Its charter is to promote the independence of blind and visually impaired individuals by providing special media, tools, and materials needed for education and life. It is the largest organization in the world devoted solely to creating products for the blind. In 1950, under the guidance of Director Carl Lappin, the APH established its centralized listing of accessible books on index cards to facilitate the location and provision of special titles for the visually impaired and to eliminate duplication of effort among producers. In the 1980s and early 1990s this information resided on a mainframe computer. Site visitors can search Louis by ISBN, title, author, publisher, copyright year, subject, or medium.
Users can also place orders or request services online.
Color, contrast, drop-down box content and ALT text were added to the graphics of Louis' Web interface for those who have Internet access and the latest computer and speech access equipment. Today, Louis provides a comprehensive listing of over 135,000 items including Braille books, large type books and pamphlets, music scores, electronic books, sound recordings, and tactile graphics. All rights reserved.