standard print. Most print/braille books are picture books into which translucent pages of braille have been inserted to overlay the corresponding text of the story. Some print/braille books have clear plastic brailled labels affixed directly to the pages of the picture book. Print/braille books make it easy and fun for a person who is sighted and a person who is blind to share a story.
What is in the large print collection?
Large print is not part of the National Library Service program. Wolfner Library has only a small collection of large print. The titles in this collection are for children and teens.
How do I get Wolfner Library service for my students?
A school must register as an institution to receive service for eligible students. This is done by completing and returning the Application for Free Library Service: Institutions. Registration is a one-time procedure for institutions and individuals. Once registered, a school is retained in the Wolfner Library patron database virtually forever, even if years pass between periods of active use. A school must complete the Annual Student Listing form every year.
What is the Annual Student Listing form?
It is a form on which the school lists the name of every student who will be using Wolfner Library equipment and books at school. Wolfner staff check the names on the form against the library’s patron database. Any student who is not already registered as an individual with Wolfner Library must be registered as an individual before she or he can use Wolfner Library equipment or books at school. The individual application is on the Wolfner Library web site, or we can mail applications to you.
Can eligible students also receive service at home?
Yes. All registered students are eligible for home service and are encouraged to have a machine and books at home. Equipment and books loaned to students for use at home are checked out on their personal accounts, are delivered directly to their homes, and are the responsibility of their parents. If the parents decline to have home service, the student may still have school service.
How do I get an application and a student listing form?
These forms are on the Wolfner Library web site at www.sos.mo.gov/wolfner/schoolservices.asp or phone Wolfner Library toll-free at 800-392-2614.
May I register my school and students in the middle of the school year?
Yes. New registrations are accepted throughout the year.
How do I let Wolfner Library know my students need service the next year?
To reactivate service for a new school year, simply complete the Annual Student Listing form as soon as school begins again and mail it to Wolfner Library. The form must be mailed, with original signatures, not faxed.
How do I order books for my students?
You may surface mail, e-mail, or fax a list of books to the Youth Services Librarian. Short lists may be ordered over the telephone. You may also request books via the online catalog.
How are books and equipment delivered to my school, and how do I return them?
Books and equipment travel through the United States mail as free matter mail. No postage is required. Free matter mail does not necessarily travel as quickly as first class mail, so allow at least a week to 10 days when ordering books, if possible.
What is the charge for this service?
There is no charge to institutions or individuals for Wolfner Library service.
For more information, contact Nancy Doering, Youth Services Librarian, Wolfner Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, (800) 392-2614.