Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities311Search all NYC.gov websites
Disability-Specific Resources
Books, Braille and Technology
Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library
This barrier-free branch of the New York City Public Library provides comfortable reading rooms, large collections of specially-formatted materials, audio playback equipment for listening to recorded books and magazines, and a variety of other electronic reading aids. The Library has a children's room and a meeting room for concerts, lectures, and other special events. Also operates an extensive mailing program that delivers thousands of recorded and Braille books a day. The books are shipped free of charge, as part of a federal program established by the Library of Congress.
40 W. 20th Street
New York, NY 10012-4211
- Phone: 212-206-5400
- 24-hour answering machine: 212-206-5425
- TTY: 212-206-5458
- Fax: 212-206-5418
Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library Website
Be My Eyes
Be My Eyes is a free mobile app with one main goal: to make the world more accessible for blind and low-vision people. The app connects blind and low-vision individuals with sighted volunteers and companies from all over the world through a live video call. Be My Eyes is available for download on smart devices such as iPhones and Androids. When users make a Be My Eyes call, they can receive Specialized Help from official company representatives such as Microsoft. Be My Eyes also offers a variety of corporate solutions besides Specialized Help, including Be My Eyes for Work, Corporate Volunteering, Be My Eyes Experiences, and Be My Eyes Careers. To find out more, visit the Be My Eyes website.
Email: info@bemyeyes.com
Website: www.bemyeyes.com
CCVIP at Helen Keller Services
Helen Keller Services for the Blind
The mission of the CCVIP is to increase the freedom, independence, and productivity of people who are blind or low vision through the power of digital technology. This is accomplished through training, applied research, product testing and development, and community awareness initiatives.
180 Livingston Street, 2nd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: 718 522-2122 ext.2716
Email: ccvip@helenkeller.org
Website: www.helenkeller.org/hksb
Bookshare
Bookshare® is the world's largest accessible online library for people with print disabilities. More than 425,000 people in 70 countries have access to Bookshare's collection of 548,501 titles. More than 820 U.S. and international publishers contribute to our social mission by donating their digital files, making it possible for Bookshare to serve users around the world and ensuring that content is available to people with print disabilities at the same time as their peers. Bookshare is free for students in the United States. Readers can access their books on their computers, smart phones and tablets.
NFB-Newsline
A free service available to anyone who is blind, visually impaired, or print-disabled. It offers over 400 publications to choose from, including ten national newspapers, fourteen international newspapers, as well as fifty magazines. NFB-NEWSLINE also offers emergency weather alerts and seven day forecasts, job listings, TV listings, retail ads and more. There are a number of access methods including touch-tone telephone, a free mobile app for iOS, on Demand emails, a secure website, and a variety of portable players including the NLS Talking Book player and Victor Reader Stream 2nd Generation.
- 866-504-7300
- Sign up for NFB Newsline
- NFB Newsline Website
Learning Ally
A national non-profit dedicated to helping students with print disabilities, including blindness, visual impairment and dyslexia. Learning Ally improves the way students learn at home and in the classroom by providing audio and DAISY books in accessible formats.
AppleVis
A community-powered website for blind and low-vision users of Apple's range of Mac computers, the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV and Apple Watch.
AppleVis strives to empower the community by offering multiple pathways to access and share relevant and useful information. As a community, we seek to encourage and support people in exploring the many ways in which Apple products and related applications can offer opportunities to the vision-impaired for personal enrichment, independence and empowerment
Cool Blind Tech
CoolBlindTech.com is among the most popular assistive technology news sites in the world. It is the go-to source for professionals, influencers and gadget enthusiasts looking for the latest in assistive tech, product reviews, industry analyses and more.