Reading Room for the

Visually Impaired

Opening hours:

Monday to Friday: 9.30am - 5.30pm

Saturday: - Closed

Contacts
Tel:  21 7982053
Fax: 21 7982138
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Resources in Braille

The collection of books in Braille contains around 2,900 titles / 9,000 volumes, including the first such book that was printed in Portugal. They cover a huge variety of subjects: psychology, philosophy, chess, typhlology, etc. The areas with the largest number of titles are schoolbooks and literature, with a predominance of novels, albeit there are also works of poetry and drama. There is also some children’s and youth literature.

The collection also has about 50 Portuguese and foreign periodical titles, 25 of which are ongoing publications. They cover a variety of topics, including visual handicaps. Pride of place is occupied by the Portuguese Braille magazines Poliedro, Rosa dos Ventos and Ponto e Som, which deserve a special mention for both their longevity and the cultural and information services they provide to the visually impaired. Ponto e Som has been published in both Braille and audio formats by the BNP every quarter since 1974.

The collection of music in Braille contains about 4,000 titles. It includes both didactic works and different types of classical music by composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and so on. There are works for voice and a variety of instruments, with emphasis on the piano.

Catalogues of the collection are available in Braille and ink formats.