BARD (Braille And Audio Reading Download)

BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) is a national service provided by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS). The service is administered locally by Talking Books Library. Through BARD, Talking Books Library members may download books to play on their NLS digital machines and other authorized machines. Currently BARD offers thousands of titles.

You must be a Talking Books Library member in order to have a BARD account. 

BARD 2.0 Offers New Features for Patrons

BARD, the NLS Braille and Audio Reading Download website, now offers expanded functionality and will serve as a gateway to exciting new services in the future. We are pleased to announce that if you use BARD on the web, you will have access to BARD 2. If you’re not a BARD user, this is your chance to sign up for the service and get instant access to hundreds of thousands of audio and braille books and magazines for reading with an NLS digital talking-book machine, a personal smart device with BARD Mobile, a Braille eReader, or your PC with the BARD Express player.

Application for BARD Service (follow link for Individuals or Institutions)

Login to BARD

• Audio Bookshelf Instructions for Cartridges - If you have downloaded more than (1) one book to a cartridge, follow these instructions to advance from book to book.

• Bookshelf Instructions - in print
• Cartridge/Book Errors - What to do if your player says "Cartridge Error?"

NLS Tutorials - YouTube Videos

• Downloading Books from BARD
• Download Books from BARD with NLS eReader HumanWare
• BARD Mobile Navigate an Audiobook

Questions about BARD? Check these links:

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
  • More Frequently asked Questions (NLS)
• BARD Instructions (complete BARD information from the National Library Service)
• BARD Players
• Downloading BARD Files: Windows 7 and 10 (provided by NYSED.gov-Talking Book and Braille Library)
• Downloading BARD Files: Windows XP
• Downloading BARD Files: Mac OS 10 (provided by NYSED.gov-Talking Book and Braille Library)

BARD Mobile App Resources

• BARD Mobile App for Apple Devices
• BARD Mobile App for Android Devices
• BARD Mobile App for Kindle Fire Devices
• Accessible Mobile Reading Apps

BARD Express

BARD Express will make browsing BARD audio materials, downloading titles, and transferring them to a cartridge or USB drive much easier for many patrons using a windows PC. Login to BARD with your current user ID and password and go to "Additional Links" then select "BARD Express".

BARD Express Tutorial

My Talking Books on Smart Speaker

My Talking Books is an Amazon Alexa skill that NLS patrons can use to access and stream English language audiobooks from BARD. Using the skill’s voice-only interface, you can search the BARD catalog, manage your wish lists, book lists, and much more. Learn more about My Talking Books by reading the My Talking Books User Guide.

About BARD

1. Application approval. Talking Books Library reviews and approves applications for BARD.
2. Technical support. Talking Books Library provides support for questions about BARD to its Rhode Island members. Call TBL at (401) 574-9310 or email talking.books@olis.ri.gov. For advanced technical support, contact NLS at NLSDownload@loc.gov.
3. Patrons are allowed up to 100 authorization counts in a 30-day period. Each time a book or magazine is downloaded into the BARD Mobile application, an encryption file called an Authorization Object accompanies the download and permits the book or magazine to be played securely. If a patron authorizes more than 100 books and magazines in a 30-day period, the authorization Object will not download, and thus a person receives the unauthorized message.
4. Patron accounts may have up to five mobile devices registered to a BARD account in a 365-day period. A mobile device is defined as any device that runs BARD Mobile.
5. Log-on page. The site uses a form similar to those found on most Internet pages and should be familiar to users of other sites. The log-on page is screen-reader friendly.
6. Search functionality. BARD provides simple and advanced search functions. Entering multiple search terms returns only results containing all of the terms.
7. Most Popular Books list. Select the "Most Popular Book" link from the home page to access a list of the top twenty most-downloaded books on BARD in the last ninety days. Fiction and nonfiction titles are listed separately.
8. Magazine section. "Recently Added Magazines" displays links to only the most recent issue of each magazine. Magazines older than one year must be accessed from each title's magazine archive. Links to the archive are at the bottom of each magazine's page.

Learn about Players for Digital Talking Books