Summer Reading at New York Libraries

Many of us would like to welcome more visitors with blindness or low vision (B/LV) to our museums, libraries, and events. Here you will find a list of
best practices compiled from several sources (included with the additional resources) to help museums and libraries become more inclusive in our public engagement.

This is a toolkit from Big Astronomy. Big Astronomy is a multifaceted research and outreach project supported by several partners and funded by the National Science Foundation. The toolkit features information on how to make programs accessible for audiences who are blind or have low-vision.

Esta es la versión en español de un kit de herramientas de Big Astronomy. Big Astronomy es un proyecto de investigación y divulgación multifacético respaldado por varios socios y financiado por la Fundación Nacional de Ciencias. El kit de herramientas presenta información sobre cómo hacer que los programas sean accesibles para audiencias ciegas y con baja visión.

This is a list of eclipse-related activities for patrons to use either at home or during an eclipse-related program. Accessibility options for some of these activities are detailed inside.

The Eclipse Soundscapes Project is a NASA Citizen Science project funded by NASA Science Activation that is studying how eclipses affect life on Earth. Some evidence shows that animals and insects react to solar eclipses. Eclipse Soundscapes is collecting observations and sound data from the October 14, 2023 annular eclipse and the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse and analyzing that data in 2024 and 2025. Soundscape has developed an app for your smartphone that uses audio description and haptic techniques to convey information about the eclipse. Eclipse Soundscapes can be downloaded on your smartphone or on your computer as an mp3 file.

The LightSound Project began in 2017 as a way to make solar eclipses accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision. LightSound is a low-cost, smartphone-size device that uses Arduino technology to convert light intensity to sound, giving BLV people another way to engage with an eclipse.

This is a Youtube video hosted by the NASA Night Sky Network explaining the Big Astronomy toolkit and manual.

The New York State Talking Book and Braille Library is a free library service for eligible residents of the 55 Upstate upstate New York who are unable to use standard print materials due to a visual, physical, or reading disability. The TBBL collection includes print Braille books, and fiction and nonfiction audio and braille books, with over 70 magazine subscriptions available as well.

The Andrew Heiskell Library provides talking books and magazines and braille for people who are blind, visually impaired, or are otherwise physically unable to read standard print. The library serves residents who live in New York City and Long Island.

The National Library Service administers a free library program of braille and recorded materials circulated to eligible borrowers through a network of cooperating libraries. This site includes a list of regional libraries where you can search for available braille and audio books.