BARD Mobile Illinois State Library

A service of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), BARD Mobile provides access to braille and talking books directly from the NLS Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD). BARD contains nearly 40,000 books, magazines, and music scores in audio and braille formats, with new selections added frequently.

With BARD Mobile, you can play the audio materials on your iOS and Android devices. If your device is connected to a refreshable braille display through Bluetooth, you can also read the braille materials available on BARD.

The BARD Mobile app is available as a free download for iOS devices on iTunes, and for Android devices on Google Play. Before you can use BARD Mobile, you must be registered with a braille and talking-book library in the NLS network of cooperating libraries.

Download BARD Mobile App

• Download the BARD Mobile App for iOS Devices (iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch)
• Download the BARD Mobile App for Android Devices (Android smartphone or tablet)

Notes on Using BARD Mobile

• Once you download the free app, sign in with your BARD user name and password. You’ll only need to do this the first time you use the app. The BARD Mobile app will remember your BARD user credentials.
• Books and magazines can be quite large to download (50MB - 200MB), so be sure to manage downloads carefully, especially if you have a limited data plan. You can set BARD Mobile to only download over wi-fi.

Where can I get help on using BARD Mobile?

The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped has prepared user guides for both the iOS and Android versions of the BARD Mobile app. Help features are also provided within each app.

• BARD Mobile How-To Video Series on YouTube
• BARD Mobile Application User Guide for iOS
• BARD Mobile Application User Guide for Android

BARD-specific questions may be answered by the BARD online instructions and FAQs, or if not, you may contact NLS at NLSDownload@loc.gov.