Borrow Braille and Print-Braille Books from the MSB Library


Professionals working with students who are visually impaired at schools all around Missouri may borrow braille and print-braille library books from the MSB library collection for their students who read Braille.

What’s the Process for Requesting Books?

  • Contact the school librarian, Mike McQueen, at Mike.McQueen@msb.dese.mo.gov or 314-633-1566 to request specific books by title or to ask, for assistance with choosing books.
  • The school’s online catalog can be accessed through the Internet at http://msb.follettdestiny.com, so you may also search the catalog to see if we have a book you could use with a student. Please remember that only Braille and print-braille books are available for loan at this time. You can easily tell if a title you are looking at is braille or print-braille by looking at the call number for the book, directly below the title. If the call number has the prefix ‘B’ it is a braille book, if it has a ‘PB’ it is a print-braille book.

What’s the Process for Borrowing Books?

  • In order to borrow braille books that have been produced by the National Library Service for the Blind (NLS), either the student or the school must be registered with Wolfner  Talking Book and Braille Library in Jefferson City. Contact Wolfner Library at 1-800-392-2614 to determine if a student is currently registered with them. The MSB library has some braille books that are not from NLS  which may be loaned without the student being registered, but the majority of them are NLS books.
  • Up to five books (or five volumes in a multivolume book) may be checked out for use by one student at a time. If five books are already checked out, some books must be returned before more books may be borrowed, with no more than five books or volumes on loan for any one student at a time.
  • Books may be borrowed for 6 weeks at a time, and may be renewed once as long as no one else has requested them.
  • The professional working with the student may set the guidelines as to whether the books must stay at school or may go home with the student.

What’s the Process for Getting Books?

  • Books will be sent Free Matter for the Blind to the address indicated on the request form, so please allow at least a week for them to reach their destination.

What’s the Process for Returning Books?

  • Books may be returned in person or through the mail to:
    Library Statewide Services
    Missouri School for the Blind
    3815 Magnolia Avenue
    St. Louis, MO 63110
  • Braille library books returned by mail may be sent Free Matter for the Blind through the U.S. Postal Service.
  • Total loan time will be 8 weeks, allowing 1 week travel time there and 1 week back, and 6 weeks with the student.
  • Although the MSB library collection contains many books from different sources, including some that were made onsite, the majority of MSB’s braille library books are the same as those that are in Wolfner Library’s collection and care must be taken to keep the books separate. Please be sure to return MSB library books to MSB and Wolfner library books to Wolfner. MSB library books are stamped “Library Media Center, Missouri School for the Blind” on an inside page of the book, and also have white spine labels either on the lower spine or on the lower left-hand side of the front cover. A barcode label on the cover of the book has “Missouri School for the Blind” printed on it.
  • If books are not returned, borrowing privileges may be suspended until lost materials are returned or replaced.

For more information, contact Mike McQueen, MSB librarian, at 314-633-1566 or Mike.McQueen@msb.dese.mo.gov