The amendment allows authorized entities to reproduce or distribute copies or phonorecords of previously published nondramatic literary works in specialized formats exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities.
The definition of authorized entities under Chafee includes any "nonprofit organization or a governmental agency that has a primary mission to provide specialized services relating to training, education, or adaptive reading or information access needs of blind or other persons with disabilities."
The NLS notes that this authority to make or distribute copies may be delegated to "volunteers, special education teachers, and commercial producers.
[9] In order to qualify for service through the NLS, blind people must have vision that is 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting lenses or whose widest diameter of visual field subtends an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees.
[3] Persons with physical limitations that hinder their ability to read standard print materials also qualify for service with the NLS.
[11] Once transferred onto a USB flash drive, downloaded talking books and magazines can be played on the digital talking-book machine provided free of charge by NLS.
The website for The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped also gives links to other foreign language materials and resources.
[13] News (ISSN 1046-1663) is a quarterly publication published by the NLS; it is associated with libraries serving blind and print disabled readers, and their cooperating agencies.