For sighted people, some of our most prized posessions may be our books. For students with vision impairments who cannot access regular print materials, the opportunity to browse for and own books in an accessible format - audio, braille, e-text, large print - may be more limited.
Educational materials are generally produced in alternative format for students with vision impairments by production departments such as the Statewide Vision Resource Centre. Due to copyright restrictions, many production agencies may only supply materials to libraries, or make materials available for nominated students on loan. For information on recent changes to the copyright laws click here.
Note: Bookshops are selling an increasing range of high quality commercially produced large print books (N16-N18) and books on audio tape/CD.
For more information about materials in alternative format and more sources of e-text to download for free, see also: Curriculum Access: Electronic Texts (E-texts).
| Title and Supplier |
Format |
Comments |
| ABC Shop ABC Shop |
Audio CD | Available for purchase 300+ titles |
| Amazon Amazon |
Audio CD | Available for purchase Titles for children and adults |
| American Action Fund for
Blind Children and Adults AAFBCA |
Braille | Free books in braille - sent each month Series include Animorphs, Babysitter Club, Goosebumps, Little House chapter books etc |
| Audible.com Audible.com |
E-text MP3 |
Individual titles can be downloaded US$19.95 per month allows download of 2 audio books per month Newspaper subscriptions also available |
| Audio Books Direct Audio Books Direct |
Audio CD MP3 |
Purchase from thousands of titles |
| Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble |
Audio CD | Available for purchase Titles for children and adults |
| Bolinda Bolinda |
Audio CD Large print |
Available for purchase Titles for children and adults |
| BlindCoolTech BlindCoolTech |
Audio files | Free download of mp3 files which can be played on mp3 player, computer,
BrailleNote etc Includes music, tech reviews, stories etc |
| ChildrenStory.com |
E-text Voice output |
Free download Stories for children - fairy stories, nursery rhymes, interactive stories, holiday stories Some have text only, some can be heard using RealPlayer Simple site to navigate |
| Deklin's Domain Deklin's Domain |
Audio files | Audiobooks on CD in MP3 format - titles for children and adults |
| Free Books Free Books |
MP3 | Many titles available free to download Mainly public domain titles |
| Hear A Book Hear A Book Service |
Audio books | 11,000 titles Searchable web-based database |
| HearTheBook HearTheBook.com |
Voice MP3 |
Some titles free download; some titles for purchase Listen to books online - Real Audio or Windows Media format |
| Heinemann/Rigby Rigby Heinemann Australia |
CD | Many text books available for purchase as pdf files Often cheaper than the printed book |
| Information Library Services Information Library Services |
Audio CD, braille, DAISY | Member access to library resources |
| Jacaranda Jacaranda Press |
CD | Many text books available for purchase as pdf files Often cheaper than the printed book |
| LibriVox LibriVox |
Audio files | Free audio versions of public domain titles |
| Louis Braille Audio Louis Braille Audio |
Audio CD | Unabridged Australian audio books narrated by professional actors available
for purchase Adult fiction and non-fiction including many VCE titles |
| Macmillan Macmillan |
CD | Many text books available for purchase as pdf files Often cheaper than the printed book |
| OverDrive: Digital Media Locator OverDrive |
E-text | Access audio books, e-books, music and video from libraries of which you are a member |
| Project Gutenberg |
E-text and audio books | Free download of public domain titles eg Shakespeare, Austin, Dickens
etc Can access text files via your computer using large print, voice or refreshable braille or send to printer or embosser |
| Random House Random House |
Audio and ebook | Available for purchase Titles for children and adults |
ReadPrint |
E-text | Public domain titles available for download |
| Soundbooks SoundBooks |
Audio CD | Australian site: audio books available for purchase Includes: classical literature, science fiction, fantasy, general fiction, business & self-help, mystery, crime, & suspense, horror & thriller, romance, westerns, children’s books |
| SoundsGood.com SoundsGood.com |
Audio books | Audio books, newspapers and broadcasts by subscription |
| Study Guides for VCE Books Helen McAlley |
Audio CD | Available for purchase Study guides on 60 minute audio tape eg Angela's Ashes, The Handmaid's Tale etc 60 titles Includes character development, issues etc |
| The Braille Superstore Braille Bookstore |
Braille | Available for purchase |
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