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Braille libraries offer community. What happens when funding cuts close them?

Marci Carpenter reconnected with her love of reading through her fingertips. When her vision became more limited, learning braille gave her a new way to experience the world. She still remembers how the words of Robert Frost鈥檚 poems came alive again through soft bumps embossed on thick paper.

But it was the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library in Seattle that gave her a place to connect.

鈥淭hat was the first time I had ever experienced being around shelves and shelves of braille books. It was this really liberating experience,鈥� recalls Ms. Carpenter. Over the next five decades, she returned again and again to browse through the Major League Baseball schedule, check out the Constitution 鈥� and science fiction 鈥� and discover new volumes.

Today, Ms. Carpenter, who now serves as president of the National Federation of the Blind of Washington, is facing a new urgent need.

On July 1, the doors to the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library swung shut to the public for in-person exploration and gathering due to a lack of state funding. As needs increase and revenue growth slows, the state of Washington is facing a budget deficit. Ms. Carpenter, who was among those working with legislators to secure funding for libraries, came up empty-handed.

鈥淲e weren鈥檛 the only community whose services got cut,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here were a lot of programs that didn鈥檛 get funding this year.鈥�

With some states struggling economically, more braille and talking book libraries might end up the same way. Additionally, the proposed 2026 fiscal budget phasing out the Institute of Museum and Library Services as part of efforts to decrease the size of government. With congressional approval, by Oct. 1, state grants may no longer be available to support libraries.

The Seattle library is one of nearly 100 libraries and outreach centers nationwide that form the network of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, which provides free braille and audio materials through the Library of Congress.

A small staff is determined to keep the library running. Since July 1, it has offered services by appointment only. 鈥淲e are getting about our normal number of calls,鈥� writes Danielle Miller, the library鈥檚 director, in an email. 鈥淲e have had to turn away people who wanted to come in and use the library, so the physical closure has had some impact on people wanting to visit or use the space.鈥�

Patrons say they are most saddened by that loss. Through in-person workshops and programming, the library provides a sense of belonging and community. Preserving free access to braille materials and encouraging braille literacy 鈥� especially for children 鈥� is imperative, according to experts and educators. Reading is not a privilege, they say; it is a right.

鈥淚鈥檝e actually had people tell me that the library saved their lives because when they thought they couldn鈥檛 read, they became very depressed,鈥� says Ms. Carpenter. 鈥淲hen they discovered 鈥� all the resources that were available, it really gave them hope.鈥�

The vast majority of the 26% of employed blind people are braille readers, according to the National Braille Press in Boston. However, despite reading鈥檚 link to higher education and employment in the United States, only of school-age blind children in the U.S. can read braille, the NBP estimates.

While tape recorders and synthesized speech are useful tools, they do not teach the ability to read, write, and spell, says Kim Charlson, the executive director of the Perkins Library in Watertown, Massachusetts.

鈥淲hy do you need to learn braille? I often will challenge people and say, 鈥榃ell, why do you need to learn print?鈥欌�� says Ms. Charlson, who lost her sight as a child.

Braille opens the door to independence, not only on a large scale but also in small ways. What is habitual to sighted people becomes a significant hindrance for blind people, says Ms. Charlson. For example, being able to jot down a telephone number, take a note, or create labels to find the warranty for your new stove.

Ms. Charlson shares a lesson she learned about the everyday importance of using braille after adding an unconventional ingredient to her chili recipe.

鈥淚 just opened it and tossed it in. I added my tomato sauce,鈥� she says with a laugh. 鈥淢y husband [who is also blind] took a bite and he said, 鈥楾his is kind of interesting.鈥� And I said, 鈥榃hat do you mean? It鈥檚 chili.鈥� And he goes, 鈥榃ell, it鈥檚 got fruit cocktail in it.鈥欌��

Ms. Charlson now adds braille labels to her kitchen jars and cans.

While funding uncertainty has braille libraries on edge, at the National Braille Press, says the demand for braille books remains high. He expects that to continue.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a shame that not as many people have learned braille, but I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 going away,鈥� says Mr. Mac Donald. 鈥淲e have parents that have written testimonials saying, 鈥業 wish you could have seen the excitement of my son when he read his first book with us 鈥� in braille.鈥欌��

On a recent weekday, the NBP presses are humming, business as usual, in a brownstone building in Boston鈥檚 Fenway neighborhood. In the basement, Elizabeth Bouvier binds books together with practiced precision as the rhythmic clatter of machines pressing dots into thick paper echoes off concrete walls.

Ms. Bouvier is blind. So are many of her colleagues at the NBP, where a small staff produces millions of braille pages each year, including children鈥檚 books.

The closure of the Seattle library means the shuttering of its children鈥檚 room. It also means the end of introductory braille workshops and story times with children鈥檚 books featuring braille pages added that allow blind and sighted kids to read together.

鈥淭hese services are so vital, that they are much more than just reading and pleasure. For many people, [library programs are] a lifeline. It鈥檚 health, it鈥檚 wellness, it鈥檚 well-being, it鈥檚 connection to the world,鈥� Ms. Miller says.

Like many, Ms. Carpenter was the only blind child in her public school. The closing of the children鈥檚 room 鈥渋s a loss of community,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t is important for blind children to meet other blind children.鈥�

Ms. Miller鈥檚 and Ms. Carpenter鈥檚 inboxes have been flooded with inquiries about how people can help. Ms. Carpenter is telling them to wait for the right moment. When funding talks for the next state budget cycle start in 2026, she has no doubt that the blind community will turn up in big numbers to explain why access to the library鈥檚 services is essential to them.

鈥淵ou know the most impactful action people have is their story,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nyone can request to speak with a legislator.鈥�