The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.     
       (1) Active--means a borrower who has requested at least one book or magazine in the preceding 12-month period or signed on to the Braille and Audio Reading Download service at least once in a six-month period.      
       (2) Agency--means the Texas State Library and Archives Commission as an agency of the state of Texas, including the staff, collections, archives, operations, programs, and property of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.      
       (3) Applicant agreement--means a statement signed by each new applicant which states the borrower agrees to abide by the policies and procedures of the program.      
       (4) Audit--means a periodic inventory of equipment and/or books, as required by the National Library Service.      
       (5) Books--means Braille, large print, and audio publications, both physical hardcopy and digital download.      
       (6) Borrower--means an eligible person or institution that has registered with the Talking Book Program, part of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's library network.      
       (7) Certifying authority--means a registered nurse, therapist, professional staff member of a hospital, doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopathy, ophthalmologist, optometrist, psychologist, or an individual representing a public or welfare agency or institution, such as an educator, social worker, case worker, counselor, rehabilitation teacher, certified reading specialist, dyslexia specialist, school psychologist, superintendent, or librarian.      
       (8) Digital download service--means a service provided or funded by either the National Library Service or the agency in which borrowers may download via the Internet audio and/or text computer files containing the contents of books and magazines.      
       (9) Digital talking book--means an audio or electronic Braille book produced by digital processes. Audio books are available in physical format or may be accessed through a digital download service. Braille books are accessed by digital download. These books are produced either by, or under the direction of, the National Library Service or the agency.      
       (10) Digital talking book machine--means a hardware device produced by the National Library Service and assigned to the commission for loan to borrowers. These may also include commercially-produced machines purchased by the commission for the purpose of loan to borrowers by the commission.      
       (11) Equipment--means any playback machine, accessories, and parts thereof that enable a borrower to listen to books and magazines.      
       (12) Loan period--means the specific period of time that an item is loaned to a borrower. The loan period begins when the agency assigns the book to the borrower and ends with the date the item is due back to the agency.      
       (13) Magazines--means periodical publications in Braille, large print, or digital format.      
       (14) National Library Service--means the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, a division of the Library of Congress that operates a free national library service that produces audio and Braille materials and distributes them to a cooperating network of regional and subregional libraries, to be circulated by postage-free mail to blind and physically disabled borrowers.      
       (15) Program--means the Talking Book Program.      
       (16) Veteran--means any person who has been honorably discharged or honorably released from the U.S. Armed Forces, meaning the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Coast Guard, and all armed auxiliary services of these branches.      
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §9.1 adopted to be effective August 29, 2023, 48 TexReg 4640