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Montana Talking Book Library Helps Children Understand Disabilities

February 3, 2005 /

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Living with a disability, such as blindness, is something that only
a small percent of the population must face. The Montana Talking Book Library,
a program of the Montana State Library, will take part in a disability
curriculum module at Central Elementary School to help children understand what
it is like to be blind.

Two third grade classes at Central Elementary School, located at 402 North
Warren in Helena, will participate in a disability curriculum module on Friday,
February 4, 2005 from 1:45 – 3:00 p.m. Students will experience what it is like
to have a wide range of visual disabilities.

The Montana Talking Book Library will share a variety of items with the
children, including twin vision books (books that are in both Braille and
regular print), maps, and sheet music. Additionally, two Montana Talking Book
Library volunteers, Brittany Eldredge and Bettye Madison, will visit the
students and perform a live demonstration of how a regular book is made into a
Braille Twin Vision book.

"Weíre honored to participate in this extremely important curriculum module,"
said Christie Briggs, the Montana Talking Book Library regional librarian. "It’s
a great opportunity to share information about disabilities with a very
interested audience."

Elly Driggers, a third-grade teacher at Central Elementary School, began the
disability curriculum module several years ago.

The Montana Talking Book Library, a program of the Montana State Library, offers
alternative reading materials for nearly 3,000 Montana citizens who have visual,
physical, or reading challenges that prevent them from reading standard print.

All materials are provided to patrons free of charge. MTBLís collection
consists of more than 48,000 recorded book titles, 80 magazines, and 200
descriptive videos.

For more information about the Montana Talking Book Library or about the
disability curriculum, contact

Sara Groves

Marketing and Communications Coordinator,

at (406) 444-5357 or at [email protected]