Cassette Books

The Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library offers over 70,000 cassette titles. Cassette titles can be searched in our Online Catalog. The newest cassette books are listed in the bimonthly Talking Book Topics catalog, which is also available in braille, on cassette, and in large print.

Contact the library at 617-972-7240 or 800-852-3133, or email library@perkins.org to order cassette books, to receive a catalog, or for more information about cassette services.

The Library offers registered borrowers free subscriptions to the cassette magazines listed below. Magazines are available for children, young adults, and adults, and are availabe in five different languages. Most magazines are yours to keep, though some magazines are shared subscriptions and must be returned to the library. Learn more about our Magazines program.

Talking books and playback machines are loaned to eligible Perkins Library patrons and mailed postage-free. Specialized playback equipment is required to use talking books because they are recorded at a special, slower speed than standard cassette tapes and contain four tracks for continuous play. Standard commercial cassette players will not play talking books.

In addition to playback machines, Perkins Braille and Talking Book Library can also provide accessories to meet an individual's special needs. This equipment includes:

• Amplifiers for people with significant hearing loss
• Breath switches used with a remote control unit for people with little or no use of their extremities
• Extension levers which attach to the key controls of the cassette machine and are for persons who have difficulty using push buttons on a standard cassette player
• Headphones for readers who reside in nursing homes, hospitals or other areas where loudspeakers are not permitted
• Pillow speakers which adapt to any playback machine to assist people restricted to bed
• Remote control units for people restricted to bed or with difficulty in mobility

To become a registered Perkins Library user, please review the Service Eligibility Guidelines and download the Application for Library Service. For specific questions about playback equipment and accessories, contact the Library at 617-972-7240, 1-800-852-3133 or Library@Perkins.org.