Feast Your Ears on Audiobooks, Audio Magazines, Concerts, Classic Radio, and More to Keep You Busy If You Don't Read Standard Print

By Jill Rothstein, Managing Librarian, Andrew Heiskell Library
March 18, 2020
Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library
headphones

NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 1643310

Do you find it difficult to read standard print text?  Even while the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library (nypl.org/talkingbooks) is closed and our mail service is on hiatus, we can help you find things to keep you busy. 

For anyone—registered with us or not—there are great  options. 

Want something different?

Did you know you can listen to classic old time radio shows over the internet? Find them in the Old Time Radio section of Archive.org 

Or enjoy offeerings from some premier musical venues for free from home.

Opera buff? The Metropolitan Opera is offering free nightly opera performances streaming from its archive.  
Like classical music? The Berlin Philharmonic is offering free access to its digital concert hall.

 

And here is a big list of streaming orchestras from around the world.

Musical theater geek? Here's a list from Playbill of Broadway stage shows that have been filmed that you can watch or listen to from home.

 

More of a rock or country fan? NPR is keeping a list of live streaming concerts  by genre and date .

If you want reading material here are some ways we can help:

If you are registered with us and in need of something to read and you have access to a computer, tablet, mobile device, or third party player with internet capabilities, please make use of our BARD download website  nlsbard.loc.gov and BARD mobile app (available in the app store or google play store, on on kindle fire devices), which allow you to access all of our talking books and digital braille files. You can find out more and sign up at nlsbard.loc.gov.

You also may be interested in listening to newspapers and magazines over the phone  (even a landline phone) through National Federation of the Blind's Newsline  program.  For more information call:  866-504-7300.

 

Or call the Xavier Society  for the Blind at  800-637-9193 to find out the books they can offer you. They have a focus on Catholic, Christian, and spiritual books. 

 

You can also get audiobooks from JBI  Library which focuses on popular books and books related to Jewish history and culture. Call 800-433-1531 to find out about their own offerings. 

 

We wish you all good listening.