Library for the Visually and Physically Disabled
If you are eligible for the LVPD program and would like to participate, complete and return an application. This application is available at the LVPD, can be mailed to your home, or downloaded from the Application link to the left. A certifying authority must sign the application’s second page. After the application is approved, service can begin.
Eligibility
Individuals with temporary or permanent low vision, blindness, a physical disability or reading disability are eligible. Those whose physical limitations are temporary (likely to diminish with treatment or corrective surgery) are also eligible for the duration of their disability.
The following are qualifying disabilities:
LEGAL BLINDNESS: If vision in the better eye is 20/200 or less, or the widest diameter of visual field is no greater than 20 degrees.
VISUAL DISABILITY: If vision is corrected but visual acuity still is not good enough to read standard print.
PHYSICAL DISABILITY: If a physical limitation makes the holding of books and turning pages impossible or so difficult as to keep the individual from reading.
READING DISABILITY: Perceptual or reading disability of sufficient severity to prevent reading material in a normal manner.
For a more in-depth look at eligibility for this program, visit the National Library Service (NLS) eligibility webpage .
Certifying Authority
A certifying authority can include:
• Doctors of Medicine and Osteopathy
• Ophthalmologists
• Optometrists
• Registered Nurses
• Therapists
• Professional Staff of hospitals, institutions, and public welfare agencies (such as social workers, case workers, counselors, rehabilitation teachers, and superintendents)
• In the absence of any of these, the form can be signed by a professional librarian or by any person whose competence under specific circumstances is acceptable to the Library of Michigan Braille and Talking Book Library or by NLS.