In this episode of Mailin’ It, we explore one of the nation’s oldest federal accessibility programs, Free Matter for the Blind. For over 90 years, USPS and the Library of Congress’ National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) have partnered to deliver free, accessible reading materials, tactile books, and specialized playback equipment to Americans with print disabilities. NLS Director Jason Broughton joins to discuss the history of the program, and the critical role USPS “last mile” delivery plays in connecting and supporting rural and isolated communities.
Step behind the scenes of a remarkable 90-plus year partnership between the USPS and the Library of Congress as NLS Director Jason Broughton shares how the Free Matter for the Blind program delivers specialized print and audio materials to millions of Americans with print disabilities. This episode goes through the evolution of the program’s technology stack and highlights the diversity of their 300,000-title collection.
Karla Kirby:
Hello and welcome to Mailin' It, the official podcast of the United States Postal Service. I'm Karla Kirby.
Jeff Marino:
And I'm Jeff Marino. Karla, you know, we talk a lot about our massive national footprint and the sheer scale of what it takes to connect the country with mail. But the Postal Service's work, things we deliver also affect many people on a very personal level.
Karla Kirby:
It really does, Jeff. And that's a good way to describe this episode's topic, which is a program known as Free Matter for the Blind and Other Physically Handicapped Persons. It's actually one of the oldest federal accessibility programs in the US dating all the way back to the turn of the 20th century.
Jeff Marino:
Indeed. Under this program, people who have difficulty reading standard print can receive and return accessible reading materials, specialized equipment, and tactile books through the Postal Service free of charge. We use our intelligent mail barcodes for tracking and we mark these mailers with a logo of a person with a white cane that tells our processing plants and letter carriers to treat them with the highest priority, just like first-class mail. Now, one of the biggest ways Free Matter helps people is through our partnership with the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, or NLS. Based at the Library of Congress, the National Library Service provides free accessible reading materials to US residents.
Karla Kirby:
And to give our listeners some sense of just how big this program is. In fiscal 2024, the Library of Congress circulated more than 35 million accessible books and magazines with more than 13 million of those traveling through the US mail. In fiscal 2025, that number grew to more than 20 million books, magazines, and machines via free Matter for the Blind. To make a program of this size work, the Library of Congress has a longstanding 90 plus year partnership with United States Postal Service. Here to tell us more about how this program works and the lives it touches Jason Broughton, Director of the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. Jason, welcome to Mailin' It!
Jason Broughton:
Well, it's great to be here. It will be the highlight of my year. Thank you.
Jeff Marino:
Well, Jason, it is great to have you join us on our podcast. So let's start with the basics. For those who aren't familiar, what exactly is the National Library Service or NLS, and who's eligible to use Free Matter program?
Jason Broughton:
A really great question. As you stated, the Library of Congress has us as a part of its history, which is the National Library for the Blind and Print Disabled. And with that, we were established in 1931 as a free national library program. And with that, what we work to do is provide a variety of formats for our users to be able to access information. Those formats come from, of course, a variety of things such as books, magazines. We also do in - house narration. But the key point that one needs to remember is that this program requires a really unique set of eligibility items, and that could be where you cannot hold a book or turn a page. You have vision impairment, which could be full-on blindness, low vision, depth perception, color. You also have, , temporary and permanent disabilities that can also qualify, which we'll get to.
One of the ones that people might not be aware of that is also covered in what we do is, , reading disabilities, such as dyslexia. With that, we have a wonderful mission and vision, and with that, the vision is the most easiest that all may read. When we talk about print disabilities, however, people can think of them as physical disabilities, but the goal is if you are looking at reading materials, in other words, you, again, can't physically hold it, very hard to actually see in some cases. So you have a lot of ways to be a part of our program as you are looking at it. People sometimes don't recognize that the temporary could be for eye surgery, maybe have a broken arm, maybe mobility is an issue. , People sometimes forget that pregnancy would be covered under that if you were in bedrest. And so with that, our main goal is to make sure that we have a no to very low barrier for accessing materials.
And with that, it allows people to have the joy of reading.
Karla Kirby:
So Jason, it's my understanding that you also cover, , services for individuals who may be, , suffering a traumatic brain injury or stroke. Is that also the case?
Jason Broughton:
It definitely is. Within that traumatic brain injuries w- would be something that is covered. And we have a unique partnership with another entity that we'll get into where that is not normally the case in the general public. But with the military, so we have a longstanding history in part with our formulation with veterans. And that started in 1931 in which why we were started is to make sure that injured veterans had access to materials. But yes, those are actually covered to make sure that people can have materials in audio format if they can't physically do things, even touch the player. It could be turned on for them or even through their computer, through screen readers and a whole host of new technologies.
Karla Kirby:
So Free Matter for the Blind has a remarkable history. Just to give our listeners an idea of how far back the program stretches, Congress passed an act back in 1899 allowing for discounted postage on letters written by the blind. The Free Matter for the Blind program itself was started in 1904. That's when Congress gave free mailing privileges for braille books and other embossed reading materials. Of course, the most significant milestone came in 1931, as you mentioned, Jason, when the Postal Service began working directly with the newly created library service for the blind and print disabled. From your perspective, what impact did this partnership have on free matter for the blind program?
Jason Broughton:
I would say a very strong and deep resonating impact that continues today. , Before 1931, there was a decentralized model amongst where you would be looking for services for anyone who was blind. And as that became, I would say, apparent and then NLS's creation immediately joined by the Postal Service, all of us had to figure out, well, how is this new thing gonna work? So with that, you had centralization or standardization immediately to say, for these few that are starting out, what we will now do is work to connect us and then make those things accessible. As time went on, those things have grown and we can talk about where the actual network is at as we go forward. But what is also done is make sure that we had a strong and deep connection to the people who are most impacted in our actual founding, which is wounded veterans.
So when you're looking at World War I, what's important is to make sure that a lot of people felt that they should be included in social commentary, they should be remembered, and of course, have access to information so that they can participate in today's society.
Jeff Marino:
So it sounds like the program took a lot of decentralized libraries that were distributing materials and....
Jason Broughton:
Brought them together under a unified structure, which we continue to evolve today, which we'll get into like how technology plays a role in helping us do that as well.
Jeff Marino:
Well, that's interesting because like I've said, we talked a lot about the postal service's role as the country's connective tissue and organizing all of, all of the communications. And what we're doing to connect the National Library Service to smaller libraries and those communities in their own communities a good example of that. So speaking of which, people might assume that all of the, your braille books and cartridges ship out from a single central warehouse somewhere, but that's actually not the case. How does this network of libraries all across the country operate to get material to your users?
Jason Broughton:
Oh my goodness. So there... Oh, there's a large, vast array here across the state. So each state has a network library in its own format, centralized or decentralized. So we have almost a hundred network libraries, is what we call them. The full name is the NLS Cooperating Network Libraries. And with that, we work to provide services from a federal level, but they are the wonderful grassroots people at the state level who will work with the users locally. Looking at that, I should say this includes, of course, all states in the country and US territories. There's also a nice little caveat that we do have an overseas librarian that works to try to provide services for any American that is overseas if we can actually get it there. So a unique little item to remember. As one is then thinking about where they are in their state and they make contact with their network library, or you can always call NLS, it's important to know that you would then be in contact with what is known as a reader's advisor.
So the first thing that they want to do is begin to understand what you like to read. So what your preferences are, what you enjoy, what you might wanna stay away from. So yes, it gets a little bit personal. You can tell us as much as you wanna tell us in some cases, but not everything. But it allows us to help you have your reading preferences set. Or if you wanna mix it up every now and then we can adjust. But you're gonna have personalized care and personalized services for what you actually wanna access. So
Jeff Marino:
So almost a librarian for -
Jason Broughton:
Pretty much. A reader's advisor, very specific. Now, the postal service is remembered here as well because once those selections are made, they then have to be, , distributed. Sometimes it might come directly out of NLS here in DC or it might come from the network in a very shared way. So what's nice is in this case, if a person is having a physical item in a sense delivered, it could be printed braille, embossed braille, certain large print types of books, , musical scores we will get into. But it's going to usually come in a wonderful cartridge that comes through the postal service. And with that, that would be what we call the old-fashioned books on tape. Now it's a thumb drive. And it is delivered and it's a really simple process that we'll be able to discuss, but that helps with the last mile or those in isolated or rural areas.
Karla Kirby:
Okay. So Jason, let's talk a little bit more about the actual materials that you're sending out through the mail. Most people might picture giant, heavy braille books, but technology has changed things. , What's the most requested type of reading material today and what does it actually look like?
Jason Broughton:
Oh my goodness. So I will say one of the things that I'm known for is, , doing certain talks, providing people with a contemporary item of what type of genre people are looking at. So stay tuned as we talk about that. But first and foremost, the way they're gonna receive it is a blue cartridge. That's the one that we currently have. Over the years, they have been many different types of colors. I like to call it the cartridge universe. So that is what is going to be basically navigating around the system in addition to printed items, braille that is actually requested. So the unique way is gonna be an audiobook, which is a thumb drive and that is the actual item. The process is simple where it is mailed out with the postal carrier. They then deliver it. The person has it on loan for as long as they would like.
And once they're done, they then are able to take the card, imagine an index card, the size of an index card, is on this blue cartridge in a very contained way, very simple. They then take it out and just simply flip it. And once they flip it, they then put it back, snap it closed, and then put that back into the mail and it's delivered back to the network or in some cases back to NLS for a variety of reasons. That's the physical item. But on your question of what is the most highly? Oh my goodness. I would say right now there's a very unique, , blending of genres. , Last year, you might not have known this, but the most highly sought requested, , genre in our collection was Amish romance. And there is such a thing called Amish romance. Yes, it's one of those where at the end of the book, you might get a kiss on the cheek.
It very, very clean. So that, that might be very amusing to some people, but yes, it exists. Now, this year we found we have a blending of romance and fantasy known as romanticy. You may say, "What's the difference?" Think unicorns, think dragons, epic battles, and at the most inconvenient time someone says, "I wanna discuss that I love you, " during this epic battle. So very interesting blending of the genre.
Jeff Marino:
I wanna go back and talk about technology a little bit more to follow up on Karla's question, because you mentioned thumb drives, USB drives, but this program started back in the early 1900s. Talk to me about some of the changes you've had in technology and how you move from one technology to the next.
Jason Broughton:
This is a wonderful part of our conversation here. So it has been a real pleasure, , being in this position to understand where we have come from and potentially where we're gonna be going as part of our conversation today. When we started, think of things being very, very, , unique. A lot of paper-based items, think printed braille. And if you understand what that looks like for just a single book, it can be a couple of, I would say, reams of paper. So just think about that, about that size. If you're looking at a whole series, then you're really getting into an expansive volume. And that, of course, would be delivered over time using the postal service. With that, we moved from that into, guess what, audio format, which meant the record player. If you can remember that, yes, the old-fashioned record player used to be delivered from NLS or the network libraries to the users.
The postal carriers had to do that in addition to the printed braille. So we went through a, a period of this. But that also meant, if you understand record players, guess what they're also delivering? They're delivering LPs. And if you know what an LP is, you're talking about 33 and the thirds, you're talking about 45s. <Laugh> There's a lot. And, and just know if you are into vinyl, I understand that it's making a comeback, but that's a different conversation. As you move forward from the record player, then we're getting into the 50s, 60s, and 70s. So guess what? Now we're talking about the cassette tape. So then we started to move to cassette tape. Players were actually the next design coming out. So as we're moving into that 70s, uniquely, NLS made a decision not to do a specific format, which would be the CD.
For some reason, , at that time, they said, "We don't feel this is gonna be a really good format for us in the future." And we did not. We kind of leapfrogged or held steady. And then once the internet came, we started thinking about what that could be used for. And eventually in the early 2010s, we went into creating our, , item called BAR, which is the Braille Audio Reading download. And people can now download from that and that's also still churning. But guess what? We still use the postal service to physically deliver items to isolated and rural areas. And that, again, goes to the blue cartridge or printed braille. We no longer send out those record players, and I think the postal carriers thanks us for that. But, , that is a variety of different formats and tools that we have evolved with over time.
Karla Kirby:
So I just wanna make sure I heard this straight. So the postal service not only delivered records - Yes. They delivered record players
Jason Broughton:
Mm-Hmm.
Karla Kirby:
Cassettes and cassette tape players. How did that work? I could imagine trying to track that inventory. <Laugh>
Jason Broughton:
That is a great question a- as we're navigating this. Because of our history, we've always come back together over time to think about where things are at, what things look like. How can we best do this better? Or what might be strong- stronger actions that we both can kind of take to improve our services. And so we've had this conversation as a part of our relationship and now I would say where I am at, we are talking about intelligent barcoding, , APIs and unique tracking methods and just making sure things are routed to the proper entity. And that takes a lot of work. I don't think people realize how massive the postal service is and to ask for unique updates or changes or items is a unique thing for such a big system, but a historical system at that.
Jeff Marino:
I want, I wanna have one more follow up on this. So as the technology has changed, recently Karla and I spoke with our postal service chief sustainability officer. So I wanna know, was there anything special done to recycle all of these LPs and tapes, and cassettes? You know, was there any program to do that?
Karla Kirby:
Or where are you storing the vinyl?
Jason Broughton:
<Laugh> Oh my go - great question. We actually are storing the vinyl, believe it or not. , One of the unique aspects of what we have is a 90-year history and we have what are known as two multi-state centers. One is in Utah and the other is in Ohio. And so a lot of our items are there, but this is almost everything that we have. So yes, these are the 33s that are in storage. These are the 45s and a whole variety of other aspects that are there. They are stored, but we do work with those in a variety of way to bring them out of storage from time to time. And then with that, when you said the recycling, not much, , except for braille when it is used quite heavily, that would be recycled, , because it's a paper product. The blue cartridges also get recycled as well once they have their end of year life.
But we have millions of those on reserve, so we are good to go there.
Jeff Marino:
Okay. Well, we've talked a little bit about the audiobooks, , but you have services that go way beyond that. So can you talk about the Braille On Demand program? What are the, what are the kinds of content you ship out with Braille on Demand?
Jason Broughton:
Oh my goodness. This is a really popular program that we instituted. A lot of our users love this. So as long as the book request that comes into us, either from a patron sometimes directly, or from a network library, if we have it in our collection, which is over 300,000 items that one can choose from, we will print it for you on demand, which is a cost-efficient way of not having to think about this, store that much braille and only have it circulate periodically. It is done where a person would have that delivered through the mail for themselves and they would have it on long-term loan for as long as they would like to have it. Once they're done, they'd return it and we most likely would recycle this. , We also have a lot of things that are already pre-done, but if it is a book that you actually want, you might say, "What would those types of books be?”
These are things that people usually have always wanted that they kind of wanna cherish. It could be the Harry Potter series. It could be a unique cookbook. It could be a musical score. These are things that people really, really want to take the opportunity to either delve into or just have like we would normally have at our own book shelves at home.
Karla Kirby:
So I gotta ask, with the series, you mentioned Harry Potter. That's seven. Seven or eight books.
Jason Broughton:
It would be very huge.
Karla Kirby:
So how many books can I get at a time?
Jason Broughton:
There are different media, but if you're using the Braille on Demand model, you can have up to five Braille books a month.
Karla Kirby:
So I'm sure folks are very passionate about the things that they want to read. Tell me, have you gotten any specific unique requests in your time as director?
Jason Broughton:
Oh my goodness. So let's talk about some user groups and then we'll get into this. There are some very unique entities that are able to access things for different reasons. , I am a baker and so I love cookbooks. And so know that we have a very large cookbook collection and we have the world's large accessible musical, , collection of items when it comes to scripts, scores, , whole sheet music, instruction and method books. And this is really a big highlight, particularly for those who are injured. Mi - namely those in the military. Our veterans who maybe were musically inclined before an injury. Afterwards, they can still participate in that thing that they love to do prior to the industry. So our goal is to make sure that you have a holistic life and being able to do what you are able to do, maybe at a different level, but still enjoy it.
When it comes to cooking, oh my goodness, we have a lot of wonderful books. So most people, if you like Downton Abbey, we have the Downton Abbey cookbook. We also have American Cake and we have a whole range of items. But when you ask, what are some of the most passionate things? Let me be upfront. Animal books, particularly cat magazines and dogs are the most highly sought after... We are usually requested, sometimes demanded to increase the variety that we actually have that are there. But with that, another unique experience that I had was I've been a part of our program at different levels of my life in different positions. And when I was in Savannah, Georgia as the, , library director there, Live Oak Public Libraries, I went out as a part of in Georgia, it is run more centrally, but in the public library there, we had connections to it.
And I was introduced myself to the community and we stopped at a, , tower level senior, , living space. And with that, we had this nice outreach and they got to meet me and there was this wonderful woman who said, "So, you're the new director." I was like, "Yes, ma'am. How can I help you? Is there anything you'd like to read?" And we talked. And then she says, "Well, yes, there is a book I'd like for you to increase." And I said, "But what would that be? " I'm thinking, you know, a variety of things until she says she looked around and I was like, "Can I help you again?" She said, "No, I'm just looking at..." I think it was to make sure she wanted to tell me what she wanted to tell me. She then found the book that she wanted on the table.
And as I look at it, I'll describe it. It's a romance novel. Think of Harlequin, if you've ever seen those titles. So you have, , a picture of a, a person with long blonde hair, no shirt, chest out. So you're thinking like a Fabio look or a Greek, Greek god or Egyptian god-style person on the cover holding a woman in this embrace. And I said, "Oh, you like romance?" She said, "You see this cover? You need to bring me more of these types of books right here. These are the types of books that I need for you to bring." <laugh> I said, "I understand that, ma'am, and I understand you're reading prefacing. We'll get working right on your romance novels." But that just shows you as one would say how spicy or zesty our users actually are. But we have something for everybody in our collection.
Jeff Marino:
Well, that's great to know because, you know, inclusivity means addressing needs across all sorts of communities. So how does the National Library Service use the Free Matter for the Blind Program to serve communities like non-English speakers or Native American communities?
Jason Broughton:
Oh, now here is where a lot of people might not know there are a variety of touch points from our inception and connections with that and some things that we haven't occurred in our history along the way. So as we're working with a variety of users across this country, particularly indigenous and Native American communities might not have known that there's a thing called Navajo Braille, Navajo Braille Project. We work with them on that and they were the first to actually have an indigenous braille. Most people don't recognize this, , as even awareness, but it has allowed us to create wonderful projects in a very proper way with indigenous communities so we have that strong relationship. In addition to that, we have an item that took some time to develop called the Marrakesh Treaty. , Oh my goodness, that, that would be a whole nother podcast, but just know that took a very unique amount of time and even had some suspenseful actions before it became a treaty.
We were the 50th signatory to it. But what does that mean? The Marrakesh Treaty allows us to share resources to address what is called the global book famine. That meant users of foreign languages would be able to obtain different materials from different national libraries across the world in a shared way. We might have to tweak or adjust that format, but you could have it as your reader's preference to have it in that language. And from that, we have nearly 40 different types of languages that are there, very international in scope. And so please check with us to find if we actually have that or we're working on that for you. But that allows access in a variety of ways for the book that you might wanna have in the preference language that you might wish to actually have it read in.
Karla Kirby:
So Jason, one of my favorite parts of the program is the connection that can develop between the patrons and their local carriers. Do you have any stories of that that you can share with us?
Jason Broughton:
Oh my goodness. I would say I'm very humbled, , to be in this position. Uniquely, our staff gets a lot of different commentary via direct through email, phone calls, even people dropping by. And I can say honestly, I and my deputy, we get at least some form of information weekly about users, network libraries, letting us know what that relationship looks like. So most people might not understand that human connection and how postal carriers connect with people over time in their community. The best example that we would have is think of unfortunately emergencies. We have had stories like in North and South Carolina, West Virginia, where there was recent flooding, just think back a few years ago. We literally had people telling us they were fearing for their lives, making an evacuation plan. And immediately before they left their house, the last thing that they grabbed was the actual talking book player that we also provide for you with whatever cartridge that they had because they wanted to make sure they would be able to have some form of entertainment, be able to access materials, or to even let the postal service know where they were gonna be so things could be rerouted.
Other instances would be in California when wildfires are bearing down. We literally stunningly had people tell us, "Before I left the house, I grabbed that player." And in some cases, we did tragically learn that some locations did lose, , housing and people lost houses, but they felt some form of comfort that they had a player with them to either bide time or be connected. Other areas we had, definitely like in Massachusetts, we have longstanding patrons who have conversations with their postal carriers that ask in a sense, what is it that they brought today or has the item that they have requested from us, has it actually arrived? And so in a variety of cases, particularly one in Massachusetts, we had someone basically talking about their postal service, , carrier and they let them know like, "No, I didn't bring Daniel Steele today. Maybe it'll come the next day." And from that, that'll finally, when it does, people are so overjoyed to actually have this item and then be able to continue to have access to reading.
With that, of course, it is more, I would say, about touchpoints and making sure that we just connect with each other. The postal service does that in a very unique way that we sometimes don't think about daily. Daily interactions and daily human connections providing services. It's an interesting, fascinating model if you pay attention to it.
Jeff Marino:
So Jason, let's look ahead. How is the technology behind Free Matter evolving and why does the physical partnership with the Postal Service remain such a vital part in this digital age.
Jason Broughton:
Oh my goodness. It will always play a vital role in what we do, particularly because of our relationship. As we all are paying attention to items, technology is always going to be in a forward momentum. Unless of course you like old things and they can always be retro, just think about those terms. With that however, what is very important to know is that technology is helping us to provide more access to people as long as you have access to that technology. In saying that the postal service will always wonderfully allow us to provide to rural and isolated areas what we basically call last mile service. So it's going to be that physical printed item embossed braille, braille books. It could be the blue cartridge that the audiobook player comes in so that you can actually still connect it with the player. And in some cases, other types of technologies.
We also make by mail, , to a variety of people who literally enjoy this product, which is an eBraille reader. So that is where you might be like, "Wow, what do you mean eBraille?" So I've talked a lot about printed braille. There is where you can now download braille to an electronic device called an eBraille device or eBraille machine. And that allows the person to do their finger reading continuously with a row of the actual pins. There are small and larger devices, but that's just one version to show you that, yes, technology is playing a role. But nevertheless, last mile service, particularly now that we can have improved shared items working with the service, we've been able to look at automated tracking, the intelligent barcoding system, API actual items, click and ship. This is a game changer in which we now are able to make sure things are efficient, properly routed, and going to the most appropriate location as designated.
Might sound very easy in just saying that, but it took a lot of work and a wonderful relationship to be able to do that.
Karla Kirby:
So Jason, if someone is listening today and qualifies for the program but has never used it, what would you want them to know to get them started?
Jason Broughton:
Well, I want, first I want them to know I wanted to make it as easy as possible. So let's talk about this in a very generalized way. Number one, you can always reach out to NLS and we are a part of Library of Congress, so if you have, , loc.gov/nls, you will actually find us. But if you just go to Library of Congress, you're gonna find NLS, particularly in a variety of ways. But the first thing that you would do is in your state, you would look up what you would try to find is your network library. Again, if you aren't able to do that, call us and we can get you in touch with them. We have a very, very powerful human-centered connection in which you're usually gonna be talking to a person. And so we will assist you in a variety of ways.
Once that connection is made, you will then go through what a, call a certifying period. And that just basically says that you need documentation for whatever disability or impairment that you actually have. And with that very, very light. Remember, there's a variety of people that we can get to who can also help with that certification process. So you have anywhere from medical doctors, ophthalmologists, nurses. Guess what? Teachers and librarians can also certify the form if they actually find with you in conversation that you're struggling to read and for a variety of reasons. So we try to make it very easy. There's a big berth of people who can actually do this for you. , And once you finish with that, you are then going to be handed to that reader's advisor who's going to discuss with you the prefaces that you enjoy, the thing that you're looking forward to, what you might want to stay away from, or as I said, when you might want to mix it up to go into something new.
So with that, a very unique process of the network outreach or calling analysts directly, getting certified by someone which can be a variety of people, followed by being in touch with the readers advisor. And then guess what? That last step would be downloading materials or having it wonderfully mailed out to you in a variety of ways.
Karla Kirby:
Okay. So Jason, you mentioned the website. You mentioned that individuals could go to their local library. Are there other ways that individuals who haven't signed up for the service can access?
Jason Broughton:
Yes. One of the most important things that you could do, and probably the easiest if you're ever confused or you need information is to contact us at 1-888-NLSREAD or 1-888-657-7323.
Jeff Marino:
Well, Jason, thank you so much for joining us today. This was very, very educational. And more importantly, thanks for doing what you and your teams do for the, the community who have, , reading disabilities. I mean, through your programs, they're able to keep learning through books, keep getting, keep entertained through books. It's, , it's a really, , impressive program.
Jason Broughton:
I would definitely say it is, for me, very humbling. It's very unique to be able to think about what we all do in a very unique way where we as cited people just quickly look at things. If you want to think about this in a very accessible way, what's important is to make sure that that same ability, while it's slightly different, should be able to be done for everyone. And our program helps achieve that by bringing forward accessible formats in different ways to a variety of people in user groups. So we look forward to you using our service if you should ever need us. And for those who are not, guess what? At some point, if you live long enough by a wonderful person who is no longer with us, who is known as the Mother Disability Movement, Ms. Judith Human. It basically means why aren't we creating systems that as we age, everybody at some point has a disability?
'Cause You're not gonna have what you have now. So why not enjoy it now and enjoy it later by setting it up? We're one of those types of programs that you'll be able to enjoy with the Postal Service.
Karla Kirby:
Well, Jason, again, thank you for joining us. Very informative. Now, I must say, we're probably gonna ask you to have you back. I see you're -
Jason Broughton:
Oh, it'd be amazing.
Karla Kirby:
- Coming up on 100 years. <Laugh> So interested to see what you guys will be doing over the next couple years with the program and what that looks like in the partnership with the Postal Service. Perfect. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 4:
Thank you.
Karla Kirby:
Well, Jeff, it's time for another edition of Did You Know? What interesting fact do you have to share with us this episode?
Jeff Marino:
Well, as we're recording this, you know it's still the summer. But American football season isn't that far off. And I just learned a great postal service connection with gridiron history.
Karla Kirby:
Let me guess. The post-route play was invented by a former mail carrier.
Jeff Marino:
Yeah. Yeah, I see what you did there, but no. We're actually talking about one of the most famous figures in college football. The legendary Notre Dame coach, Knewt Rockney. Yep. Before he innovated the forward pass and led the Fighting Irish to more than 100 wins and three national titles, he worked for three years as a mail clerk in Chicago.
Karla Kirby:
Okay. So organizing a busy Chicago mail operation does sound like good training for running a football team. Tell me more.
Jeff Marino:
Well, I'm not sure how much the experience of processing mail translated to his success on a football field, but it did play an important role in his life. He took the job after graduating high school to save up money for college and eventually he made enough to enroll in Notre Dame where he played football and earned a degree in pharmacy way back in 1914.
Karla Kirby:
Okay. A smart guy.
Jeff Marino:
Yep. Too smart for the brutal early days of pro football in those leather helmets because just after a few years of doing that, he returned to South Bend, Indiana to take the coaching job that defined his career and changed the course of American football.
Karla Kirby:
Can you imagine though, Jeff, if he never left the Postal Service? I can picture him as a great postmaster rallying the staff with stirring motivational speeches and things.
Jeff Marino:
Yeah. "Deliver one for the gipper" has a different feel to it, doesn't it?
Karla Kirby:
Yeah, something like that. <Laugh> Well, that's all for this episode of Mailin’ It. Don't forget to subscribe to Mailin’ It wherever you get your podcast to make sure you don't miss the next episode. And follow along on Instagram at US Postal Service X@USPS, Facebook and youtube.com/usps.