Braille House Bookshop

One of Australia's oldest libraries, Braille House in Annerley, is Brisbane's newest second-hand bookshop. 

When the much-loved Annerley Community Bookshop closed down and offered their unsold stock to Braille House, the not-for-profit organisation jumped at the chance to open their own community bookstore in order to raise money to produce more books in Braille.

The braille book library was founded in 1897 by Lady Lamington, wife of the then Queensland Governor. Teaching blind and vision impaired children and adults to read and write braille followed.  More than 100 years later, this important work continues by providing expert tuition plus reading materials in Braille and Moon to people across Australia, not just Brisbane, who are blind or have low vision. 

Members of the public are welcome to visit Braille House's bookshop, browse the shelves for a new read, and afterwards take a seat inside the stunning historic space which features dark wood panelling and lead light windows. Bibliophiles who frequented the Annerley Community Bookshop will recognise the comfy furniture which was donated along with the books. 

Nice to know - All proceeds from second-hand book sales will go into providing more braille books for the lending library. 

Need to know - For every 100 books a sighted child has access to, a blind child has access to between 3 and 5 books.

By Deb Lidster