[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 38 (Monday, March 1, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S952-S953]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY SERVICE FOR 
                      THE BLIND AND PRINT DISABLED

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the National 
Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled on its 90th 
anniversary. The National Library Service, or NLS, is part of the 
Library of Congress, an institution that has long been committed to 
serving readers with disabilities. The concept of a national library 
for the blind was introduced in 1897 by the seventh Librarian of 
Congress, John Russell Young, who established a reading room for the 
blind that included more than 500 books and music items in raised 
characters.
  In 1913, Congress began to require that one copy of each book be made 
in raised characters and deposited in the Library of Congress for 
educational use; but, as impressive as this collection was, it was only 
available to people who were able to visit in person. In 1931, 
legislation led by Representative Ruth Pratt of New York and Senator 
Reed Smoot of Utah created what we now know as the National Library 
Service for the Blind and Print Disabled to help provide services to 
blind readers across the country through a national network of 
cooperating libraries, in braille or audio formats, mailed directly to 
patrons, or available through instant download. Since its 
establishment, the service has grown to expand service to children, 
serve people with physical and reading disabilities, and encompass an 
accessible music materials collection that is now the largest in the 
world.
  I also want to recognize the central role local libraries play in 
connecting the national NLS program to constituents in my State. NLS 
and the Minnesota Talking Book and Braille Library provide service to 
nearly 6,600 people and over 1,600 institutions in Minnesota, each day 
working to make the NLS mission ``that all may read'' a reality.
  The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled has 
long had an innovative approach to meeting the needs of Americans with 
disabilities, with an institutional history that spans phonograph 
records, cassette tapes, flash memory cartridges, and the internet 
while it continually supplies hard-copy and digital braille materials. 
Today, I congratulate the National Library Service for the Blind and 
Print Disabled and its dedicated staff on its 90th anniversary and 
express my appreciation of their continued commitment to ensuring that 
all may read.

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