Telephone Reader
Visually Impaired Services & Learning Disability Services
Audio Version Newspapers, Audio Version Books, Audio Version Magazines & More in Midland, TX
The telephone reader benefits those who are visually impaired. Whether it be those with learning disabilities or seniors in need of audio services, the Telephone Reader can help! Our learning disability and senior services allow those who are visually impaired to listen to newspaper and other publications to be fully informed.
If you know someone who is in need of learning disability services or senior services, they may benefit from a Telephone Reader. Call the Recording Library of West Texas and ask about our learning disability and senior services today!
How does it work?
From the Midland/Odessa area, place a free call and follow the instructions you hear over the phone.
What information can you hear?
We offer audio version newspapers, including recordings of local news from the Midland Reporter-Telegram and the Odessa American. We provide weekly grocery ads from Albertson’s, H-E-B, Super Mercado, Walgreens, CVS, Walmart and Target. More than 50 magazines are available.
There are five national newspapers plus Texas coverage from the Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle and Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. Also available are weekly programs on health, aging, accessibility issues and more. We’re continually adding more publications, so keep checking back! Download the menu here.
Who’s eligible for audio version books or more?
Anyone who is already signed up for our services or the Texas Talking Books Program. For more information or to subscribe, call the Recording Library at 432.682.2731. There is no charge to become a subscriber.
Try our audio version newspapers, magazines & more!
It’s easy and it’s a free service of the Recording Library of West Texas.
- Call 432.617.5555
- Enter 5555 on your touch-tone phone for a 15 minute demonstration.
- Listen to the menu and make your choice.
- When listening to an article, press 5 for help instructions.
Here’s the list of user commands:
- [1] RESTART article
- [2] NEXT article
- [3] BACK 10 seconds
- [4] FORWARD 10 seconds
- [5] HELP
- [6] SKIP TO LAST article in category
- [7] SPEED, 3 faster speeds, 1 slower
- [8] VOLUME, louder, back to normal
- [9] PAUSE
- [*] EXIT PUBLICATION
- [0] EXIT CATEGORY
- [#] EXIT TELEPHONE READER
Learning Disability Services for Students:
At the Recording Library of West Texas, we are dedicated to providing the tools that students need to succeed. It is our mission to provide quality recording and library services for people who have a permanent or temporary disability that prevents them from reading printed materials. Check below for the details of our free service.
- Please Bring a copy of the book or call/email us with a title and an author’s name if we need to attain a copy ourselves
- A syllabus and reading schedule
Options Include:
- We can narrate in our studios and convert recordings into wav files, or mp3 files. We can also send these things to you in the mail if necessary.
- We can put mp3 files on a thumb drive or send the files via email.
- If the student would rather use their own text-to-speech program on their computer, we can convert books to a formatted word file. We can send these to you on a CD or by email.
- If student doesn’t mind a computerized voice we can send mp3 files on a CD or email them to you
- If we can’t find it, we can record it ourselves.