How to access the library

We have several ways people can access our library content. One of our most popular methods is using Alexa, a smart speaker that people simply talk to to find and listen to books, magazines and newspapers.

Also, our content is available through the EasyReader app available on iOS and Android devices. With this app, you can download our library content to read content on the go. Below is more information about these services

Client Jenny sits on a comfortable looking sofa and reads using her tablet

Alexa

Our Alexa skill includes information about the range of services available from Blind Low Vision NZ, including priority news and upcoming member events across the country. You can also find out about our office locations or request a call back for assistance.

The Library service in our skill lets you read audiobooks, magazines, and newspapers from Blind Low Vision NZ with your Alexa, using voice control. With more than 36,000 book titles in our collection, Blind Low Vision NZ’s Library features New Zealand and international audiobooks and selected magazines produced in a studio.

Just ask Alexa to find a book or magazine, and you can listen directly online. You can search by author, title, or ask for a random book to start reading. We also have daily newspaper articles available from more than 60 local newspapers, provided by the kind permission of their publishers.

Get started with Alexa

A male client makes a cup of tea while listening to his Alexa

EasyReader

EasyReader is a free, accessible reading app for people with print disabilities such as blindness, low vision, or dyslexia. It is currently used by Vision Australia, RNIB, CELA, and other international blindness support agencies for their members to access their library collections, as well as international providers of electronic texts, like BookShare.

The Blind Low Vision NZ Library in EasyReader gives you direct access to our collection of over 35,000 audiobooks, with all of the books recorded in our studios and received from our overseas partners.

You can also browse our whole audio magazine collection in the EasyReader app, including back issues and older magazines not currently in production.

The latest release also adds all of our newspaper content and some new features for books in our Blind Low Vision NZ Library. You can download daily newspaper issues in HTML format to read as accessible text, with Dolphin’s own automatic speech or VoiceOver and TalkBack.

Get started with EasyReader

A closeup photo of an iphone with the EasyReader app open

BookLink Web

You can also access our library content by using BookLink web. Once registered, you can go to www.booklink.org.nz to download and read books, magazines and newspapers. With BookLink web you can download DAISY files to play them on devices such as the Victor Stream player. Braille brf files are also available to download to emboss or read on a Braille display. There is also an advanced search feature to help find specific content. Call our national contact center on 0800 24 33 33 for more information.

BookDrive USB

If you don’t have access to the Internet, you can still receive audiobooks and magazines from Blind Low Vision NZ. We have talking book machines available for long term loans to Library members called DAISY players. These DAISY players have large, tactile controls designed for blind and low vision readers.

How does it work?

Once registered, a USB stick containing audio books and/or magazines is produced by Blind Low Vision NZ and sent to you in the post. When you have finished reading one of your USBs, send it back to us by return post. The Library’s address is on the enclosed cardboard mailer, and there is no charge for the postage. You can call our national contact center on 0800 24 33 33 for more information