The Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library (WTBBL) has officially operated within the Milwaukee Public Library since 1961. The program’s purpose is to provide braille and recorded books with playback equipment to Wisconsin residents who have difficulty reading standard print. It is part of the larger Talking Book Program of the Library of Congress. MPL’s service to the blind community began even earlier with a designated Braille Reading Room set up as early as 1895. In 1931, when the US Congress initially created the National Library Service (NLS) for the Blind, there were four regional libraries in the NLS. These regional centers sent Library of Congress Talking Books and players to residents. The state of Wisconsin was served by the NLS regional center operating out of the Chicago Public Library. In November of 1934, E.E. Seebach, head of MPL’s Department for the Blind, requested to serve as a substation for the Chicago regional center and shortly after, the first Talking Books arrived at MPL. By 1936 MPL had circulated 31 Talking Books and 27 braille volumes, by 1944 those numbers had grown to 400 and 80, respectively.

By the early 1960s, the program had expanded and in 1961 the Wisconsin State Legislature contracted with MPL to officially serve as the Wisconsin Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (LBPH). In 1964, Library Director Richard Krug applied for a federal grant to establish a dedicated center at MPL’s Central Library to serve the blind and visually handicapped in Wisconsin. This center would include a braille reading room, reference area, space for transcription, copying, information, volunteers, agency connections, and a service center for other requested formats. In the fall of 2009, the LBPH changed its name to become the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library. WTBBL is one of the few libraries in the NLS network that can duplicate digital books in house. The service is still headquartered in Central Library. It is funded by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Division for Libraries and Technology and administered by MPL. WTBBL continues to be a part of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled network.