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Arizona Talking Book Library

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Arizona Talking Book Library

Since 1970, Arizona Talking Book Library has been a Regional Library of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress.

https://www.loc.gov/nls/ Arizona Talking Book Library provides books, magazines and other library resources in alternate formats for all Arizona residents whose visual, physical or reading disabilities prevent the reading of conventional print materials. Our lending library includes audio books and magazines; movies with audio descriptions; and Braille books and magazines by postage free mail. Other resources include: BARD: Braille and Audio Reading Download website; Newsline: Audio newspapers over the phone, online and on mobile devices; Greater Phoenix Digital Library: Downloadable eBooks, audio books, music and more.

03/20/2026

Today, March 20th, is the first day of spring! The warmer-than-usual spring temperatures we have been having are a perfect excuse to stay inside and spring into a new read!

We all notice the flowers of spring, longer days of summer, colors of autumn, and snowfalls of winter. But have you observed the way that water tends to run clearest in June? And have you seen the poetic "shadow compasses" butterflies make on the hottest days, as they align their wings with the sun, their thin shadows pointing the way north? The sun, moon, stars, plants, fungi, animals, water, and weather all tell us secrets about the seasons -- if we know how to read their clues.

In The Hidden Seasons: A Calendar of Nature’s Clues (DB 133730), Tristan Gooley reimagines the seasonal calendar not as four distinct phases but as a series of changes evolving moment by moment every day of the year. Each granular shift is an extraordinary microseason you won't want to miss. It's time to get out there and explore -- the seasons will never look, sound, or smell the same again.

Find this title on BARD or request it from your librarian today!

To learn more about us and the services we offer, call us at 602-255-5578 or visit azlibrary.gov/tbl

03/18/2026

Did you know that March is National Brain Injury Awareness Month?

Brain Injury Awareness Month was developed to increase public knowledge about the consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI), as well as to provide education about preventing brain injuries and promoting services to assist people who have experienced a TBI.

If you or someone you know has developed a temporary or permanent print disability after a TBI, you qualify for our free services! We provide free audio and braille materials to any Arizonan that cannot read standard print due to physical disabilities, reading disabilities, low vision, or blindness.

To learn more about us and the services we offer, call us at 602-255-5578 or visit azlibrary.gov/tbl

03/16/2026

Have you tried the newest piece of tech to access your audiobooks?

The new Digital Advanced (DA2) Player, which the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) rolled out at the end of 2025, combines the tried and true format of the digital talking book player with the convenience of modern technology.

The DA2 offers built-in Wi-Fi for connecting to BARD, Bluetooth connectivity, 28GB internal storage, embedded Text-to-Speech (TTS) engine with TTS voice options, buttons with high-contrast color, braille and print labels for keypad controls, sleep timer, built-in audio instructions, bookshelf feature and audio playback from NLS cartridges and USB thumb drives.

If you are a current patron and this sounds like the machine for you, or if you are interested in learning more about our services and how to get started, call us at 602-255-5578 or visit azlibrary.gov/tbl

03/12/2026

The topic for the Thursday, March 12, 2026, Many Faces of BARD program presented by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) will be Automatic Downloading on the DA2. After a presentation and demonstration, NLS will take your questions about all things BARD for the remainder of the hour.

The program will begin at 7 p.m. eastern time and last for one hour. NLS will record this program. For more information about this event or to review past programming, please go to www.loc.gov/nls/news-and-updates/many-faces-of-bard.

03/08/2026

Today, March 8th, is International Women's Day! This holiday celebrates the women's rights movement and the history and accomplishments of women around the world. And what better way to celebrate this holiday than with a good book?

Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History by Keith O'Brien (DB 92057 or BR 22404) - An account of how a group of female pilots banded together to fight for the chance to compete in airplane racing, a hugely popular sport in the years between WWI and WWII. Profiles five talented pilots, including Amelia Earhart, and the competition and camaraderie they shared.

When We Spoke to the Dead: How Ghosts Gave American Women Their Voice by Ilise S. Carter ( DB 134191) - In the 1840s, the Fox Sisters -- and the legions of mediums they inspired -- ignited the Spiritualist movement that swept through Victorian parlors and presidential campaigns alike. Séances attracted suffragists and scientists, skeptics and charlatans, giving women a voice in a society that often refused to hear them. But as Spiritualism surged, it also blurred the lines between faith, fraud, feminism, and financial opportunity, drawing figures as varied as Harry Houdini, Victoria Woodhull, and even modern self-help gurus into its ever-expanding orbit. When We Spoke to the Dead unearths the forgotten roots of today's obsession with manifestation, mysticism, and the power of belief.

Find these titles on BARD or request them from your librarian today!

To learn more about us and the services we offer, call us at 602-255-5578 or visit azlibrary.gov/talkingbooks

02/27/2026

For National Retro Day, we're taking it back to the early days of talking book history!

Did you know that before the modern convenience of the BARD app or the digital talking book player, patrons received their books on record, or later on cassette tape? These photos of our old record and cassette players are a great blast from the past, and shows how far we have come in ensuring That All May Read.

To learn more about the history of these machines, and the history of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, visit https://www.loc.gov/nls/who-we-are/history/

And if you are more interested in how our modern options could work for you, call us at 602-255-5578 or visit azlibrary.gov/tbl

02/13/2026

Are you looking for Valentine's Day cards to send to someone special in your life? Look no farther than our Arizona Talking Book Library Valentine's Day cards! Whether you like audiobooks, braille books, or a good trip to the museum, we have a card for everyone!

And if you're looking for a romantic Valentine's Day read, or if you want to learn more about our services and how they could brighten up your Valentine's Day, call us at 602-255-5578 or visit azlibrary.gov/tbl

02/12/2026

We will be closed on Monday, February 16th, in observance of President's Day. We will resume normal business operations at 8 AM on Tuesday, February 17th.

While we may be closed on Monday, our website is available 24/7! To learn more about us and the services we offer, visit azlibrary.gov/talkingbooks

02/06/2026

This Sunday, February 8, is Super Bowl LX! This showdown between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots is sure to be an exciting match - who will you be rooting for? Tell us in the comments below!

If you want to prepare for the game with a little bit of football history, check out Why We Love Football: A History in 100 Moments by Joe Posnanski (DB124308), which is a moving celebration of the history of American football.

But if the halftime show is more your style, check out ¿Quién es Bad Bunny? by G. M. Taboas Zayas (DB 123000) . Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, is one of today’s most popular artists. Breaking language barriers, Bad Bunny is now one of the top streamed artists internationally on Spotify. Bad Bunny is just getting started with his music takeover, having won 3 Grammys and 10 Billboard Music Awards. Not only that, Bad Bunny is heavily involved in activism spaces and even wrestles professionally! Learn more about Bad Bunny and his diverse career in this illustrated biography for young readers. For grades 3-6. Spanish language.

Find these titles on BARD or request them from your librarian today!

For more information about us or the services we offer, call us at 602-255-5578 or visit azlibrary.gov/tbl

02/03/2026

February is Black History Month! Join us in celebrating the achievements and contributions of Black Americans to US history by finding these titles on BARD or requesting them from your librarian today!

Cathy Williams: From Slave to Female Buffalo Soldier by Phillip Thomas Tucker (DB 59297) - Post-Civil War Missouri. Account of buffalo soldier Cathy Williams, purportedly the first African American woman disguising herself as a man to serve in the U.S. military. Prize-winning historian traces Williams's escape from slavery, civilian employment as Army laundress, 1866 enlistment, and ultimate independence as a businesswoman.

Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue by Adrian Miller (DB 108776) - In Black Smoke, Miller chronicles how Black barbecuers, pitmasters, and restauranteurs helped develop this cornerstone of American foodways and how they are coming into their own today. It's a smoke-filled story of Black perseverance, culinary innovation, and entrepreneurship. Though often pushed to the margins, African Americans have enriched a barbecue culture that has come to be embraced by all. Miller celebrates and restores the faces and stories of the men and women who have influenced this American cuisine. This beautifully illustrated chronicle also features 22 barbecue recipes collected just for this book.

For more information about us and the services we offer, call us at 602-255-5578 or visit azlibrary.gov/tbl

01/16/2026

Monday, January 19th, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day! This holiday celebrates the life and legacy of King Jr., who made great contributions to the Civil Rights Movement.

We will be be closed for the holiday, and normal business hours will resume on January 20th.

If you would like to learn more about his legacy, check out King: A Life by Jonathan Eig (DB 115189). In this revelatory new portrait of the preacher and activist who shook the world, the bestselling biographer gives us an intimate view of the courageous and often emotionally troubled human being who demanded peaceful protest for his movement but was rarely at peace with himself. As he follows MLK from the classroom to the pulpit to the streets of Birmingham, Selma, and Memphis, Eig dramatically re-creates the journey of a man who recast American race relations and became our only modern-day founding father―as well as the nation’s most mourned martyr.

For more information about us or the services we offer, call us at 602-255-5578 or visit our website at azlibrary.gov/talkingbooks

01/15/2026

Winter weather is cold, so why not read an audiobook that brings the heat?

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid (DB 118107), which has recently premiered as a TV show, follows rival hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that. Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option…

Before you binge the TV show, find this title on BARD or request it from your librarian today!

For more information about us and the services we offer, call us at 602-255-5578 or visit azlibrary.gov/talkingbooks

Address

1030 N 32nd Street
Phoenix, AZ
85008

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm

Website

https://azlibrary.gov/talkingbooks

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