It's kinda chic to be a Perkins Library dog. 🐶 Happy National Dog Day! #NationalDogDay #GuideDogs #KindaChic

Did you know that more than 39 million books have been published in the United States? 📚 Here are some of the titles the National Library Service acquired this year thanks to patron requests. If there's a title you'd like to request, let us know! #Audiobooks

Members of the "#ADA generation," those who came of age under the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, are now needing to become advocates themselves in order to keep the rights they grew up with. #DisabilityRights https://n.pr/4imLt04

They grew up with disability rights. Now, they're fighting to keep them

Siblings Cody and Kaleigh Brendle have grown up with the right to community integration. Now, they worry those protections for people with disabilities like them are being eroded.

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In celebration of #SeniorCitizensDay, check out these titles for younger readers that explore connections across generations. 🧓 For more book recommendations for kids and young adults, subscribe to our monthly PerKIDS emails: https://bit.ly/40Hq4Gj

As the August heat reaches its height, we hope you can find a cool place to read some of these Recommended Reads inspired by "the dog days of summer." 🥵 #RecommendedReads #SummerReading https://bit.ly/4wmnAJr

Recommended Reads: The dog days of summer

Here's a list inspired by the unrelenting stretch of late-summer heat when everything slows down and tempers run a little shorter.

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Join a special presentation of our Cape Cod Audio Soundscape episode followed by a discussion with Cape Cod National Seashore Ranger Aleutia Scott! 🐚 🗓️ Tuesday, Aug 25 🕒 3 p.m. 📍 Zoom room Leave a message at the Tele-Fun mailbox to be sent the Zoom link: 617-972-7272

Are you or do you know a #Massachusetts voter with a disability? 🗳️ Check out our #AccessibleVoting guide in preparation for the State Primary (accessible ballot request deadline: 8/25) and General Election (accessible ballot request deadline: 10/27): https://www.perkins.org/votingma/

A blind dressage champion horse continues to wow judges by reading tactile cues in changing ground textures to navigate obstacles. 🐎 Cool to see an example of adaptability from the animal kingdom! #Horses #Dressage #Blindness https://bit.ly/4ggaAQK

Blind horse competes in dressage using 'equine braille' - Discover SWNS

Meet the remarkable blind horse tipped to become a dressage champion after learning an extraordinary form of equine "braille".

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As wearable robotics research continues to advance, people with mobility disabilities may soon have more assistive technology options available to them. #AssistiveTechnology #DisabilityInclusion https://bit.ly/3TKHS1J

Beyond Walkers: Wearable Robotics Are Redefining Active Lifestyles

Wearable robotic mobility systems are emerging as the next evolution beyond walkers, wheelchairs, and scooters, shifting from compensating for lost function to actively enhancing movement and endurance. Once reserved for athletes and extreme environment...

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Did you listen to Audio Descriptive Commentary for this year's FIFA #WorldCup? ⚽ Take @ACBNational's survey so your answers may help improve this #Accessibility program! #AudioDescription This survey is open until August 23, 2026. Submit your feedback: tinyurl.com/WorldCupAudio

For our next #LibraryWithoutWalls, Joe Walsh will introduce Adaptive Sports New England, highlighting how inclusive recreation and adaptive athletics empower people with disabilities. 🏀 🗓️ Tuesday, August 18 🕑 2 p.m. ET 📍 Tele-fun Zoom room To register, call 617-972-7852.

For August's #ReadingChallenge, read a book that could be considered taboo! 🫢 Our reader advisors are just a call away with ideas. Sign up for the challenge with Massachusetts Center for the Book today: https://bit.ly/4xBpack

In Europe, an ocular implant the size of a grain of rice and designed to curb some of the effects of age-related macular degeneration has been approved for sale in 30 counties. 👁️ #Europe #AssistiveTechnology #Blindness https://bit.ly/3TKFZCb

Europe Approves Bionic Eye to Restore Vision Lost to Blindness

An implant, smaller than a grain of rice, pairs with camera-mounted glasses to communicate visual information to the retina.

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Ever wonder why you come across those yellow bumps on the ground sometimes? 🤔 Turns out, they are there to help people who are blind or have low vision to safely navigate and avoid danger! #Accessibility #Blind https://bit.ly/4fKjdTC

Those yellow bumpy tiles exist because a man in 1965 wanted to help his friend going blind

The familiar yellow tiles use raised dots to warn of danger and bars to guide people along a safe path

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Join Eugenia Gold (they/them), paleontologist and anatomy professor for an engaging presentation on all things dino and more, Friday, August 14 at 4 pm! 🦖 Summer Reading registrants will receive the Zoom link via email. Register for Summer Reading: tinyurl.com/PerkinsSummer26

Such an important recommended read. Authentic representation matters! 👩‍🦯

BlindNewWorld@blindnewworld.bsky.social · 3w ago

#MyBlindStory: In Roxie in Color, Stacy Cervenka shares an authentic perspective on parenting blind while demystifying #disability for young readers. And thanks to support from @perkinslibrary.bsky.social, #blind and #PrintDisabled readers can borrow it free! #BlindNewWorld

Happy #AssistanceDogDay! 🐾 An assistance dog is a canine trained to perform tasks that support people with disabilities out in the @blindnewworld.bsky.social. This includes our library #GuideDog friends, Idabelle and Jazzy, who started their guiding journeys at a very young age! 🐶

Take a leisurely walk alongside the sandy beaches and blue waves of #CapeCod in our latest narrated #Soundscape episode! 🐚 Your narrators are our very own Perkins Library Director Kim Charlson and Children’s and Young Adult Services Librarian Andrea Everett! Listen now: https://bit.ly/3TqQA58

Previously, we highlighted the #Braille on the 2026 Winter Paralympic medals, and now, for the first time, the 2026 #CommonwealthGames taking place in Glasgow, Scotland also feature braille on their medals! 🏅 https://bit.ly/4wpxvPc

Having trouble reading printed text, completing paperwork, or enjoying hobbies that require seeing fine details? 🔍 Our patrons can get long-term loans of electronic video magnifiers, also known as CCTVs! For more information: Email Erin.Fragola@Perkins.org or call 617-972-7247

As part of the NLS and Braille Institute #SummerReading programs, wade into the wetlands in the newest Narrated Soundscapes episode. This week, we’re exploring #EvergladesNationalPark in Florida. 💧 Listen now: https://bit.ly/3TqQA58

Time to trade in your summer barbecues and lemonade for candy canes and hot cocoa! It's #ChristmasInJuly here at Perkins Library! 🎄 Let the countdown to the holidays begin with these #RecommendedReads. https://bit.ly/4yBmXOp

Recommended Reads: Christmas in July

Your days lately may be filled with beach trips and barbecues, but with only five months to go, the Christmas creep has begun!

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Assistive technology is reshaping the way we think about pediatric healthcare and shows that inclusive design not only benefits those with disabilities, but everyone! ❤️‍🩹 #AssistiveTechnology #Healthcare #Pediatrics https://bit.ly/3TNrYU4

when care learns to play: how design is reshaping pediatric healthcare

from sailboat-inspired IV stands to paintable sensors, designers are rethinking everyday medical devices across pediatric healthcare.

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Today is the 36th anniversary of the Americans with #Disabilities Act. ♿ Much progress has been made, but there is still plenty to be done to meet the #ADA's goals of full participation, independent living, equality of opportunity, and economic self-sufficiency. #ADA36

A joint South Korean/American team of researchers have developed robotic clothing that could assist people with limited mobility to dress in just ten seconds! 👕 What do you think of this #AssistiveTechnology? https://bit.ly/4fuqjdr

This Robotic Clothing Wraps Around You in Just 10 Seconds

A joint South Korea–U.S. research team has introduced a new form of robotic clothing that can dress a wearer automatically in around 10 seconds.

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In honor of #DisabilityPrideMonth, check out these recommendations by activists, scholars, and storytellers who write with the spirit of the #DisabilityRights fight. ✊ Find the full list at: Perkins.org/MA250

Our Summer Reading participants had a whale of a time meeting Nile, a life-sized inflatable humpback whale, right on the @PerkinsVision campus! 🐋 Thanks to the Whalemobile team for swimming by and sharing their passion with us! 🐳 #Whalemobile #SummerReading #Whales

Congrats to our intern, Emma Brinkley, who is a recipient of an ALA Elder Justice Task Force mini-grant! 👏 Emma earned this honor from her digital/health literacy projects at Simmons University and the work she has done to help serve disabled patrons at Perkins Library!

The Worcester Talking Book Library is hosting an art show that turns classic works of art into tactile exhibits through August 15. 🖼️ Plan to visit this immersive and interactive experience! https://bit.ly/3Ry8PVA

Worcester Library Hosts Tactile Art Exhibit

The Worcester Public Library announced the opening of an interactive tactile exhibit at its main branch, at 3 Salem Sq., starting July 15.

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Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was the first federal civil rights law to explicitly protect disabled people from discrimination. 50+ years later, a number of lawsuits threaten such protections. Learn how to take action: https://bit.ly/4w88rMM

The Importance of Section 504 for the Future of Disability Rights - Disability Belongs™

Learn about current debates around Section 504 and how disability rights can be protected and strengthened.

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