Mission
The mission of the Braille Circulating Library is to provide Christian and inspirational literature in accessible formats at no cost to individuals who are blind, vision-impaired or print-disabled. Formats include braille, large print, audio cassette and MP3 digital recordings. We also provide a limited amount of material to those who read print. If you are unable to find what you need on this website please give us a call or send us an e-mail, and we will do what we can to help you. Among our multiple categories, there are approximately 1,6oo braille books and 1,550 audio titles from which to choose.
Materials
All ministry materials are sent free of charge to our visually handicapped readers. There is no postage necessary for mailing materials to and from the Braille Circulating Library and patrons are allowed eight weeks to use the materials before returning or renewing them. Here’s how it works:
To become a member, please send verification from your doctor, nurse, case worker, or other professional qualified to verify that you are blind or otherwise print-disabled. When that is received, you will be entered into the Library’s system as a member so that you can begin receiving Braille or Talking Books.
When Library resources are sent to you, a card with your name and address on the front will be in a frame on the mailing container. Turn the card over and slip it back into the frame. The Library’s return address is then displayed for the return mailing. Place the Library’s materials back in the same container and return by US mail. When the materials are returned, something else will be sent to you.
Our material covers a wide range of subjects, including recorded Scriptures, Bible commentaries, sermons, Fiction, Devotional reading, Biographies and Music. Materials are available in Braille format, large print, talking book records, and cassette tapes. Our Daily Bread, a daily devotional, is offered on cassette tape.
Our resources are categorized and include works by the following authors and teachers, plus an array of others:
- BIBLE STUDY – Charles Spurgeon, A.W. Tozer, Oswald Chambers, Donald Barnhouse,
Dwight Pentecost, Francis Schaeffer, John MacArthur - COUNSEL – Clyde Narramore, Francis Schaeffer, David Jeremiah, Tim LaHaye,
John MacArthur, Dwight Pentecost, Warren Wiersbe - DEVOTIONAL – C.S. Lewis, J. Oswald Sanders, Oswald Chambers, Corrie Ten Boom,
Elisabeth Elliot - DOCTRINAL – J. Vernon McGee, Dwight Pentecost, W.A. Criswell, J. Oswald Sanders,
C.S. Lewis - PROPHECY – Tim LaHaye, John Walvoord, Dwight Pentecost, Donald Barnhouse
- FICTION – Karen Kingsbury, Grace L. Hill, Louise McCraw, Janette Oke, C.S. Lewis, Eugenia Price, Paul Hutchins
- SERMONS – Billy Graham, H.A. Ironside, James McConkey, Donald Barnhouse, Theodore Epp
Additionally, twenty-seven messages in pamphlet form and a few book messages written by Library co-founder James McConkey are available to the public. They are available in braille and text, and are distributed by the Silver Publishing Society, a division of the Braille Circulating Library. These inspirational materials are sent free of charge to anyone interested in receiving them. To discover the resources that are available for downloading or ordering, go to the Silver Publishing Society page on this site.
Significance in Virginia History
In 2009, the Library was recognized by the Richmond City Council, for long-time service to the blind and vision impaired. The Council cited the Library’s service of translating and publishing Christian educational literature for the local community and beyond.
On March 30, 2017, Braille Circulating Library co-founder Louise Harrison McCraw was honored as one of eight outstanding woman in Virginia history. Women awarded this honor are deemed to have “developed new approaches to old problems, service their communities, striven for excellence based on the courage of their convictions, and initiated changes that continue to affect our lives today.”*
Supported by an endowment from the Virginia Business and Professional Women’s Foundation, the Library of Virginia created an exhibition featuring the 2017 Virginia Women in History. The exhibit was on display during the month of March before travelling around the state over the next year.
Braille Circulating Library representatives present at the awards ceremony were Interim Director Bill Jeffries, former administrative assistant Frances Gordon, several board members and the pastor of a supporting church.
The eight women honored in 2017 are now included in the Library of Virginia’s Virginia Changemakers files. Louise McCraw’s biography can be accessed by clicking the Library of Virginia Changemakers link below.
*Quotation source: Library of Virginia (2017). Outstanding Women Honored. Broadside, vol. 1, 10. The complete article may be accessed by clicking the Broadside link below and navigating to page 10.
In the Spotlight Once Again
In August of 2021, the Library was once again given public recognition, as the subject of the CBS 6 weekly segment of Heroes Among Us. Storyteller Greg McQuade visited the Library and conducted interviews with the Library Board Vice Chairman, who is blind, and a local patron. Mr. McQuade posted information about the Library on his Facebook page, and the segment was aired twice as part of CBS 6 News. You may view the segment on wtvr.com by clicking the button below.
How It All Began
Miss Louise Harrison McCraw (1893-1975), an author of numerous books about the Civil War, became concerned after meeting with a group of visually impaired individuals in Richmond, Virginia, that there was a great need for Christian literature for the blind to access. There was at the time almost nothing of spiritual content available in Braille.
Miss McCraw was a friend of Dr. James H. McConkey (1858-1937), himself a prolific author. Dr. McConkey graduated from Princeton College in 1880 as class president, studied law and was admitted to the bar. He played an influential role in the work of YMCA and in founding the Africa Inland Mission.
As Miss McCraw wrote: “it occurred to me that the best service I could render the visually impaired would be to have the McConkey books, from the Silver Publishing Society in Pittsburg, transcribed into Braille for them.” Given the enormity of the need for spiritual Braille material, the idea of a library began to take shape. She then contacted Dr. McConkey, suggesting he have some of his books and pamphlets transcribed into Braille. The idea intrigued him and soon made plans to travel to Richmond to discuss the matter. Meeting with Miss McCraw he said, ”You know, if the Lord should see fit to initiate a work of this kind for the visually impaired, He might have a very definite part in it for you and it might have its base right here in Richmond.”