Bath and North East Somerset Libraries

We have accessible guides to each of our locations and sensory rooms for those with Sensory or Learning Impairments. You can see them all on our Accessible Guides page.

We also have ‘Access for all’ guides, which are on the the individual location pages.

Quick Reads

‘Quick Reads’ is a national scheme to produce condensed and straight-forward versions of popular novels for adults, designed to improve literacy and make fiction more accessible.

Find out more on the Quick Reads Website

Gatehouse Books

A collection of adult beginner readers, many of which have been written by adults who are themselves developing their literacy skills. Adults who are learning to read are inspired to read about someone like themselves and this can make their engagement with reading a richer and more memorable experience.

What is a Bag Book?

Bag Books are multi-sensory books for people with severe or profound and multiple learning disabilities. These stories consist of a few lines, with every line being accompanied by some form of sensory element such as something to touch, smell, a sound or physical interaction with the story teller. The stories are told through voice and emotion rather than words and pictures.

The stories are designed to be used at home by a parent or carer. Each storyboard also contains a link to a film where you can watch an example of the story being told.

What does a Bag Book look like?

The stories are in a large box with a handle. They are made up of a collection of objectives to help tell the story. There isn’t a book, instead there are laminated instructions and an A3 storyboard.

Where can I borrow a Bag Book?

The Bag Books are stored centrally but can be reserved and delivered to the most convenient library and you will be contacted when it is ready for collection.
Bag Books can be borrowed for 3 weeks.

Who can borrow a Bag Book?

• Holders of a Rainbow Resource Scheme card
• Early years practitioners and settings, childminders, children’s centres, or toddler groups, for use with children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
• Adults with special educational needs and disabilities

Which Bag Books are available?

There are also ideas on the Bag Books website about DIY stories where the story teller can gather items themselves, probably objects that they already have or that can be obtained cheaply.

For more information about Bag Books please see the Bag Books website.

We have a selection of children’s books in large print and braille. 

There is a small selection of titles only in braille, and small selection that has braille alongside standard or large print text. All titles are free to borrow by any members of our library service. 

BookTrust is the UK’s largest reading charity. As well as Bookstart Baby, Toddler and Pre-schooler packs, BookTrust also offers the following packs for children with additional needs:

• Bookstart Shine for children who are deaf
• Bookstart Touch for children with a visual impairment
• Bookstart Star for children with conditions affecting their fine motor skills

All the packs are free to parents and carers of children aged 0-5 years. We have a limited number of packs available at our libraries for families to have and you can ask staff for more information.

As the local BookStart Coordinator, we also provide packs to other local organisations such as Childrens Centres to gift to families.

We have dyslexia-friendly books for Adults, Young Adults and Children.

These books are specifically designed to help those with Dyslexia enjoy reading. They use different paper colour, clear layouts, larger line spacing and wider margins to help readers follow the text more easily.

Ask staff for more information.

Did you know that your eAudiobook listening experience can be customised?

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How to set a sleep timer

You can drift off to sleep without missing a moment of their eAudiobook. By selecting ‘Timer’ in the bottom right corner of the eAudiobook player, you can set playback to pause automatically after 10 to 60 minutes or at the end of the current track.

How to Adjust the Playback Speed

Some people like to speed through a story, while others prefer a slower pace to take in every word. By tapping the current speed display in the bottom left corner of the eAudiobook player, you can adjust playback anywhere between 0.5x and 3x the normal speed.

The BorrowBox app remembers your preferred speed, ensuring a consistent listening experience every time.

How to skip and rewind with ease

Need to jump ahead or replay a key moment? You can skip tracks by tapping the arrows on either side of the play button or rewind/fast-forward within a track using the 30-second buttons on the outer edge of the playback bar.

Did you know that your eBook reading experience can be customised?

At the click of the ‘Aa’ button at the bottom left corner of their eBook page, borrowers can unlock an array of display settings to create their most enjoyable reading experience.

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Adjustable Themes and Dark Mode

Whether you prefer the textured appearance of paper, the warm tones of sepia, or the ease of dark mode, by selecting ‘Themes’ in their eBook settings, you can select whichever visual experience suits you best.

The BorrowBox app also remembers your visual settings and preferences, no matter what eBook you read next.

Text Size and Flexible Fonts – Making Reading Easier for Everyone

Text size can be adjusted for reading ease along with a selection of fonts on offer to select from. This includes a dyslexic font, designed specifically for the purpose of helping readers to navigate text with less mental effort.

Advanced Settings: Spacing, Margins, Alignment and More

If you prefer large margins, lines double-spaced or text centred, this can be finessed by selecting ‘Advanced Settings’ tool in the ‘Aa’ menu.

Within this section, you can also return the eBook to its original visual settings by selecting ‘Reset to Original’.

Moving Through Chapters and Bookmarking Pages

By clicking the ‘Dot Points’ icon at the bottom of their screen, you can easily navigate the chapters of their eBook, taking you exactly where you want to go.

Additionally, save pages to come back to later with the bookmark icon at the top of the screen. To access previously saved bookmarked pages, select the ‘Dot Points’ icon, and ‘Bookmarks’.

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Stay in the Loop

Never miss an issue. Subscribe to your favourite titles to get notified the moment they arrive.

Made for Mobile

Prefer reading on your phone? Switch to Text View for clean, reflowable text – perfect for small screens.

Browse by Section

Looking for something specific? Jump straight to the section that interests you or browse the full list of articles.

Accessible for All

Text View works with screen readers like VoiceOver and TalkBack. Plus, customise fonts and layout to suit your needs.

Multi-Lingual Access

Translate articles on the spot – ensuring titles are accessible in many different community languages.

Listen While You Go (Coming soon)

Turn any article into audio with Text-to-Speech – great for multitasking!

‘Reading Well: Books on Prescription’ is a national scheme to help you manage your health and wellbeing through self-help reading. Topics include anxiety and depression, eating disorders, phobias, panic attacks and sleep problems.

These books are shelved with health books and have a distinctive sticker on the spine.

Find out more abut the scheme on the Reading Well Website.

What is a Reminiscence Pack?

Our Reminiscence packs are collections of pictures, with information about the image, on a theme. They are designed to spark memories and discussion points. We create many of these packs ourselves so they feature images and themes from the local area.

Talk to staff about borrowing the packs.

Which Packs Are Available?

We have borrowable Sensory Explorer bags for use at Bath Housing, Welfare and Advice Services, Bath Central, Keynsham, and Midsomer Norton Libraries and on the Mobile Library.

The bags are free to use in our spaces, and all contain:

• a guide to the library
• sensory/fidget toy(s)
• ear defenders

Borrow a bag from the main desk and return after use. Use the guide to familiarise yourself and child or young person with the space and explore using the fidget aids and ear defenders to improve the visit.

Find out more about the bags here.

We have Sensory Spaces in Bath Central, Keynsham, and Midsomer Norton Libraries. The Sensory Spaces are free to use, and all have:

• sensory lighting and toys
• a giant beanbag
• a comfy rug and cushion area
• a blackout tent

Each room has an accessible guide with photographs and descriptions of what you will find inside. You can view or download this in advance, or there will be a copy available in the room.

The spaces are open to all to use and we particularly welcome families and small groups of children and young adults with sensory needs. Children need adult supervision, so please book the room for all adults and children.

You can book these spaces on Eventbrite.

What is a Story Sack?

Story Sacks are fun, interactive storytelling resource. They include props, activities and stories, and are designed to stimulate literacy and language skills. They are particularly helpful in SEND Settings.

Using Story Sacks in early years settings will help with:

Language & Literacy Development
Behavioural Modelling – sharing, taking turns, listening
Engaging with words and stories
Learning through play and interactive engagement
Building confidence to react to stories

What does a Story Sack Look like?

They are in a large cloth bag containing a popular children’s book with interactive storytelling aids (puppets, soft toys etc.) and games. They can be used with one child or with a small group.

Story Sacks can be borrowed for FREE by members of Bath & North East Somerset Library Service.

Where can I borrow a Story Sack?

We have Story Sacks in Bath Central Library, Keynsham and Midsomer Norton Library and Information Services. Visit Librarieswest.org.uk to reserve them.

They can be reserved into any of our core libraries, Mobile Library and Community Run Libraries and borrowed for 3 weeks.

Which Story Sacks are available?

The Accessibility Statement for this site explains its functions and limitations, and how to contact us if you would like to raise an issue.