Getting started
Find out how to get started with RNIB Reading Services.
Find out how to get started with RNIB Reading Services.
N.B. This website is currently only for our download services. If you want to receive braille or talking books in the post, please call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999 instead.
Registering for the service
First of all, you need to register for an account. From the home page, follow the Register link in the navigation menu. Accept the terms and conditions, and eligibility statement, then complete the form with your email, password and contact details.
A confirmation email will then be sent to you. Please follow the link in the email, to complete your registration, within 24 hours. Complete the marketing preferences page, and your account will be ready to use.
Talking books on a tablet, smartphone, or Windows computer – with Dolphin EasyReader
The easiest way to access our talking books is by using the Dolphin EasyReader app. You can find, download and listen to books on it, and the app does a lot of the processing work for you, in the background.
EasyReader can be downloaded, free of charge, from the relevant App or Play store on your device, or the EasyReader website for the Windows version.
To use EasyReader, please register for Reading Services on the website, as described above, and then follow the instructions on our EasyReader help page.
Downloading braille and talking books, through the Reading Services website
Once you have registered, go to the website and choose the Login link from the navigation menu. (For the best experience, we recommend using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge to access the website, rather than Internet Explorer.)
Searching for books: You can use the search box at the top of the screen to do a quick search by title, author or keywords.
For a more detailed search, start by using the Title Search link, and then choose Show Advanced Search to search by format, category, narrator and more. (In order to see results for a particular format, it is necessary to choose a category.)
All search results are displayed in a table. The first column shows the book title. Choose this link to go to the title page for more information, and to download a book.
Downloading books: The Download button is towards the bottom of each book’s page. When you choose Download, your book is prepared and digitally water marked with details of your account.
After a few minutes, press the Download button again and the title should begin to download. (It can sometimes take several minutes before your book is ready to download.)
(You can also download your book from the Pending Downloads link, in the Account menu. In Pending Downloads, books waiting to be downloaded are shown in a table. Periodically refresh the page, and the Download Now button will appear next to each book.)
Once downloaded, books appear in the Downloads folder on your device. If using Google Chrome in Windows, press shift-F6 to go to the Downloads folder.
Unzipping a downloaded book: Each book is downloaded in a zip file, which contains a number of files which make up the DAISY book. (The contents of the zip file are the same as you would find on one of our CDs or memory sticks.)
In Windows 10, to unzip the book:
This will extract the files into a folder with the same name as the zip file excluding the .zip extension. You can then copy the contents of the zip file onto the player of your choice whether a specialist player such as the Victor Reader Stream, Victor Trek, or Plextalk players.
(On Victor players, copy each unzipped book into the $vrdtb folder. On Plextalk players copy the unzipped book onto the SD card.)
You can also listen to books on your computer, by using one of the programs below:
Playing DAISY files in Windows 10, using SpeakOn Media Suite: For an easy and powerful Windows DAISY player, try the free SpeakOn Media Suite available from http://www.speakon.org.uk/SpeakOn.html
SpeakOn Media Suite is a self-voicing application, giving access to services including Internet Radio, RNIB Newsagent, and playback of DAISY audio.
When you set up SpeakOn Media Suite, a folder is created on your computer called My SpeakOn Media. In this folder is a sub folder called Audio_Books. Copy each unzipped book folder into the Audio_Books folder. In this way, you can have multiple books available to read in SpeakOn Media Suite. SpeakOn will remember your position in each book. You can change playback speed, set bookmarks etc.
A full manual is available from
http://www.speakon.org.uk/SpeakOn/MediaSuite/public/docs
Other Windows players: Windows Media Player is included with Windows 10. VLC Media Player is available free from https://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.en-GB.html
In VLC Media Player, you can play the book directly from the zip file. Highlight the zip file, and right click or press shift-F10. Select “open with”, then Play in VLC Media Player. (Note: VLC and Windows Media Player won’t remember where you left off in a book.)
Managing your downloaded books
When you download a book from RNIB Reading Services, there is no need to return it when you have read it, and no time limit on how long you can have the book.
When you have finished a book, simply delete the files from your device. (You are welcome to re-download it again in the future, if you want to read it again.)
Anything else?
You can find out more about the service on our FAQs page.
If you need further help, please Contact Us.
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