Tactile and Audio Books

Accessible Books Consortium (ABC):
The ABC catalogue is unique in the global market, with titles in 76 languages. A majority of its titles are high-quality, humanly-narrated audiobooks. Of ABC’s catalogue of 424,000 accessible titles, over 320,000 titles are available for cross-border exchange without the need to request authorization from the copyright owner, covering the countries that have ratified, and implemented, the provisions of the Marrakesh Treaty. Download here a Word document outlining the steps and contact details for how organisations and individuals may access the ABC titles from countries that have and those that haven’t ratified the WIPO Marrakesh Treaty, as well as information about the range of ABC support services.
dAp Dots:
is a collection of Braille books that help with learning and understanding the basics of the UEB Braille code. They are designed to provide an effective foundation to Braille literacy for parents and children. dAp Dots benefits children, parents and teachers. The resources are available for purchase as digital files to download. You can use these files to produce your own embossed or swell paper versions. Developed by Tricia d’Apice (Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children).
Feelix Library:
is Vision Australia’s national story box library for children with a vision impairment. Each kit contains the original picture storybook annotated with braille, an audio CD or tape of the story, some tactual aids to help the child enter the world of the story and a little handbook with tactile graphics so that children can tell the story to themselves or others.
Free online books:
A collection of websites with free online textbooks, audio books and full-text works of fiction and nonfiction for students. Collected by Stumble Upon, for students seeking money-saving resources.
Learning Ally:
Learning Ally (in the US) is a non-profit dedicated to helping blind, visually impaired and dyslexic students succeed in education. The website offers a large collection of audio textbooks (human voices) and literature, as well as solutions, support and community for parents, teachers and students.
Mandeville's Book of Sports:
Specially designed book to introduce young braille readers to the nine Paralympic sports open to blind athletes by the ClearVision children's braille library with help from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012. ClearVision has been authorised to share the digital files for this book with schools, libraries and associations for blind people all over the world. Any copies you make should be given away or lent out to braille readers; they must not be sold. Contact ClearVision: info@clearvisionproject.org if you would like to make copies of this book, free of charge, using your own embosser or swell paper fuser.
MP3 stories:
Free recordings of children's stories, for children who are blind, aged 4 to 10 years. “Pay-it-forward” schoolproject by students of Eden College, Durban (South Africa), involving reading and recording stories using mobile phones as recording devices. Every day a few more stories, received from around the world (including read by by adults), are uploaded to the website.
National Library for the Blind in the UK:
Braille books and accessible reading for people with vision impairment (UK)
Queensland Narrating Service offers an online audio book library service for individuals with a print disability only. Online audio books can be accessed with mainstream devices such as Tablets and Smartphones eg iPhone, iPad etc. To become a member, please email qns@qns.net.au with your expression of interest and you will be provided with login access to the website to enable you to gain access to the restricted access audio book catalogue. QNS also offers individuals an On Demand service, which caters specifically for individual needs. Contact phone number: (07) 3324 0004.
Seedlings Braille Books for Children:
Non-profit organisation in the US creating and selling online low-cost children's books in braille that can be ordered from and sent all around the world.
Storynory:
Weekly growing collection of free audio stories. Original stories, fairytales, verse and stories from around the world. There is also a large choice in educational stories and stories to support English language students. Read by professional actors. Easily transferable onto portable audio players (use iTunes).
Tactile books website:
provides advice and information for everyone about designing, producing, using, buying and borrowing tactile books. Guidelines for publishers, authors and illustrators of children's books.
Tactile Pictures Book Project: Download and print your own copies of the Tactile Picture Book's versions of "Dear Zoo", "Harold and the purple crayon" and "Goodnight Moon", or contact the Tactile Pictures Books web site to request a free, customizable tactile picture book.
Tactual books and games:
Tips by Statewide Vision Resource Centre (SVRC) in Victoria, Australia on how to create fun and educational resources for tactual learning with a little creativity and some cheap materials.
The Braille Bookstore:
(Canada) stocks over a thousand books in Braille for all ages and interests. Also toys and (Braille) games and some audio books.
Typhlo and Tactus:
Organisation aiming to increase the quantity, quality and availability of books with tactile illustrations for young children with little or no sight. Biennial international tactile illustrated book prize competition. Website offers guidelines for making tactile books, a guide to children’s books with tactile illustrations and examples of winning entries of previous competitions.
Visability Digital talking book library
VisAbility’s Online Library Catalogue is the largest digital library catering for individuals with print disability. With more than 70,000 book titles in the catalogue, borrowers from around the world can search the collection, download titles (restrictions apply to copyrighted titles) and lodge requests for existing or new titles to be converted into accessible formats (DAISY and Braille). Formerly the Dr Geoff Gallop Digital Library.