Arizona Talking Book Library

Did you know that our patrons are eligible to receive a free iBill currency reader?

Through a partnership with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), our patrons can receive a free iBill currency reader mailed right to their door from our office located in Phoenix, Arizona!

Eligible individuals receive a free iBill Talking Banknote Identifier, a small hand-held device that denominates all U.S. currency in circulation. When a user inserts a note and pushes a button on the side of the device, the reader announces the note’s denomination in one of three modes: a clear natural voice, a pattern of tones, or a pattern of vibrations for privacy. The iBill runs on a triple-A battery, which is included and typically lasts for a year.

To request an iBill currency reader, learn more about us, or to apply for our services, please call us at 602-255-5578 or visit azlibrary.gov/tbl

https://www.azfamily.com/2026/09/15/man-returns-magazine-48220-days-late-avoids-12k-library-fine/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUc1yNwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMVA3Z0xCYWdwTmxvRWpTdElzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe6LgX-TPFQPtihpbzHqkumRbuptZI8jywbe4euxgQ7OUZLCHGEOd22_hRXWI_aem_oBCRsx3sWSlicg--ECAVlg

Man returns magazine 48,220 days late — and avoids a $12K library fine A man returned a borrowed magazine to a New Hampshire library 48,220 days late, but he won’t have to pay a fine.

Did you know that in addition to thousands of books and magazines in braille and audio, patrons of the Arizona Talking Book Library also have access to free museum passes for organizations across the state?

Through a partnership with our friends at Act One, our patrons can receive 2 free passes to a variety of museums across the state, as well as information about the museum in large print, audio, or braille format. These passes are an amazing way to explore the things that make Arizona great - and might inspire you to read more about things you learn about at these museums!

September is Library Card Sign Up Month, so there is no better time to sign up for our services! If you cannot read standard print due to low vision or blindness, physical disability, or a reading disability, please call us at 602-255-5578 or visit azlibrary.gov/tbl - we can't wait to hear from you!

Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15th - October 15th, celebrates the history and impact of the generations of Hispanic people that have contributed to our nation and culture. Check out these titles on BARD or request them from your librarian today!

Valley of Shadows: A Novel by Rudy Ruiz (DB 137892) - Solitario Cisneros thought his life was over long ago. He lost his wife, his family, even his country in the late 1870s when the Rio Grande shifted course, stranding the Mexican town of Olvido on the Texas side of the border. He'd made his brooding peace with retiring his gun and badge, hiding out on his ranch, and communing with horses and ghosts. But when a gruesome string of murders and kidnappings ravages the town, pushing its volatile mix of Anglo, Mexican, and Apache settlers to the brink of self-destruction, he feels reluctantly compelled to confront both life, and the much more likely possibility of death, yet again. As Solitario struggles to overcome not only the evil forces that threaten the town but also his own inner demons, he finds an unlikely source of inspiration and support in Onawa, a gifted and enchanting Apache-Mexican seer who champions his cause, daring him to open his heart and question his destiny.

The Wind Called My Name by Mary Louise Sanchez (DB 137004) - Some days, ten-year-old Margarita Sandoval feels as if the wind might blow her away. The country has been gripped by the Great Depression, so times are hard everywhere. Then she has to leave her familia in New Mexico to move to Fort Steele, Wyoming. When Margarita meets Caroline, she's excited to have a friend her own age in Wyoming. But it often seems like Caroline, like many other people in town, doesn't understand or appreciate the Sandovals' Hispanic heritage. At the same time, the Sandovals discover that Abuelita might lose her home unless they can pay off her tax bill. Can Margarita keep her friend, help her family in New Mexico, and find a place in Fort Steele for good? For grades 4-7

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

We will be closed on Monday, September 7th, in observance of Labor Day.

Our normal business hours will resume on Tuesday, September 8th at 8 AM.

September is Library Card Sign Up Month!

Although our patrons do not get a physical library card, they get access to thousands of free books, magazines, and more in audio and braille format. We serve all Arizonans who cannot read standard print due to low vision or blindness, physical disabilities, or reading disabilities.

To learn more about how to celebrate Library Card Sign Up Month by becoming a patron, please call us at 602-255-5578 or visit azlibrary.gov/tbl.

Great news! Our building construction project is complete, and we are once more open for walk ins!

Our building is open Monday - Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM, except holidays.

If you have questions about us or the services we offer, call us at 602-255-5578, visit our website at azlibrary.gov/tbl, or come visit us at 1030 N. 32nd St, Phoenix, AZ 85008.

This week, we lost two amazing pop culture icons, Dolly Parton and Tim Curry. We will certainly miss them, but their legacy lives on in our collection, which features several titles narrated by Parton and Curry themselves.

The book Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones (DB 133565) is a beautiful celebration of Dolly Parton's iconic sense of style through entertaining personal stories and 450 full-color photographs, including exclusive images from her private costume archive.

In his memoir Vagabond (DB 133317), Tim Curry takes readers behind-the-scenes of his rise to fame from his early beginnings as a military brat to his formative years in boarding school and university, to the moment when he hit the stage for the first time. He goes in-depth about what it was like to work on some of the most emblematic works of the 20th century, constantly switching between a camera and a live audience. He also explores the voicework that defined his later career and provided him with a chance to pivot after surviving a catastrophic stroke in 2012.

You can find these titles and more on BARD, or request them from your librarian today.

All of our audiobooks, as well as our other braille and audio materials, are completely free for Arizonans that cannot read standard print due to low vision or blindness, physical disabilities, or reading disabilities.

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

The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) is looking for patrons who would be interested in beta testing a web player that can be used to play audio books from BARD. This player will be available to NLS patrons and can be used while logged into the BARD website.

The NLS is looking for up to 250 patrons who would be interested in beta testing this new player. By signing up for this beta:
• You will be expected to read at least five hours per week using the web player.
• You will be required to provide feedback on the player through email, focus groups, or other mediums to be announced.
• You will be on a listserv with other Web Player Beta participants to share your experiences and receive feedback from NLS.
• You must agree not to publicly demonstrate or provide recordings of the web player until it is released into production. Violation of this agreement will result in removal from the beta as a participant.

To sign up for the web player beta, send us an email at [email protected]. The body of the email should include your name, the email connected to your BARD account, and a statement saying you would like to participate in beta testing the NLS web player.