Barrier-Free Library

Three Faiths in Braille and Talking Books

In October, The New York Public Library launched a large exhibition, showcasing materials from its permanent collections, to celebrate the Three Faiths of Judiasm, Christianity, and Islam. From NYPL's website:  "Jews, Christians, and Muslims all possess a book that they regard as the Word of God. That Word—and the way it has been written, copied and illustrated over the centuries—is the basis of Three Faiths." 

The exhibition includes "many breathtakingly beautiful ceremonial copies of Scripture. But you will also find more modest and much-loved siblings of the Sacred Book, such as lectionaries, haggadoth, evangelaries, and prayer books."

A series of programs held throughout the many branches of The New York Public Library complement the exhibition, including the Three Faiths Scriptorium in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street). The Scriptorium is "an interactive center which compares and contrasts scribing traditions of the three faiths.... Visitors can make bookmarks with calligraphic materials."

There are also holiday celebrations, bookmaking, food workshops, music programs, and more for all ages. Three Faiths will run through February 27, 2011.

We've compiled a list of books in braille and digital Talking Books in our collection that offer a varied range of experience and expertise concerning the Three Faiths.

Judaism

Maimonides by Sherwin B. Nuland. 2005. BR 16366 [PAWS], 2 volumes. [NYPL catalog]

Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity by Rebecca Goldstein. 2006. BR 16778 [PAWS], 2 volumes. [NYPL catalog]

The Essential Talmud by Adin Steinsaltz. 2006. BR 17167 [PAWS], DB 64273 [PAWS], 3 volumes. [NYPL catalog]

Jewish Holidays Cookbook: Festive Meals for Celebrating the Year by Janet Ozur Bass. For grades 4-7. 2008. BR 18274 [PAWS], 1 volume. [NYPL catalog]

The Jewish Americans: Three Centuries of Jewish Voices in America by Beth S. Wenger. 2007. BR 17737 [PAWS], DB 66398 [PAWS]. [NYPL catalog]

The Bride Who Argued with God: Tales from the Treasury of Jewish Folklore by Hava Ben-Zvi. 2006. DB 67116 [PAWS]. [NYPL catalog]

Why Faith Matters by David J. Wolpe. 2008. DB 68054 [PAWS]. [NYPL catalog

The Last Jews of Kerala: The Two-Thousand-Year History of India's Forgotten Jewish Community by Edna Fernandes. 2008. DB 68834 [PAWS]. [NYPL catalog]

Christianity

Mary: A Flesh-and-Blood Biography of the Virgin Mother by Lesley Hazleton. 2004. BR 15819 [PAWS], 2 volumes.  [NYPL catalog]

Daily Readings From Your Best Life Now: Ninety Devotions for Living at Your Full Potential by Joel Osteen. 2005. BR 16436 [PAWS], 2 volumes.  [NYPL catalog]

Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity by Elaine Pagels and Karen L. King. 2007. BR 17479 [PAWS], 2 volumes.  [NYPL catalog]

Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration by Adrian Walker. 2007. BR 17214 [PAWS], 3 volumes.  [NYPL catalog]

Head and Heart: American Christianities by Garry Wills. 2007. DB 67304 [PAWS].  [NYPL catalog]

What the Gospels Meant by Garry Wills. 2008. DB 67346 [PAWS].  [NYPL catalog]

Practicing Catholic by James Carroll. 2009. DB 69393 [PAWS]. [NYPL catalog]

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy J. Keller. 2008. DB 66151 [PAWS]. [NYPL catalog]

Islam

The World of Islam by J. Reis. 2002. For grades 6-9 and older readers. BR 14338 [PAWS], 1 volume. 

Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet by Karen Armstrong. 1992. BR 15125 [PAWS], 4 volumes.  [NYPL catalog]

God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570 to 1215 by David L. Lewis. 2008. DB 66013 [PAWS]. [NYPL catalog]

The Beliefnet Guide to Islam by Hesham A. Hassaballa. 2006. DB 62223 [PAWS]. [NYPL catalog]

Standing Alone in Mecca an American Woman's Pilgrimage into the Heart of Islam by Asra Q. Nomani. 2005. DB 60842 [PAWS].  [NYPL catalog]

No god but God the Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam by Reza Aslan. 2005. DB 61297 [PAWS].  [NYPL catalog]

The Sword of the Prophet Islam: History, Theology, Impact on the World by Srdja Trifkovic. 2002. DB 61980 [PAWS]. [NYPL catalog]

The Essential Koran the Heart of Islam: An Introductory Selection of Readings from the Quran by Thomas F. Cleary. 1993. DB 55316 [PAWS]. [NYPL catalog]