Southwest Georgia Library for Accessible Services Serving 22 counties in southwest georgia

What is SWGLAS? The only subregional library in the state of Georgia Outreach advisory center Houses a large collection of recorded materials for patrons who are blind or physically handicapped All materials mailed free of charge

SWGLAS covers the 22 counties in blue. The rest of the state is served by Atlanta.

Who do we serve? Baker Lee Brooks Lowndes Calhoun Miller Clay Mitchell Colquitt Quitman Decatur Randolph Dougherty Seminole Early Terrell Echols Thomas Grady Webster Lanier Worth

Eligibility You are eligible for this program if you: Are legally blind 20/200 or less in better eye with correcting lenses Cannot see well enough to read standard print Are unable to handle print books or turn pages because of a physical handicap Are certified by a medical doctor as having a reading disability due to an organic dysfunction (i.e., dyslexia)

How does it work? Materials are delivered to your home Once you receive the materials, flip the index card over on the materials to return them All materials check out for 30 days Completely FREE

Competent Authority Need signature of a competent authority In cases of blindness, visual impairment, or physical limitations: Doctors of medicine Doctors of osteopathy Ophthalmologists Optometrists Registered nurses Therapists Professional staff of hospitals, institutions, and public or private welfare agencies: Social workers Case workers Counselors Rehabilitation Teachers Superintendents In the absence of any of these, certification may be made by professional librarians. In the case of a reading disability due to an organic dysfunction: Doctors of medicine Doctors of osteopathy

Types of Materials Popular Materials: Free Bibles available Including: Best-sellers Biographies Children’s Books Classics Foreign Language Materials Mysteries Religious Romance Science Fiction Free Bibles available Materials are available in recorded format only

Over 70 magazines are available for subscriptions, including: Additional Materials Over 70 magazines are available for subscriptions, including: Consumer Reports Ebony Good Housekeeping Jack & Jill National Geographic Newsweek Sports Illustrated Magazines are available in Braille and Downloadable formats Independent living catalogs and displays

Newsline Read newspapers via the telephone Can subscribe by contacting SWGLAS Newspapers include: Atlanta Journal – Constitution Macon Telegraph New York Times Tallahassee Democrat USA Today Wall Street Journal

Bookshare Bookshare is available for free to all GLASS patrons Accessible Online Library Has over 455,000 accessible titles Provides multiple ways to customize your reading experience http://georgialibraries.org/glass/bookshare/

Deposit Collections Available Talking books are available as a Deposit Collection Deposit collections are placed at: Assisted Living Facilities Nursing Homes Public Libraries Schools Senior Centers A Typical Deposit Collection

Finding Materials Search our catalog at webopac.klas.com/glass Contact us to receive materials: Telephone: 229-248-2680 (Local) or 1-800-795-2680 (Toll Free) Email: lbph@swgrl.org Mail: 301 S. Monroe St. Bainbridge, GA 39819 To reserve materials online: Call us to receive log-in information

Digital Players USB Flash Cartridges One cartridge per book Over 17 hours of battery life As of December 31, 2016, books recorded on cassette (RC) are no longer circulating. Cassette players and books on cassette can be returned when patrons are done using them Contact SWGLAS for information on how to return cassette players

Download Digital Books with BARD Computer Mobile Devices Braille and Audio Reading Download Users must fill out an application to use BARD For application: www.swgrl.org/swglas BARD books can be downloaded using a computer Books cannot be played on the computer Download books to a flash drive or cartridge BARD has a mobile app! The app is available on the following devices: iPhone iPad iPod Touch iOS 4.3 or later Android 4.1 or later Kindle Fire 2nd Generation or later

Special Equipment Vision Simulator Goggles Prints materials into Braille

Special Equipment Magnilink S Magnilink Voice Mobilux Digital Touch HDS Magnilink S Magnilink Voice Video magnifier for use with a computer for reading and viewing material Portable, text-to-speech machine Handheld digital magnifier that can display with reverse contrast

Special Equipment Screen Reading Software Optelec 20/20 + Perkins Brailler Check your local library for availability Reads printed material on a computer screen Enlarges materials placed underneath it by projecting on a screen Can enlarge up to 60 times its normal size A Braille typewriter Braille –N- Print Slimline

How to Apply Obtain an application form: Call us E-mail us Visit us in person Visit your public library Download a form from our website

Outreach Opportunities Churches Senior Centers Caregiver groups Institutions Agencies such as DFACS Health Departments Informal talks Newspaper articles Television interviews Library displays Demonstrations

By the Numbers Counties we serve: 22 Service Population: 525,306 Over 8,600.4 square miles Population per square mile: 56.8 Service Population: 525,306 1.4% eligible for service 7,354 eligible for service 40% of eligible population being served as of December 2016 Number of active patrons: 2,962 Number of materials checked out in 2016: 5,950 Year we opened for service: 1974

Contact Us Visit us in person! Call us! E-mail us! Visit us online! 301 S. Monroe Street, Bainbridge, Georgia 39819 Call us! 229-248-2680 OR 1-800-795-2680 E-mail us! lbph@swgrl.org Visit us online! www.swgrl.org/swglas Receive our monthly newsletter for all the latest news! Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SWGLAS/