Borrowing

Digital audiobooks and magazines, large print books, braille books, and audio-described DVD movies can be requested or accessed in a variety of ways:

  • By telephone by calling 800-242-0586 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, to discuss materials and services with a Reader Advisor and to request a shipment
  • By using the BARD app to download materials to a reader’s smart device
  • By email at info@mylamp.org
  • Through the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC)
  • By mail or in person at LAMP, 4724 Baum Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 or LAMP 1500 Spring Garden Street, Suite 230, Philadelphia, PA 19130

Braille books, magazines, and Digital Download on Demand (DoD) can be requested or accessed:

  • By telephone by calling 800-222-1754 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, to discuss materials and services with a Reader Advisor and to request a shipment or pick-up service
  • By downloading from the BARD app to be read through a refreshable braille device
  • By email at flpblind@freelibrary.org
  • By mail or in person at Free Library of Philadelphia Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, 1500 Spring Garden Street, Suite 230, Philadelphia, PA 19130
  • In-person DoD pick-up call 215-683-3213

Reading materials are provided in different formats:

  • Digital audiobooks can be delivered as multiple titles loaded by library staff onto digital flash drive cartridges using reading preferences supplied by the patron. These are mailed from the library to the individual and back again postage-free using the U.S. Postal Service’s Free Matter for the Blind mailing privilege, upon receipt of which the library will send out another shipment of titles to the patron.
  • Digital audiobook titles can be downloaded directly onto a patron’s personal device, such as smartphones and tablets, using a free BARD app that gives access to digital audiobook files. This is done by the individual with no intervention by staff.
  • Digital magazines are downloaded onto cartridges on a monthly basis and are sent and returned in the same manner as the digital audiobooks, or can be accessed as downloads to the patron’s personal device.
  • Large print books and audio-described DVD movies are mailed out in zippered cloth mailing bags that are also sent and returned postage-free.
  • In-person DoD for pick-up for magazines and books on cartridge please call 215-683-3213.
  • Braille books and magazines are mailed postage-free in boxes, or are downloaded from BARD onto a smart device that links through Bluetooth to a refreshable Braille device to provide access to information by electronically raising and lowering different combinations of pins in Braille cells.