Indiana Insights

Maggie Ansty, Editor

317-232-3684 or 1-800-622-4970

e-mail: tbbl@library.in.gov

http://www.in.gov/library/tbbl.htm

 

Volume XXXVII No. 3

Fall/Winter 2014

 


Vision Expo Wrap Up

Thank you to everyone who attended the 9th Annual Indiana Vision Expo on September 27th!  We featured 29 vendors, including several new to the Expo. Attendance was up from 2013, especially for our presentations by Craig MacFarlane and Drs. Richard and Laura Windsor. We hope all of our attendees had a valuable and enjoyable experience. If you have any feedback or suggestions on how to improve the Expo please contact Laura Williams at lawilliams1@library.in.gov or 317-232-0609.  

Ordering Books for the Holidays

With the holiday season in full swing, it is time to start thinking about closures at the library.  This year, the library will be closed from Thursday, December 25th to Monday, December 29th and will be closed again on Thursday, January 1st. As a result, there will be no incoming or outgoing mail on those days so your book deliveries may be sporadic during that period.  We encourage you to take a few moments to order any books that you may want to have on hand during that time. Please try to have all requests in before Friday, December 19th to ensure that your books have plenty of time to get to you. 

This is also a great time to think about signing up for BARD or downloading the BARD Mobile app for your i-device.  BARD will give you instant access to over 50,000 audio books, Braille books, magazines, and music scores from the comfort of your home, even when the library is closed!  For more information on BARD, please visit www.nlsbard.loc.gov or call us at 1-800-622-4970.  If you are interested in signing up for BARD, please be aware that we will not be able to approve your BARD application on days the library is closed.

Indiana Participating in BARD Pilot

Indiana was recently invited to participate in the BARD audio book pilot program, which will result in us being able to add our Indiana Voices books to BARD so that people all over the country can download and enjoy them. The pilot program was introduced in March; since that time 7 libraries at a time have participated and gone through all of the required steps for submitting books to BARD. The phases of this project are evaluation, upload, and verification. We have just finished the evaluation phase of the project by submitting Brewster’s Millions (IDB00086) for review and feedback by NLS. In the next phase of this project, we will begin uploading our books to the NLS BARD server.

All of the books in this project are distinguished by the prefix DBC; you may have already noticed them showing up on the list of recently added books. You can find a complete list of the books that have been added so far by typing DBC into the search box on the BARD main page. Currently over 220 books have been added to BARD as part of this project.

Currency Readers Available to NLS Patrons

NLS has partnered with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) in support of its U.S. Currency Reader Program, which will provide currency reader devices, free of charge, to eligible individuals who are blind or visually impaired. The program is part of the U.S. government’s Meaningful Access Initiative to assist individuals who experience difficulties identifying U.S. currency.

The currency reader, called the iBill Talking Banknote Identifier, is a compact device that announces a note’s value in one of three ways: voice, pattern of tones, or pattern of vibrations. Just insert a note into the device and press the button on the side to have the denomination identified. The currency reader does not identify foreign or counterfeit banknotes. The size of a key fob, it can be easily carried. It operates on a single AAA battery, which typically lasts for more than a year. The initial battery is included.

A national rollout of the U.S. Currency Reader Program is scheduled to begin in January 2015, but a pilot initiative is currently underway through which eligible NLS patrons may pre-order a currency reader through December 31, 2014. To pre-order, patrons may call their local Talking Book and Braille Library either in Indianapolis (1-800-622-4970), Bartholomew County (800-685-0524), Evansville (866-645-2536), or Lake County (219-769-3541). The library staff will note the account and a currency reader will be mailed Free Matter to the patron’s on-file address when the devices become available.

Eligible individuals who wish to receive free library service from NLS may download an application at http://www.in.gov/library/4340.htm or call 1-800-622-4970 and request an application be sent by mail.

To learn more about the U.S. Currency Reader Program or other aspects of the U.S. government’s initiative to provide meaningful access to U.S. currency visit www.bep.gov.

Indiana Voices goes to Washington

By Linden Coffman, Director of Indiana Voices

 

Recently, as director for Indiana Voices, I had the unique opportunity to travel to Washington, D. C. to participate in orientation and training at the offices of NLS (National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped), a division of the Library of Congress. During this trip, I was able to see and become more aware of the many types of services, materials, and equipment available to our patrons here in Indiana as well as to learn what others are doing in their respective libraries across the country. I also had a chance to gain some new insights concerning new technologies which will change and improve some of the programs that we currently offer.

The topics covered during the orientation varied greatly from general overviews of how operations at the national level are coordinated to the specifics of Braille matters, media relations, and research and development.  Prior to this trip, I had no idea that the NLS had a music section which provides an extensive number of musical scores and sheet music specifically tailored for blind and visually impaired users. I also learned about how digital books are selected at the national level, which I found very educational. Did you know that with some best sellers, NLS is able to turn them around from a print copy into a digital talking book in as little as 3 to 4 months?

One of the highlights for me during the visit was a special tour that we were able to take of the Library of Congress. Our behind the scenes tour included learning about the inner workings of the library, a tour of vaults holding some of our nation’s oldest books, and a walk out onto the floor of the library’s historic reading room. It was quite a thrill for me to experience!

On my final day in Washington, I was lucky enough to be able to sit down with the NLS recording guru and receive individual training on their new recording software, Hindenburg. Here in Indiana, we plan on migrating to Hindenburg at the start of the New Year, so this training was very beneficial and will hopefully help us make a smooth transition. The things I learned about Hindenburg made me very excited to begin using it as it will make recording and editing books for Indiana Voices easier than ever before!

New in Large Print

We have just received an extensive shipment of large print books, including new bestsellers such as Killing Patton by Bill O’Reilly (LP19518) and Gray Mountain (LP19539) by John Grisham. Here are some other highlights:

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (LP19441, DB79182)

When Paris is invaded by the Nazis, Marie-Laure LeBlanc's father evacuates her to St. Malo to stay with her great-uncle. Blind since the age of six, Marie-Laure must learn the town by the scale model her father has left. Then, the Germans arrive. Violence and some descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 

Mimi Malloy, At Last! by Julia MacDonnell (LP19464)

A daughter of the Great Depression‚ Mimi Malloy‚ one of an Irish-Catholic brood of seven‚ did her best to raise six beautiful daughters of her own. Mimi is a divorcée‚ unexpectedly retired‚ living in the heart of Quincy with arguably the busiest phone in Boston. Then an MRI reveals that her brain is filled with black spots. Mimi won’t go down without a fight. And when she discovers an old pendant of her mother’s‚ slowly‚ her memory starts to return.

Haatchi and Little B by Wendy Holden (LP19467)

Owen — nicknamed “Little B” — has a rare genetic disorder. Largely confined to a wheelchair‚ he was anxious and found it difficult to make friends. Haatchi — an adorable Anatolian Shepherd puppy — was abused and left for dead on railroad tracks. Struck by an oncoming train‚ Haatchi was left disabled and dispirited. But when Little B’s father and stepmother introduced the big dog and the little boy‚ both were transformed in miraculous ways.

Popular Crime Series Now Available in Braille

Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta series, Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, and Dennis Lehane’s Kenzie and Gennaro are available for the first time in Braille, including many of the earlier books in each series. Check out these bestselling authors!

Book Recommendations

Here are some hidden gems that you may have overlooked:

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo(DB78211)

Ten-year-old Darling Nkala is sent to Michigan to escape the violence and hunger in Zimbabwe. Over the years Darling attends school and struggles to adjust to the alien culture. But her family are illegal immigrants and they miss their homeland. Violence, strong language, and some descriptions of sex.

Peaches for Father Francis by Joanne Harris (DB76037)

After the events in Chocolat (DB 49086) and The Girl with No Shadow (DB 67345), Vianne and her two daughters return to the French village of Lansquenet. Vianne encounters her nemesis Father Francis and experiences the tension between the Christian and Muslim communities. Some strong language.

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: A Novel by Gabrielle Zevin (DB78978)

When his most prized possession, a rare volume of poetry by Edgar Allan Poe, is stolen, bookstore owner A.J. Fikry begins isolating himself from his friends, family, and associates. Then he receives a mysterious package that compels him to remake his life. Strong language. Bestseller.

All the Summer Girls by Meg Donahue (DB76821, BR20131)

On the day her fiancé breaks off their engagement, Kate Harrington discovers she's pregnant. Her best friends Vanessa and Dani are also facing life changes, so the three women spend the summer together regrouping in the New Jersey beach town of their youth. Strong language.

In Pinelight by Thomas Rayfiel (BR 20361, DB77802)

An elderly protagonist in a retirement home talks about his life to an unseen interrogator. The hero reminiscences about small-town intrigues in upstate New York: loves, destructive family relationships, deaths, and personal revelations. Some strong language.

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain (BR19748, DB75765, LP18708)

Billy and the other soldiers of Bravo squad are home in the states for a victory tour after an Iraqi firefight they were in was taped and televised. As they experience a Dallas Cowboys game on Thanksgiving Day, Billy reflects on fame, life, and war. Violence and strong language. ____________________________________________________________

Indiana Insights is a publication of the Talking Book and Braille Library, Indiana State Library.   Indiana Insights is also available online, in Braille, or on a digital cartridge upon request.  Any mention of products and services in the Indiana Insights newsletter is for information purposes only and does not imply endorsement.  This project is funded in part with a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services which administers the Library Services Technology act.

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Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library Calendar:

Thursday            December 25, 2014              Library Closed

Friday                  December 26, 2014              Library Closed

Saturday             December 27, 2014              Library Closed

Thursday            January 1, 2015                    Library Closed

Monday               January 19, 2015                  Library Closed

Friday                  April 3, 2015                          Library Closed

Saturday             April 4, 2015                          Library Closed

Tuesday              May 5, 2015                           Library Closed

Saturday             May 23, 2015                        Library Closed

Monday               May 25, 2015                        Library Closed

Friday                  July 3, 2015                           Library Closed

Saturday             July 4, 2015                           Library Closed

Saturday             September 5, 2015               Library Closed

Monday               September 7, 2015               Library Closed

Monday               October 12, 2015                  Library Closed

Tuesday              November 3, 2015                Library Closed

Wednesday        November 11, 2015              Library Closed

Thursday            November 26, 2015              Library Closed

Friday                  November 27, 2015              Library Closed

Saturday             November 28, 2015              Library Closed

Thursday            December 24, 2015              Library Closed

Friday                  December 25, 2015              Library Closed

Saturday             December 26, 2015              Library Closed

 

Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library Hours:

Monday – Friday         8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Saturday                                8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

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Happy Holidays!

From all of us at

Talking Books!

 

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Indiana Talking Book                                                                                Free Matter

and Braille Library                                                                                      for the Blind

140 N Senate Ave

Indianapolis, IN 46204