APH Materials

Districts wishing to access the AIM Library must coordinate all paperwork and material requests through a Certified Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI). The specialized instructional materials available can only be assessed, deemed essential, and administered by a TVI. APH Materials Requests are processed all year long.

The AIM Library receives funding to purchase educational materials from the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) for students who meet the eligibility criteria. Students who do not meet the eligibility criteria may still seek to borrow APH materials from the AIM Library but are limited to what we have in our existing inventory.

APH materials, as well as all textbooks provided to the LEA, are the property of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and are loaned to districts for use by students who are legally blind. It is the district’s responsibility to maintain an inventory of APH materials and ensure their use only by students who are blind or visually impaired.

APH materials may remain with students as long as they need for continued access to education or if it is beneficial towards enriching their environment.

When your student no longer needs the materials, they can be returned to the AIM Library, however, please consider these guidelines:

• Only current kits and materials that are complete and functional should be returned. Any old discontinued APH materials/kits/items that are not in good condition, have pieces missing, broken parts, or are dirty should NOT be returned. Please purge/recycle appropriately at LEA. The AIM Library does not have the ability to review and sort discontinued materials/kits.
• If you can’t find the item on the APH website, then the item has been discontinued. In making a decision, consider if you would like to receive the items in the condition they are in for a new request from AIM Library. If you would NOT like to receive those items for a student, please purge and recycle appropriately.
• Outdated technology, such as handi cassettes, braille mobile +, Bookport DT, Old model light boxes and mini lite boxes, bulbs, batteries, etc that have been discontinued, should NOT be returned.
• Please recycle through the school’s electronic recycling program. Be sure to pull out SD cards with student information.
• All paper and cardboard constructed materials and student workbooks are considered consumable and should not be returned.

Mail Returns

Once you have sorted through and identified complete, clean, and relevant items, you can box them up and mail via snail mail Free Matter for the Blind to: AIM Library 3 Randolph Street Canton, MA 02021

Please use a Materials Return Form for each box.

If you use more than one box for materials, please make a note on the form that there are multiple boxes.

Please number outside of boxes 1 of 16, 2 of 16 …with your name/district on the outside of the box: for example Brasier/Canton 1 of 6.

Boxes may not arrive together, so this is very helpful.

TVIs may also schedule to drop off materials in Canton TUES/WED/THUR only between 9 am-3 pm.

Please reach out to Barbara Zbyszewski first to schedule a day/time window

For assistive technology(AT) devices, if they are in good working condition, please return them to the AIM Library.

If the AT device needs repair, please click our repair ticket tab above to start that process.

Please do not mail broken devices to the AIM Library.

Please remember that LEAs can at any time purchase products directly from APH, for any student, regardless of acuity.

To receive APH catalogs and to be placed on its mailing list for catalog supplements, contact APH directly:

American Printing House for the Blind, Inc.
1839 Frankfort Avenue
P. O. Box 6085
Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085

cs@aph.org
(502) 895-2405 or 1-800-895-1509