Visitors
Hello!
Thanks for visiting our website. You will find quite a lot of information on this page about the Library - who can apply, how, and how to use the Library to browse for books. We hope you find it useful.
Want to see the Library?
There is a Guest Library especially for visitors. To find it, go to The Library and then click the Guest Library link. This section is a copy of the Main Fiction section, except that you don't have to register or enter any passwords. It works exactly the same as the other sections of the Library, except that you cannot access the books. Currently the Junior section is not available in the Guest Library.
Browse for a book
The Search screen at the start of each Library section is very, very flexible. Just remember that the more you put into the search boxes, the quicker the search and the fewer results. Don't put anything in and you get back the entire Library catalogue for that section (not recommended on a slow link!) Try selecting a category such as Fantasy, click the box for Summaries, and you are back in a Public Library, wandering along the shelves, picking out books and reading the dust-jackets ... And who wrote 'Day of the Jackal'? Forsithe? Forsyth? Just put 'for' in the author box and search. Or try combining the boxes - see what happens when you look for Paranormal books by Dickens!
Actually getting the books
You must register first - see the Apply to Join page in The Library page. It is quick, easy and automated, free, and open to visually impaired people in the UK and Europe, including people who cannot read because of physical disability or dyslexia. We also welcome parents and teachers of visually impaired children.
How to read the books
Different people have different needs. We provide most of the books in plain text, so that they can be read via an electronic Braille terminal, or converted to synthetic speech, or be read onscreen in the print size and colour of your choice. Increasingly, we are also using Microsoft Word as many schools are set up to handle books using this program, and it can include pictures and diagrams. Some files are in Adobe PDF format. Choose the format that suits you when you download.
Did you know?
The Seeing Ear differs from other on-line libraries because of the range of people we cater for. Our library is available to people who are unable to enjoy reading a book because they are blind, visually impaired, have print blindness due to dyslexia or are physically impaired.
Future plans
We will continue to add to the book-stock in all categories.
We want to add the facility to convert books to the format of choice on-line.
A Transcription-on-demand service!
Gimme more!
For answers to most of the questions we get asked, see the Helpdesk link at the top of this page.