Request Books from Home Using the Talking Book and Braille Library Online Catalog

When you search for a book, your search results will display on the 'Search Results' page. The total number of pages and total number of results are listed above your results.

The page lists your current search term in bold. Results can be sorted in a variety of ways using the dropdown located next to 'Sort your results'. Be sure to click the 'Sort' button to reconfigure your results page.

Just below your sort options you will find arrow icons which can be used to navigate to additional pages of results. The first rounded arrow icon will reset your search. The next four arrow icons will allow you to go forward and backward in your results. The 'Navigate your Search' icons are located at the top and bottom of the 'Search Results' page.

Search Results page:

Refine Your Search

If your search produced many pages of search results, you may want to narrow them down by using the 'Refine Your Search' options on the left side of your results screen.

To narrow results, select the highlighted text under the 'Refine Your Search' headings. For example, select the highlighted text under the 'Your Preferences' heading to view results based on your reading preferences. Your preferences can include language, media, and unread books. It can be helpful to select the 'Unread' option under this heading. It is also helpful to narrow based on format. If you would like your results to show only audiobooks, select 'Digital Book' under the 'Medium' heading and only books in audio format will display in your search results.

'Refine Your Search' headings include Your Preferences; Medium; Availability; Recently Added; Language; Reading Level; Audience Notes (such as narrator information); and Subject. For categories that have a 'Show more' option, select the 'Show more' text to reveal additional options.

To eliminate a search category, select the minus symbol next to text within the 'Refine Your Search' options, as seen in the image below. For example, if you are looking for a science fiction book, but you do not want a romantic science fiction story, select the minus symbol for any subjects related to romance. Books that included romance will be removed from your results.

If you exclude an option by accident, go back a page in your browser. 

Review your results

In your book results, each book entry displays the title, author, unique book number, length of book, and publication year. There is also a status note for each result so you can tell if a copy is available.

If a title has a status of "Available" displayed under the book's Status, you know you can request that book. Downloadable links are also available under Status. The download link will connect you to BARD.    

Image of a Book Result:

When you find a book you are interested in borrowing, check the box to the left of the book's title. Then, select the 'Add Selected to Book Basket' button located at the top and bottom of the page. The book will be moved to your Book Basket.

Multiple books can be selected and added to your Book Basket at once. If you select a book that is not currently available, the book will be added to your request list and sent to you in the future.

To read a summary of a book and review book details, select the book's title. A new page will display with the book's details, as in this example image.   

You may add the book to your Book Basket using the 'Add This Item to Book Basket' button located at the bottom of the book details screen.

When you add a book to your Book Basket, you are automatically brought to your Book Basket page.

The Book Basket is where you approve your request and move to checkout. You can continue to add books to your Book Basket by returning to the search page.  

Navigate to your Book Basket at any time by selecting the book basket message in the 'Welcome' box in the upper right corner of the webpage. The 'Welcome' box reminds you of the number of books in your basket. When your book order is ready, select your Book Basket to review your book requests.

If you need a book quickly, the catalog's 'rush' feature can help. A 'rushed' book will go out in your next order if the book has a status of 'Available'. To rush a book, select 'Rush' under the Action column. If you select to rush a book, an alert will display verifying the 'rush'. You may also 'unrush' or 'remove' the book title.

When you are satisfied with your book order, select the 'Proceed to Checkout' button at the bottom of the page. You will receive a checkout confirmation message.  

Note, at this time, virtually all audio books are always available. Available audio books will be placed on your reserve list and will be added to a future audio cartridge. The audio cartridge will be sent to you through the US mail. Each audio cartridge can hold up to 25 books. If you would like to change your number of books per cartridge, please contact our library.

If a braille book is available, it will be sent out through the US mail. If a book is unavailable, it will be added to your request list and mailed as soon as it is available.

The online catalog provides additional features to help you discover your next read and manage your library account. Learn more about Browse, Quick Request and My Account, available from the Home tab.

Browse
Get ideas for what to read next. Select the 'Browse' tab to view recently added books and popular checkouts.

Quick Request
Add books to your request list by entering book numbers into the 'Quick Request' text box. If you add several books at once, please make sure each book number is listed separately on its own line. Each book number should include the book prefix, BR or DB, followed by up to 6 numbers. For example, the correct format is, BR012345 or DB012345.

My Account
Under 'My Account', view your current checkouts, account history, and preferences.

'Account Summary' provides a description of your checkouts, requests, reserves, and magazine subscriptions.

Review your 'Contact Info' to ensure accuracy. If you need to make any changes, please let us know.  

Review your 'Reading Preferences'. Reading preferences are used by the library to select books for you. If you would like to update this information, please contact us.

'Reading History' is a searchable list of every book you have requested in the past, as well as items waiting to be shipped.

• Enter keyword search terms into the search box, not an entire sentence, to receive relevant results.
• If you receive too many search results, try modifying your search term. For example, a search for 'historical fiction' recalls over 9,000 results. To help reduce the number of results, try entering an additional keyword. For example, 'historical fiction suspense' will narrow the search to more specific results and offer a more manageable number of search results.
• Search for authors by entering an author's name in either format: Example, 'first name last name' or 'last name, first name'. If you are unsure of a spelling, try using the 'Author (sounds like)' feature under the 'Search' tab and 'Index' dropdown.
• Get creative with your search terms. Is there a different term for the same word? Is there a more general term, or a more specific term you could try?
• Need help thinking of search terms? Try reviewing the subject terms of books you have enjoyed. Books in our catalog are classified under certain subject terms, or categories. If you enjoyed a specific book and you would like to read more books about the same topic, it can be helpful to review the subject terms of the book you enjoyed. To review a book's subjects, search for the book title. When the book displays in your results, select the book's title to view the book's details page. On the details page, locate the book's subjects listed next to the bold text, 'Local Subject' and 'LC Subject'. Use these subject terms to search for similar book titles.
• Try using an asterisk symbol (*) in your search term as a placeholder for variations of a word. Using an asterisk can help broaden a search. For example, searching for the root word, 'myster', with an asterisk at the end, 'myster*', will display results that include words beginning with 'myster' such as mystery and mysteries. By searching for a commonality in a word, you can expand your search results.
• Ask a TBBL librarian to help with your search. Email or call us with your questions.

Email: tbbl@nysed.gov
Toll Free: 1-800-342-3688