10/08/2026
Thank you Book Club of Washington!
Book Club of Washington recently gathered both in person and virtually to honor Danielle H. Miller, Director of the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL), and recipient of the 2026 Emory Award.
Under Miller's leadership, WTBBL now serves nearly 10,000 active patrons statewide each year and circulates close to 400,000 audiobooks annually. The library has been recognized three times by the Library of Congress as Network Library of the Year (2009, 2016, 2022), reflecting its standing as a national model for library service.
Miller has shaped WTBBL not simply as a provider of alternative formats, but as a system that enables reading itself. Through a coordinated infrastructure of braille, audiobooks, digital delivery, and assistive technologies—including braille e-readers, digital talking book players, and sip-and-puff access—the library ensures that thousands of Washingtonians can read without barriers or delay. This is not an enhancement to book culture; it is what makes participation in it possible.
In 2025, Miller led WTBBL through a period of acute disruption, as state and federal budget cuts forced the library to close to the public and operate by appointment only. Access was sharply curtailed, and individuals seeking to use the library’s services were turned away—making visible how immediate and absolute the loss of access to books and libraries can be. Even under these constraints, Miller ensured continuity wherever possible, maintaining many core services for the WTBBL community.
Following sustained advocacy, WTBBL reopened this summer. Its long-term funding, however, remains uncertain, underscoring both the fragility of this system and the significance of the work Miller has sustained for nearly two decades.
The Emory Award recognizes an extraordinary contribution to the culture of the book in Washington. Danielle Miller’s exemplary leadership meets that standard by establishing and sustaining the conditions under which participation in book culture can exist. Her work does not simply expand access—it defines it.
