Our library has large print books and audiobooks available in the building and online at GMLC, Hoopla, and The Palace Project. The library also has DVDs with audio descriptions. Online films with audio descriptions are available for streaming through Hoopla and Kanopy.

The library owns several assistive devices that can be used by persons in the building or checked out for one week by library cardholders. To use one of these devices, ask a staff member at the Circulation Desk.

Vision Assistance:

• Hand-held magnifying glass
• Full page magnifier with LED lights
• Reading glasses
• Writing guides, including a signature guide and check-writing guide
• Bright line reading guides
• Braille & large print rulers

Hearing Assistance:

• Pocketalker sound amplifier with headphones: use this small personal amplifier to improve listening and communications with library staff or in a library program. Can be used with personal hearing aids.

Fine Motor Skills Assistance:

• Book holder stand: to hold books and magazines of various sizes.
• Ergo pencil grips: to provide greater comfort to right and left-handed pen and pencil users, especially those with arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome.

This assistive device program is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency, through the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Vermont Department of Libraries.

Our curbside pickup service is designed for patrons with limited mobility and/or health concerns who would prefer not to enter the library building to pick up their books, games, and Library of Things items.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to utilize the Bixby’s Curbside Pickup service:

1. In advance of your arrival, call the library at (802) 877–2211 to let us know you’ll be coming. Share your name, phone number, when you plan on arriving, and the books/materials you’d like to check out (or place a hold on our website).
2. Park in the Bixby Parking Lot.
3. Give us a call to share a description of your vehicle, and a staff member will meet you in the parking lot with your books/materials.
4. If you have books/materials you would like to return, give them to the staff member and they will take care of them for you.
5. Enjoy your new books, games, pasta maker, binoculars, and anything else you can dream of from the Bixby’s Collection.

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Don’t hesitate to call the Bixby at (802) 877-2211.

The ABLE Library serves blind Vermonters and anyone with a visual impairment or print, reading, or learning disability.  The ABLE Library—housed at the Vermont State Library—is a network library for the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) and connects patrons of all ages to NLS services, which includes a collection of large print and digital talking books featuring all genres, print braille picture books, as well as audio-described DVDs.

To receive services, which are free to qualifying Vermonters, fill out and submit the Application for ABLE Library Services.

In 2023, the Bixby Library was awarded a grant from the American Library Association. The grant was part of the Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities initiative, and was used to improve our ADA entrance and access to the second floor of the library.

Click here to read the article that features our accessibility initiative from the Addison Independent.