Donna Jones Morris Director News Release May 31, 2017 Josh Loftin Public Information Officer Utah Dept. of Heritage & Arts 801.245.7205 [email protected] Utah State Library Awarded Contract for Blind and Disabled Library Service SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Library will continue to provide blind and disabled library service to states west of the Mississippi River through a contract that is nearly $1 million and supports at least seven jobs in the state.

The agreement with the Library of Congress’ National Library Service for operation of the Multistate Center West is the largest service contract for the Utah State Library. The contract’s renewal allows Utah blind residents to continue to have immediate access to materials not only in the Blind State Warehouse, but also available through the Multistate Center West. Currency Reader machines are also available to the blind in Utah through the Utah State Library. “The Utah State Library is honored to be selected by the Library of Congress to continue to operate the Multistate Center West,” State Librarian Donna Jones Morris said. “The contract means that Utah continues to be a leader in blind and disabled library services.“ Housed in Utah State Library headquarters (250 N., 1950 W., Salt Lake City), the Multistate Center West is the National Library Service’s western distribution center for equipment and special format reading materials, including Braille and audio books. It also provides materials and machines nationwide through the Interlibrary Loan program. The Utah State Library contracts with 19 states to provide Braille materials and full library service to Alaska and Wyoming. Library service for the blind and disabled is free for patrons who qualify to receive material.