At 80 years old, Grace Bussler of Butler is still reading.

What sets Bussler apart from most book lovers is her eyesight. Diabetes has affected her vision to the point where she can no longer see the print in conventional books.

"Big print, I can see if I use a magnifying glass - but that gets to be old hat," she said. "It's easier to listen to a book on tape."

With help from the Carnegie Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Bussler

has found no shortage of talking books.

In addition to circulating large-print books and books in Braile, the LBPH also maintains a collection of talking books and magazines.

The materials are shipped to library users in two-way postage-free containers with tape players shipped on request.

Another person receiving library materials is Marie Smith of Center Township.Smith is losing her sight from retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary deterioration of the retina. The disease began to show symptoms in Smith's childhood with the gradual loss of night vision."I still can see daylight, but now I can't even tell when the lights are on... If it's a gloomy day everything looks black in the house. It's hard to separate my clothes: I'm not sure of the colors and stuff like that. It's difficult," said Smith, now in her 60s.Always an avid reader, Smith began using the library in the 1980s, when a magnifying glass no longer allowed her to read the large-print books.Although Smith also relies on Braile, she recently burned her Braile finger while cooking, so the talking books have gained importance in her life.In addition to getting books on tape, Smith receives magazines such as Good Housekeeping and those containing needlework instructions."They also have the descriptive videos, they describe what's going on in the background. Between that and the books, they just kept me going," she said."Whenever I want, I call for my books. I like to have maybe six or seven books on hand - my videos the same way. Whenever one is done I call them and tell them I'm ready for another video. … There's an 800-number to call."Bussler and Smith are among roughly 10,000 people in 36 counties that use the library. While some patrons were blind at birth, said Tracey Morsek, assistant director of the library, many have disabilities that appeared with age."A large number - 66 percent of our readers - are over 65," Morsek said. "Our fastest growing group is 80 and older."Most of our readers are not even legally blind. They are visually impaired, or sometimes they call it low vision. … They often live in their own homes and cook their own meals."While 71 percent of the patrons fall into the visually impaired category, Morsek said 17 percent are legally blind, 13 percent are physically handicapped and 6 percent have reading disabilities.Reading disabilities can include dyslexia and aphasia, which sometimes results from stroke, she said."They're broad categories," Morsek explained. "In the past we had someone allergic to ink. … We have had a number of people, whether in traction or casts, recuperating in odd positions," she said of some readers unable to turn the pages."A lot of times (we have) people in dialysis. … Sometimes it's a temporary kind of thing." "Most of our readers are people who were sighted the rest of their lives, or they got macular degeneration - which is really on the rise."

One such reader, Thomas Moore of Cabot, was diagnosed in 1996 with macular degeneration. Despite his loss of sight, Moore continues to read for two to three hours per day."I read for 15 or 20 minutes before my afternoon nap, then at night before going to bed."They furnish me with a machine, and I use the earphones so it doesn't interfere with my wife," he said."I get the Newsweek, Good Housekeeping, National Geographic and Travel and Leisure magazines.I'm legally blind, but I have peripheral vision. There are reading machines that magnify things, but you're tied to that machine," he said of the other technology that helps sight-challenged readers."Just about any subject you want, these libraries have something. If they don't have it at the Carnegie, they will scatter around and find it for you. They are most helpful," said Moore, who is in his early 80s.To use the library, Morsek said patrons initially apply at the suggestion of doctors or family members."When someone applies, we send them out a player (if they are interested in cassettes) and some sample books. We also send them catalogs so they can order their own materials."A lot of readers have trouble with that. They don't know what they want. We actually do have a staff of advisers or book selectors. They will actually help people find things," she said.Once readers are registered, they can order books by phone, Internet or mail. The materials are shipped for free under the free matter mailing privilege, part of the domestic mail code.There is no charge to use the library and no fees for late books. Because of their temporary nature, recorded magazines usually do not have to be returned, Morsek said."We send as many as they can use," Morsek added. "I have readers getting as many as 25 books a month."The library, which opened in the 1930s as part of the National Library System, is run primarily with state funds. It includes about 55,000 titles on tape, 10,000 large-print titles and nearly 350 "describe videos." The library also offers dictionaries, Bibles, cookbooks and other reference material in which information is accessed through voice indexing.In past years, audio tones would signal a chapter or section change when the listener fast-forwarded through the tapes. More recently, voice indexing has been implemented. This technology allows users to hear spoken cues while fast forwarding.Technology in the library also allows users to scan books, translating the text into audio CDs.Although few textbooks are available due to their temporary nature, other types of reference material are available for children doing research for school.Morsek said the library serves toddlers to people older than 100.At 102, Bess Higgins of Cabot, is among the library's older regular readers.Higgins began using the library about a year and a half ago, ordering many large-print books. "I'd like to keep using my eyes as long as I can," she explained."I order maybe four a month. I have a lot of books of my own that I hoped to be able to read, but I can't do it without the help of a magnifying glass."They have a really good list of books," she added. "They're not all in large print, but it's really remarkable how many there are."Although some children already use the library, Morsek said she suspects many children as well as adults are eligible but unaware of the service.But those who use the library say they can't imagine their lives without reading."Before I was diagnosed, I would read the newspapers daily - and all kinds of periodicals and books. (My disability) hasn't interfered with my reading habits at all. That's the marvelous part of this program," Moore said."If people ask about it, I usually say it's a godsend, because I don't know what I would have done without it," he added. I can't praise the library too (much). They do an exceptional job.""Life without books? Terrible," Smith concurred. "I'd be lost, because that's what keeps me going."For more information about the Carnegie Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, call 800-242-0586 or e-mail lbph@carnegielibrary.org.

Visually impaired readers can also contact these services for easier access to news information:Radio Information Serviceis a Pittsburgh-based radio reading service in which volunteers read print material for people who are blind, visually impaired or have difficulty holding standard print material.Subject matter includes news and shopping information.For a $40 annual fee, the service is available to eligible subscribers through broadcast on special receivers.In some cases the information can be accessed online or via cable.For more information, contact the Radio Information Service at 412-488-3944 or www.readingservice.org/.The National Federation of the Blind Newslineis a service that allows subscribers to receive news with a touch-tone telephone.News data from participating publications is converted to synthetic speech and can be accessed around the clock at a toll-free numberFor more information, contact the National Federation of the Blind at 888-882-1629 or www.nfb.org/newsline1.htm.