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Our Work With The Voluntary Network

As a recipient of The Voluntary Network's service, we invite you to join Listening Books!

Along with the Voluntary Network, we know how difficult it can be when you are isolated and alone, and that is why we would like to offer you membership to Listening Books audio service.  We can offer you free access to a selection of titles from our Listening Books catalogue on a tablet sent to your home. Anyone who has an illness, disability, learning difficulty or mental health condition that impacts on their ability to read print, is over 60 and lives in the UK, will qualify. 

Alternatively, if you are under 60 and do have your own device and internet connection, why not choose to stream and download over 10,000 audiobooks from our website or app? Please visit https://www.listening-books.org.uk/what-we-do/membership-for-me for more information.

How it works?

The Pre-loaded tablet service sent straight to your door

Once you have filled in the application form (see below) and chosen this option, we will go through your favourite book choices and load around 50 fantastic titles onto a tablet, which we will then courier to your house along with instructions on how to listen to the books.   One of our friendly team will then give you a call to make sure you received the tablet and are up and running. 

After that we will call you again at 6 monthly intervals to see if you would like to swap the books included for some new ones to listen to.  Listening Books is a charity and due to the kind donations of trusts and companies, we are able to offer you all this for free.  If at any time you decide you don't need or want the tablet anymore, you can send it back to us for free.  Please contact us to arrange this. 

Benefits

There are many benefits of listening to audiobooks, not just the enjoyment of a great story but they can be a relief from pain or loneliness.

Our Patron Stephen Fry describes audiobooks as;

'The companionship of a voice telling stories is very special, Listening Books distributes pure undiluted pleasure and friendship'.

Man and Woman looking down at a tablet and smiling.

To apply for the Listening Books scheme, please either complete this online form, telephone 020 7407 9417 or email Louise at lbarling@listening-books.org.uk. If you prefer to complete the paper form and return by post, you can find the form here. Please return it to: Freepost LISTENING BOOKS.

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Terms & Conditions

Listening Books is a charity for people with print impairments. Those eligible for membership include people with dyslexia, arthritis, stroke, multiple sclerosis, ME, glaucoma, macular degeneration, cataracts, autism, Asperger's syndrome, ADD, ADHD, amputations, Down's syndrome, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, head injuries, muscular dystrophy, cancer, emphysema, cerebral palsy, heart conditions, motor neurone disease, neurological conditions, paralysis, Parkinson's disease, paraplegia, quadriplegia, polio, spinal injuries, frailty and manual dexterity problems.

Our audiobooks must not be modified, copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed in any way, are lent to members for their own non-commercial use only and will be returned to Listening Books or, if downloaded, will be deleted from any portable device once listened to and any discs the titles have been burnt to destroyed at the end of the lending period.