Who We Are

The Massachusetts Accessible Instructional Materials Library (AIM Library) acquires, maintains and distributes accessible textbooks and specialized instructional materials to assist LEA’s and TVI’s in providing equal access to the curriculum and to support and improve the quality of education for K-12 students who are blind or visually impaired.

The AIM Library serves as an additional resource for school districts seeking to borrow materials on a per school year basis. The AIM Library is not equipped to respond to all of the needs of the Commonwealth’s students with visual impairments and print disabilities. Therefore, school districts cannot rely upon the AIM Library solely to meet their obligations to provide any and all specialized materials deemed essential for student learning and that are identified in the students’ IEP.

The AIM Library provides on a first come first serve basis. We reserve the right to limit textbook requests and consider workbooks and recreational reading materials a low priority. The student’s school district is responsible for securing items that the Library is unable provide.

In addition to textbooks, the AIM Library is able to offer the following resources for loan: Braille writers, tape recorders, slate and styluses, pre-braille and literacy kits, tactile tools, raised lined maps, some assessment tools, and other educational materials provided by Federal Quota Funds through the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) for eligible legally blind students.

The AIM Library can refer districts to specialized sources nationally to purchase materials not in the library’s possession. Resources in this area are very limited; public school districts are encouraged to use local resources for transcription and enlargement of textbooks in order to facilitate access to these materials for the students in their district.

The AIM Library is also an Authorized User (AU) of the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC), and utilizes NIMAS files in the production of braille and large print for eligible students.