The Library of Congress Braille and Talking Book Program has a free Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) app for iOS devices available via the iTunes Store. QST is among the available publications that can use this app. “People who are blind, visually impaired or have a physical disability may now download audio and Braille books to their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, if they are registered with the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) in the Library of Congress,” the Library of Congress announcement said. NLS is also working on a version of the app for Android devices.

The program permits readers to download audio and Braille books from their NLS BARD accounts. Access to BARD is provided through local cooperating libraries. For QST the program describes every circuit. It lets users adjust speed and tone, and it offers a quick rewind to replay the last few seconds or a minute at a time, as well as fast forward, wind back by phrase, and other features. Users can go directly to articles, skip from section to section within an article, and jump from article to article.

BARD contains nearly 50,000 books, magazines and music scores in audio and Braille formats, with new selections added daily. Best known as the talking-book program, NLS upgraded its analog program to digital in 2009.