Library for Accessible Books and Media (LABM) is responsible for loaning braille, audio and large print publications to any resident of the State of Tennessee who has a physical disability which prevents them from reading standard print. This is done utilizing the U.S. Postal Service's Free Matter mailing privilege. Players are also loaned for use with the audio publications. Qualifying disabilities include: blindness, low-vision, manual dexterity problems that prevent the individual from holding a book and/or turning pages and reading disabilities. In order to borrow materials from the LABM, an application must be on file at the library with the original signature of a certifying authority that the applicant has such disability. In the case of an applicant with a reading disability, the certifying authority must be a physician. The library also creates a quarterly newsletter and distributes it in audio, braille and large print formats. The LABM is a cooperating library with the National Library Service for the Blind & Physically Handicapped/Library of Congress (NLS) network of libraries serving the blind & physically handicapped.

All special library materials--books, magazines and playback equipment--are circulated through the mail postage free. Patrons must borrow books each year to remain eligible for the service.

Special playback equipment is loaned to patrons who use the library service. Books and magazines in the TLABM collection are recorded at a slower speed than conventional recordings and the books require special players. Players are mailed to patrons postage free. The library repairs and replaces equipment as necessary. For patrons who wish to purchase their own equipment, a vendor list is available.

Bimonthly magazines will tell you about newly released books and related library services: Talking Book Topics and Braille Book Review. You may also order general catalogs. You can always call the library to ask about authors and titles. The National Library Service catalog is searchable online.

You must first complete an application for service and send it to the Tennessee library. All states provide the service for their residents.

The library service loans recorded, large print and braille books and magazines, music scores in large print and braille and special playback equipment. The TLABM book collection of over 50,000 titles includes popular fiction and nonfiction, best sellers, classics, history, biographies, religious literature, children's books and books in foreign language. There are over 70 popular magazines available. Go to Available Materials to find out more.

The Safe at Home Address Confidentiality Program is a statewide address confidentiality program administered by the Office of the Tennessee Secretary of State. It is open to all victims of domestic abuse, stalking, human trafficking, rape, sexual battery, or any other sexual offense who satisfy eligibility and application requirements at no cost. Once a participant has been approved, they are provided with a ‘substitute’ address that can be used by them and their children as their official mailing address for all state and local government purposes, including public school or public benefits enrollment, subject only to a few limited exceptions.

The program does NOT:

• Help participants change their identities or relocate.
• Remove or delete existing public records.
• Offer legal advice.
• Relieve participants of their legal or financial responsibilities.

 

Under the Tennessee Public Records Act, T.C.A. § 10-7-501 et. seq., all state or local government records are considered public and are available for public inspection and copying, unless specifically protected by other law. This means that any member of the public can request that a state or local government official allow them to inspect and/or take a copy of certain records, which may contain an another individual’s name, address, or phone number. This means that an abuser may be able to track or discover the residential address of a victim through public records. The primary goal of the Safe at Home Address Confidentiality Program is to prevent this from happening and provide victims of domestic violence and other crimes with a sense of security in their own homes and freedom from intimidation or further abuse.