by Roy Taylor, Community News Reporter

A new reference service is being offered for senior citizens and individuals with vision impairments and is now available through the Bloomington and Normal public libraries.

The service allows information from magazines, encyclopedias, and reference books to be reproduced in large print or Braille.

Sylvia Brandow, director of Extension Services at Bloomington Public Library, said the new program is being offered through the Heart of Illinois Taking Book Center, located in Pekin, and is an expansion of an already existing service. According to Brandow, the Talking Book Center has been providing a books-on-tape service for quite some time. Any resident who is vision impaired may obtain a special tape player through either library that plays books that have been tape-recorded. The player may be rented free for an indefinite time period.

Sandy Bush, director of Extension Services at Normal Public Library, described the ease of obtaining materials. An individual with a vision impairment may want a magazine article or encyclopedia listing transferred into large type for their own use. The individual can bring the article to either library, and from there it will be mailed to the Talking Book Center for conversion to large type or Braille. The finished piece is then mailed back to the library “within two weeks,” Bush said.

The new service is for “reference-type information only,” Brandow said. While personal documents will not be enlarged through the service, other examples of materials that can be enlarged are vacation brochures and Physician’s Desk Reference listings. “This is especially beneficial for senior citizens,” Brandow said. An individual may desire information on side effects of medications they’re using, and this is a way they can obtain it in an easy-to-read format.