It's the Cincinnati Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped, which is celebrating 100 years of service to the region's sight-impaired, physically challenged and reading disabled.

Don't, however, stop reading this story just because you aren't blind.

"People may not understand they don't have to be blind to use us," says spokesperson Phyllis Hegner. "The library is for older people who need large print books or anyone who has trouble reading a traditional book."

"We also serve people who can't hold a book or turn a page because of MS or Parkinson's," adds Donna Foust, head of the library.

If your vision is 20/200 or less or if you have trouble focusing or any medical condition -- or even a reading disability -- you might well qualify for free books.

Each day, the facility's nine librarians pack up and deliver more than 1,000 talking books to patrons across Greater Cincinnati.

"More people listen to audio cassette books than use Braille these days," observes Foust, noting that the average patron checks out 51 talking books each year. "Our collection is bigger than any other in the region: 37,500 cassettes along with 12,000 Braille books. And it grows every day."

The most popular titles? Unabridged mysteries by Danielle Steele, Mary Higgins Clark, Sue Grafton, Faye Kellerman and Jonathan Kellerman.

The Library for the Blind was founded in 1901 by two sisters, Georgia D. and Florence B. Trader, as only the fourth such library in the nation. In 1944, Helen Keller herself honored the Traders for their service at a commemoration ceremony. Today, the facility remains one of 56 regional libraries that comprise the National Library Service for the blind and handicapped.

The library actually altered its name years ago from the Cincinnati Library for the Blind -- adding the "& Physically Handicapped" -- to reflect a new emphasis on service to anyone who can't read a book or is challenged by a reading disability.

One regular patron is Jana Schroeder, who recently appeared on the ABC television game show Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?.

"I've been blind all of my life," Schroeder says. "I started getting books from the library when I was in first grade. I can't tell you how much I've used it."

The library's on-site facilities include a Job Action Work Station, which provides the visually impaired with access to the Internet; an Arkenstone device, which can convert print materials to voice output through the use of a scanner; a print enlarger that can produce copies of documents and personal mail up to 65 times the original size; Braille typewriters; and Zoom Text, which enlarges screen print on the library's computers. There are also private listening booths and three-dimensional globes and maps available.