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Disability Services

Books on Tape

Guidelines for Students Using Books on Tape

The following guidelines are intended to help students with disabilities, who need course materials in a recorded format as a reasonable accommodation, to understand the process for obtaining these materials, as well as to be aware of their responsibilities in receiving this accommodation.

To be eligible to receive books on tape, students must provide documentation of a disability that impacts their ability to effectively read printed materials. For more information about documentation requirements, please contact the director of Disability Services.

Procedures for Using Recorded Materials

  1. Contact the director of Disability Services to determine whether you are eligible to receive books on tape as a reasonable accommodation. You can reach her at (651) 635-8759 or by e-mail at k-mcgillivray@bethel.edu. If you are working with Dr. Gretchen Wrobel, you can reach her at (651) 638-6403 or at wrogre@bethel.edu. If you are unsure who to contact, please call Kathy McGillivray.

  2. If recorded materials are approved as a reasonable accommodation for you, the office of Disability Services will purchase a membership for you at any of these agencies:

    • Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFBD). This is a national organization which has a library of thousands of books on tape and which also records books. Once the membership is processed, you will receive information about using the service, as well as a member number. Please retain this information, as you will need it when you begin ordering books. For more information about this agency, visit www.rfbd.org or call 1-800-221-4792.
    • National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS). This is a network of libraries containing books that are generally not textbooks. However, you can obtain novels, plays, and other books which might be required for a history or literature course. For more information about NLS, please call the Minnesota Regional Library at 1-800-722-0550.
    • Communication Center
      The Communication Center of Minnesota State Services for the Blind records books for students who have disabilities that affect reading. In order to qualify for this service, you must first be eligible for services through NLS (See above.) For more information about the Communication Center, please call (651) 642-0500.

    Books from these agencies are recorded on four tracks at half the speed of standard tapes and you will not be able to access them with a standard tape recorder. If you are approved for membership with NLS, they will provide you with a tape player which will play tapes from all three of the above agencies. This machine is only a player; it will not record. If you choose not to use the player provided by NLS, you are responsible for purchasing an adapted tape recorder or player. You may purchase an adapted tape recorder from Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic at www.rfbd.org. Bethel College may be able to loan you a machine while you are in the process of obtaining one of your own.

  3. If you will be using books on tape, early registration may be approved as an accommodation for you. As soon as you register for your classes, talk with your instructors or bookstore staff to determine what textbooks or course packets will be utilized. It is important that you get the title, author, ISBN #, and copyright date of each book so you can find out if it has already been recorded by RFBD, NLS or the Communication Center.
  4. Contact RFBD by telephone (1-800-221-4792) or on the Internet at www.rfbd.org to see if they have previously recorded any of the books you will need. Please also contact the Communication Center at Minnesota State Services for the Blind at (651) 642-0500 to see if they have previously recorded the book. Finally, check with NLS by calling the Minnesota Regional Library at 1-800-722-0550. If any of these agencies have previously recorded any of the books you need, ask the agency representative to send the books directly to you.
  5. If the books have not been previously recorded, the Communication Center is the primary agency for taping textbooks. Please talk with your Disability Services provider about getting a second copy of the book to be mailed to the Communication Center for recording. Bethel will purchase or borrow the second copy. During the summer months you should contact Kathy McGillivray with any questions about books on tape. If you are making the request less than four weeks before the start of the semester or after the semester has begun, it is likely that Disability Services will need to record the book. In that case, please notify your DS provider.
  6. If Disability Services or the Communication Center is recording a book or course packet, Disability Services will obtain the book from the bookstore. If the Communication Center is recording the book, please submit the appropriate order form to your DS provider so we can send it to them along with the textbook. If you need order forms, contact your DS provider. Please note that you are still responsible for purchasing your own copy of the course materials for your use.
  7. It is your responsibility to supply your DS provider or the Communication Center with a copy of the course syllabus or a reading schedule as soon as it becomes available. If you do not provide this information, you will not receive tapes in a timely manner. If you have difficulty obtaining this information from your professors, please ask your DS provider for assistance.
  8. We are aware that faculty members do not always prepare all of their materials prior to the start of a course. It is your responsibility to stay in touch with your professors about upcoming materials that will need to be recorded. It is your responsibility also to submit these materials to your specialist as far in advance as possible.
  9. If you experience problems with the tapes or there are changes in the reading schedule, please contact the Communication Center or your DS provider as soon as possible.
  10. If Disability Services is recording any of your textbooks, you and your DS provider should agree on the most effective means for you to exchange course materials and tapes.
  11. At the end of the term you are responsible to return all tapes to the program which recorded them. Please be careful not to lose or damage tapes as other students may need to use them in the future. If a tape is lost or damaged, please report it.