So recognised has NALIS been for its services to the visually impaired that the Authority has been designated the “authorised entity” under the Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to published works for persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled (VIPs).

The Treaty is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) which is aimed toward expanding the availability of print materials in accessible formats such as Braille, large print and specialised digital audio files.

To facilitate the process of the conversion of works to accessible formats for VIPs, on September 4, 2019, NALIS signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Trinidad and Tobago Blind Welfare Association (TTBWA). Both parties are expected to combine their resources to, among other things, provide content for VIPs throughout Trinidad and Tobago as well as provide literacy training to VIPs in accessible formats.

Since 2001 NALIS has facilitated training programmes to the visually impaired that give independence through technology. In 2004, NALIS was named winner of the “Prime Minister’s Innovating for Service Excellence Award – Making a Difference to People – The Social Inclusion Award for Services to the Blind and Visually Impaired person in Society”.

VIP services, including Braille material, Job Access with Speech (JAWS) software, voice synthesizer, Braille typewriters, OCR reading machines for reading documents, and other equipment are currently offered at select NALIS Public Libraries across the country.