School and Student Service Illinois State Library
The Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Service (TBBS) is happy to provide service at home or at school for qualifying students, and institutional service to classrooms and teachers who work with qualifying students. Please review the School Service Guide for Teachers and Students and other forms provided at the bottom of this page. For further information, please contact TBBS:
Illinois State Library
Talking Book and Braille Service (TBBS)
Gwendolyn Brooks Building
300 S. Second St.
Springfield, IL 62701
800−426−0709
217−782−9995 (fax)
Hours: Mon.–Fri., 8 a.m.−4:30 p.m.
Email: isltbbs@ilsos.gov
Starting Service for a Teacher/Classroom
To open a teacher/classroom account, please fill out an Institutional Application and the Annual Student List, which certifies that the students using the school account have qualifying visual or physical disabilities. For each student with a reading disability, fill out page 1 of an Individual Application and have page 2 signed by a medical doctor; return the form/s with the Annual Student List.
Starting Service for a Student
To open an account for a student, please fill out an Individual Application and make sure that it is properly certified (see page 2 of the application). Students can receive service at school or at home. The student's family is responsible for all materials received at home; the teacher is responsible for materials sent to the school.
All forms can be mailed, faxed, or scanned and emailed to TBBS (see above). All required forms are provided at the bottom of this page.
Summer Break
Unless other arrangements are made, all teacher/classroom accounts are suspended at the end of the school year. Please return the digital talking book machine and any books checked out to institutional accounts and Student at School accounts at that time or call to arrange for service over the summer.
To resume service after the summer break, please return the forms mailed out at the beginning of the school year, or contact TBBS and send in the Annual Student List.
A student who receives books at home can continue to use TBBS over the summer. If a student receives books only at school, the Student at School account will be placed on hold at the end of the school year and must be reactivated at the beginning of the next school year.