About NIMAC

NIMAS means “National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard.” As a source file format, NIMAS is not intended to be distributed directly students, but rather the files are used to create formats such as braille, large print, DAISY text, DAISY audio, and other digital formats. NIMAC users are generally organizations that produce and distribute accessible formats produced from NIMAS, as opposed to individual students, teachers or schools.

If you are a teacher, parent, or student seeking student-ready formats, you will continue to obtain these materials from agencies such as APH, Bookshare, and your state’s Instructional Resource Center.

Louis is a national database that contains information about accessible materials available from more than 140 agencies and organizations, including APH, Bookshare, and Learning Ally. The search results also include files available from the NIMAC. To avoid duplication of effort, we encourage users to search Louis first, to see if the format they need may already be available.

For more information about IDEA 2004, including definitions for terms like “specialized formats,” “blind, visually-impaired and print disabled,” and “print instructional materials,” please see this link at the National AEM Center site: NIMAS and AEM in IDEA 2004.

Each state has a NIMAC State Coordinator who designates Authorized Users for the NIMAC. To locate your State Coordinator, visit: State Coordinators List