The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress, produced its last analog cassette book machine on February 17, 2007, signaling the advent of Digital Talking Books.

During a ceremony held on March 1 in Blue Earth, Minnesota, Telex Communications, Inc. presented NLS with the milestone player -- the 1,248,113th manufactured by the company since 1983.

Since 1969, 1.5 million cassette book machines (CBMs) have been manufactured and distributed to more than 25 million NLS patrons. These machines were designed to play audiocassettes recorded at 15/16 inches per second (ips) on 4-track tapes, allowing up to six hours of playback time per cassette.

Though many enhancements have been made to cassette book machines over the years, dramatic advances in technology have prompted NLS to move to a digital system using flash-memory technology to improve services to its patrons. NLS plans to launch this system in 2008.

For more information about the digital talking book project, visit the National Library Service at http://www.loc.gov/nls/