An Unexpected Obstacle to Free Audiobooks for The Blind

Author: Pavel Kuljuk
Published: 2025/04/30
Publication Type: Informative
Topic: Disability Publications - Publications List

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main

Synopsis: Underestimating the importance of literature in people's lives hinders the distribution of free audiobooks among the blind. Every year, at least 500,000 new books are published in the United States. Taking into account self-published authors, the total number of new books is 2-4 million each year. However, the largest free audiobook database contains only 120,000 books.

Introduction

Access to Audiobooks for the Blind Is Poor

There are about 1 million blind people in the United States (20/200 vision or worse). Another 11.4 million people have poor vision. The number of these people is constantly growing. By 2050, the total number of blind and people with poor vision will increase to 24.4 million people. (1) All of these people need special opportunities. One of these opportunities is access to literature. Audio books are the most optimal way to solve this problem. However, access to audio books is not a basic and mandatory service for the blind. Therefore, the opportunities for the disabled in this area are insufficient.

Focus

Every year, at least 500,000 new books are published in the United States. Taking into account self-published authors, the total number of new books is 2-4 million each year. (2) However, the largest free audiobook database contains only 120,000 books. (3) These audiobooks are provided by the Braille Institute with the National Library Service (NLS). Other free audiobook databases are tens of times smaller. (4) And most audiobook distribution projects work on a paid basis. In such projects, the opportunity to receive free audiobooks is limited to a trial period. After that, you need to pay for a subscription. And this service costs tens of dollars a month. (5)

How to Improve Access to Free Audiobooks

As we can see, the existing free selection of audiobooks is hardly satisfactory. Therefore, the blind try to expand their capabilities by relying on their own strengths. There are many messages in social networks in which disabled people share their experiences in accessing free audiobooks. (6) Here are some tips from social networks on how to improve access to free audiobooks:

1. Search YouTube. This video hosting site has many free audiobooks from the classical literature genre. These books are not protected by copyright.

2. Use apps such as u/Voice Aloud Reader or ElevenLabs reader to open an ePub, PDF, doc, or any other text file in there and listen that way.

3. Help from agencies for the blind. In some states, these services provide assistance to people with disabilities to access high technology that allows them to find and read free audiobooks.

You can also ask a close person with good eyesight to create a free audiobook for you. All you need is a mobile phone with a voice recorder and an online Google translator. I myself used this method to create an audiobook for my blind friend. I copied the text of the book, 5 thousand letters each, into the online Google translator. (7) Then I clicked on the option for audio reading of the text in the online translator. I recorded the text read by the robot on the phone's voice recorder. Yes. This is a primitive but accessible book for listening. 12 pages of A4 text fit into a 30-minute audio file. This method does not require downloading any applications or special technical knowledge.

In addition, you can use the help of federal organizations to support the blind. These organizations operate within the framework of the implementation of federal laws Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) and EPUB. (8) For example, the National Federation of the Blind is developing a "Center of Excellence in Nonvisual Accessibility". (9) The federation's website says that this center is designed to "Increase awareness of accessibility and the tools available to blind users." By visiting a special page on the site, you can find a lot of useful information about increasing the accessibility of technologies for the blind. And this will help improve the availability of free audiobooks.

What is Missing

Let's be honest. The main problem of the impeding availability of audio books is the opinion about literature. In the modern world, books have lost their meaning. Now a book is one of the forms of entertainment but a necessity. Therefore, there are specialized programs for providing free canes "Free White Cane Program" (10) or free writing instruments "Free Slate and Stylus Program" (11) for the blind. But there is no special program for creating and distributing free audio books for the blind.

Until the attitude towards literature changes, audiobooks will be of limited access to the blind. In the current situation, writers do very little to popularize books. It would be very good if writers started creating free audio copies of their books and started providing these books for free to the blind. This is a good thing that popularizes literature and helps the disabled live. I am a writer and I already do this. And you?

Check List

1) https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/visual-impairment-blindness-cases-us-expected-double-2050

2) https://www.tonerbuzz.com/blog/how-many-books-are-published-each-year/

3) https://www.brailleinstitute.org/about-us/news/how-to-get-free-audio-books-for-the-blind-and-visually-impaired/

4) https://librivox.org/

5) https://www.audible.com/ep/memberbenefits

6) https://www.reddit.com/r/Blind/comments/1gwz9vz/audiobooks_for_the_blind/

7) https://translate.google.com

8) https://www.accessibility.com/blog/making-audiobooks-accessible

9) https://nfb.org/programs-services/center-excellence-nonvisual-access

10) https://nfb.org/programs-services/free-white-cane-program

11) https://nfb.org/programs-services/center-excellence-nonvisual-access

Author Credentials: Pavel Kuljuk's articles and poems are published in Australia, North America, and Europe. In recent years, he has been constantly collaborating with Australian Rural & Regional News (Australia), Red Hook Daily Catch and OpEd News (USA), and Disabled World (Canada). Kuliuk's individual publications are in Forbes (Kazakhstan), Rural 21 (Germany), London Loves Business (UK), Karrep (India), RealClearDefense (RCD), Change Links, Daily Caller (USA), and many others. Explore for comprehensive insights into his background, expertise, and accomplishments.

Explore Similar Topics

• Free Audiobooks: 50,000 eBooks by Project Gutenberg Now Available: Capti Narrator makes 50,000 free eBooks by Project Gutenberg available to people with reading disabilities and anyone who prefers audiobooks.

• Free Audio Book Delivery - Talking Books for the Blind: Audio books can take blind peoples education one step forward by providing talking books.

• Greater Access to Copyrighted Print Materials for Canadians With Visual Impairments and Print Disabilities: Canadians who are visually impaired or print-disabled will benefit from a wider availability of books and other copyrighted print materials.

• : Underestimating the importance of literature in people's lives hinders the distribution of free audiobooks among the blind.

• : Advocating for inclusive, lifelong disability support, Kaelynn Partlow's 'Life on the Bridge' underscores the urgent need for equitable programs across all autism and disability spectrums, challenging systemic neglect of severe cases.

Citing and References

Founded in 2004, Disabled World (DW) is a leading resource on disabilities, assistive technologies, and accessibility, supporting the disability community. Learn more on our About Us page.

Cite This Page: Pavel Kuljuk. (2025, April 30). An Unexpected Obstacle to Free Audiobooks for The Blind. Disabled World (DW). Retrieved May 13, 2025 from www.disabled-world.com/disability/publications/obtaining-audiobooks.php

Permalink: <a href="https://www.disabled-world.com/disability/publications/obtaining-audiobooks.php">An Unexpected Obstacle to Free Audiobooks for The Blind</a>: Underestimating the importance of literature in people's lives hinders the distribution of free audiobooks among the blind.

While we strive to provide accurate and up-to-date information, it's important to note that our content is for general informational purposes only. We always recommend consulting qualified healthcare professionals for personalized medical advice. Any 3rd party offering or advertising does not constitute an endorsement.