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Digital Books and Players

Digital book cartridge

Photo of a digital book cartridge with the finger hole in the cartridge highlighted.

The digital books (DB) and magazines are on a USB flash cartridge about the size of a cassette tape that slides into the inset USB port in the front of the player.

  • There's only one way to insert the book. One end is beveled for easy insertion, while the other has a round finger hole so that you can easily extract the cartridge from the player.
  • The USB port on the right side of the player is used for a USB flash thumb drive, for members who download multiple books and magazines from BARD.
  • Every digital book will be on one cartridge only. Magazine cartridges usually contain a number of weekly and monthly magazines.

Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD): Digital books are also available online, via BARD. BARD members are able to download books and magazines using the BARD Mobile App for Apple and Android devices.

The digital talking book machine (DTBM) weighs only around two pounds. The body of the player is dark to create maximum visual contrast between the case and the colors of the buttons. (For more information about the digital player, see the NLS page Digital Audiobook PlayersExternal Link Icon.)

The machine is powered by a rechargeable battery. We suggest that you plug it in when not in use so that it retains its charge. If a player malfunctions at any time, contact TBBL for a replacement.

NLS provides members with a standard player or an advanced player. The advanced player has additional buttons that make navigating within books easier than with the standard player.

Standard Player

The standard machine has eleven buttons for the basic operations for listening to a book.

a picture of the standard digital player, with controls and sockets labeled

Control buttons used in Standard Digital Player are labeled on the picture above. If you press any of the buttons when there is no book in the player it will identify itself and state its function.

  • Tone Up/Tone Down Buttons - The white bullet-shaped buttons on the left side adjust the voice tone over 11 levels.
  • Power On/Off - The red circular button on the left turns player on and off.
  • RW (rewind) - The triangular white button to the left of the Play/Stop button moves the text backward in increments that are determined by how long button is held down. It will move to the beginning of the text if held down long enough.
  • Play/Stop - The rectangular green button, found above the slot where the digital cartridge is inserted, starts and stops book.
  • Sleep - The crescent-shaped white button above the Play/Stop button turns the player off automatically after set time is reached. You can set the length of time to play in increments of 15 minutes to 1 hour. To cancel, press the Play/Stop button.
  • FF (fast forward) - The triangular white button to the right of the Play/Stop button moves the text forward in increments that are determined by how long the button is held down. It will move to the end of the text if held down long enough.
  • Volume Up/Volume Down - The yellow bullet-shaped buttons controls the volume, providing 15 volume levels up and down. It will indicate when minimum and maximum volumes have been reached.
  • Speed Up/Speed Down - The white bullet-shaped buttons on the right adjust the voice speed, providing 16 levels of speed. It will indicate when minimum and maximum levels have been reached.

In addition to the controls on the top of the player, there are two sockets on the right side of the player.

  • Headphone Socket - The round socket with the green rim located closest to the handle is for headphones. When headphones are plugged in, the player's speaker is disconnected. This port maybe used for external speakers.
  • USB Port - The rectangular socket, which may have a black plastic cover over it, is a USB port. This is where you insert a flash drive (thumb drive) to play books downloaded from BARD.

Advanced Player

The advanced player has some additional features and buttons that make navigation easier, for example when moving chapter to chapter in a nonfiction book:

  • a menu button for choosing how to navigate the book;
  • buttons to jump forward and backward in the book;
  • a button to hear current reading position and other information, such as battery status; and
  • a button to set "bookmarks" that you can return to.
a picture of the advanced digital player with control buttons and sockets labeled

Control buttons used in the Advanced Digital Player are labelled on the picture above. If you press any of the buttons when there is no book in the player, it will identify itself and state its function.

  • Tone Up/Tone Down Buttons - The white bullet-shaped buttons on the left side adjust the voice tone over 11 levels.
  • Info Button - The white diamond-shaped button on the left provides information about the book (title, author, etc.), current reading position and battery/plug-in status.
  • Power On/Off - The red circular button on the left turns the player on and off.
  • RW (Rewind) - The triangular white button to the left of the Play/Stop button moves the text backward in increments that are determined by how long the button is held down. It will move to the beginning of the text if held down long enough.
  • Play/Stop - The rectangular green button, found above the slot where the digital cartridge is inserted, starts and stops book.
  • FF (Fast Forward) - The triangular white button to the right of the Play/Stop button moves the text forward in increments that are determined by how long the button is held down. It will move to the end of the text if held down long enough.
  • Sleep - The crescent-shaped white button above the Play/Stop button turns the player off automatically after a set time is reached. You can set the length of time to play in increments of 15 minutes to one hour. To cancel, press the Play/Stop button.
  • Volume Up/Volume Down - The yellow bullet-shaped buttons control the volume, providing 15 volume levels up and down. The player will indicate when minimum and maximum volumes have been reached.
  • Mark Button - The white rectangular button, with a raised horizontal line through it, is located on the right side of the player, between the Volume and Speed controls. It is used to insert or remove a bookmark at the current reading position.
  • Speed Up/Speed Down - The white bullet-shaped buttons on the right adjust the voice speed, providing 16 levels of speed. The player will indicate when minimum and maximum levels have been reached.
  • Next Button - The white triangular button pointing right located in the middle of the menu and mark buttons moves text forward to the next item at the selected navigation level. It will navigate forward through a book to reach the end of the text and works with the menu button.
  • Menu Button - The rectangular white button, with a raised horizontal line through it, is located in the middle of the player between the prev and next buttons. It is used to select the type and level of navigation through a book and works with the Prev and Next buttons.
  • Prev Button - The white button pointing left, located between the info and menu buttons, moves text back to the previous item at the selected navigation level. It works with the Menu button and will navigate backward through a book to reach the beginning of the text.

In addition to the controls on the top of the player, there are two sockets on the right side of the player.

  • Headphone Socket - The round socket with the green rim located closest to the handle is for headphones. When headphones are plugged in, the player's speaker is disconnected. This port may also be used for external speakers.
  • USB Port - The rectangular socket, which may have a black plastic cover over it, is a USB port. This is where you insert a flash drive (thumb drive) to play books downloaded from BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download).
Last Updated: November 29, 2021