Mobile Public Library Closes Library Card Sign-Up Month With Braille Storytime at Callahan School

MOBILE, Ala. — The Mobile Public Library ended National Library Card Sign-Up Month with a braille storytime at the H. L. “Sonny” Callahan School for the Deaf & Blind. Library Director Jurée Hall-Mitchell read to students from the library’s collection while they followed along in matching braille books.

The braille editions came from the Alabama Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled, the library’s state partner. Mobile Public Library librarian Tom Emmons helped lead the interactive session. Students and staff were also able to sign up for library cards and went home with treats and information about library services for their families.

The visit closed out September, which public libraries across the country observe as Library Card Sign-Up Month.

A storytime built for every reader

Instead of reading only from a standard picture book, Hall-Mitchell paired titles from Mobile’s collection with braille copies of the same books. Students could read the stories with their fingertips while hearing them aloud. For students who are blind or have low vision, that kind of matched set lets them take part in a group storytime the same way their sighted peers would.

“We love our community, all members of our community,” Hall-Mitchell said. “We are happy to share adaptive resources to support all learning needs. We’re thankful for our partners at the State level that support local initiatives.”

The library said that throughout the school year it helps parents and caregivers with educational resources and services for all students, including students with disabilities.

Why Library Card Sign-Up Month matters

Since 1987, public libraries have joined in a national push every September to make sure every child has a library card of their own. The campaign, promoted nationally by the American Library Association, comes at the start of the school year, when families are buying supplies and settling into routines.

The Mobile Public Library says a library card is one of the most cost-effective back-to-school supplies a family can have. With a card, students and their families can use:

• Free STEAM programs and activities covering science, technology, engineering, art and math.
• Educational apps and online resources.
• In-person and virtual homework help.
• Technology workshops.
• Help from professional librarians.

A library card also gives access to books, audiobooks and other materials to borrow, along with programs for children, teens and adults at library locations around the city. Families can sign up at any Mobile Public Library location, including the Ben May Main Library downtown, or ask library staff about the services available.

Braille and talking books, free by mail or download

The braille books used at Callahan come from a statewide program that many Alabamians may not know about. The Alabama Public Library Service provides services for blind and physically disabled readers through the Alabama Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled.

The regional library is a free braille and talking book service for people with temporary or permanent low vision or blindness, or with a physical, perceptual or reading disability. It lends books and magazines in braille and audio formats. Materials can be downloaded instantly to a personal device or mailed to readers free of charge.

The Alabama Regional Library serves more than 7,300 active patrons, and a subregional library in Talladega serves more than 700 more. Together, the two give more than 8,000 eligible Alabama residents the chance to read.

The Alabama Public Library Service belongs to the network of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, a division of the Library of Congress. The national program dates to 1931, when Congress set up a service to provide books to blind adults. It has since grown to include children and people with a wide range of print disabilities. Through its network of state and regional libraries, the national service offers braille books, audiobooks and magazines. Its Braille and Audio Reading Download service, known as BARD, lets registered patrons download titles directly.

Who can use the service

The program is designed for people who cannot read standard print or handle printed materials easily. That can include people who:

• Are blind or have low vision.
• Have a physical disability that makes it hard to hold a book or turn pages.
• Have a reading disability that keeps them from reading standard print.
• Have a temporary condition that affects their ability to read print.

Families, teachers and caregivers who think a child or adult may qualify can contact the Alabama Public Library Service or ask their local librarian for help with an application. Mobile Public Library staff can point patrons toward the state’s adaptive resources, as they did during the Callahan visit.

About the Callahan school

The H. L. “Sonny” Callahan School for the Deaf & Blind in Mobile serves students who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired. The school is named for Sonny Callahan, the Mobile businessman who represented Alabama’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House from 1985 to 2003.

For students there, materials in braille, large print and audio formats are a key part of everyday learning. Visits like this one show students that the public library is meant for them, and that the library’s books and programs come in formats they can use.

Partnerships that reach more readers

The Callahan visit shows how local and state libraries work together. Mobile’s public library runs the branches, programs and staff residents see every day. The state’s regional library supplies specialized braille and audio materials that a single city system would have a hard time providing alone. When both show up at the same storytime, students get the full benefit of each.

The Mobile Public Library said it will keep working with families and schools throughout the year to make sure every student has a library card and access to the resources they need, whatever their learning needs.

How to get a library card or learn more

• Mobile Public Library: Visit any branch or the library’s website to sign up for a card and see upcoming programs.
• Alabama Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled: Contact the Alabama Public Library Service to learn about free braille and talking book services and how to apply.
• National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled: The Library of Congress program’s website has information about eligibility and the BARD download service.