Julie Davis
jdavis@cherryroad.com

The Talking Books service of the Nebraska Library Commission was established in 1931 to serve legally blind veterans of the First World War.

Today, the Talking Books and Braille Servic serves people of all ages who may have visual impairments, reading challenges, or physical disabilities.

Gabe Kramer, director of Talking Books and Braille Service for the commission, visited the Nebraska City Rotary Club April 30 to discuss his “accidental” turn into library sciences and the services the service provides to some 2,600 Nebraska citizens.

Kramer said that he received a call to come in for an interview with the library commission in 2009, but that he doesn’t recall applying specifically for any openings with the commission. He assumed his current job responsibilities in 2019.

One of the challenges the service faces is its inability to reach students, said Kramer, who added he loves to present to school boards and educator groups on the service.

He added that the service offers a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction titles, as well as textbooks. Books are also available in a number of languages, with English and Spanish being the languages with the greatest demand.

Patrons who qualify for the service receive braille e-readers or talking book machines that are free to use, he said, and materials are distributed on encrypted flash drives that the machines can read.

For patrons who want a faster response than waiting for a flash drive to arrive in the mail, Kramer said the service also offers an app that allows users to download materials to their phones or computers.

Visit www.nlc.nebraska.gov for more information on the Nebraska Library Commission.