WLBPD @ AADL NEWS Washtenaw Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled @ AADL SPRING 2013 Volume 3, Number 2 (734) 327-4224 WLBPD@AADL.ORG National Library Service Survey The Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) is conducting a survey to understand how to better serve the needs of readers of talking books and Braille. The survey asks about your reading preferences and experiences with talking books and Braille, your use or familiarity with the NLS Talking Book and Braille program, your usage of technology, and your personal and household demographics. The survey should take no longer than 25 minutes. Take the survey now to let your opinions be heard and help the NLS better serve you! You may access the survey online at www.LibraryOfCongressSurvey.org or call (866) 545-1618 to schedule a phone survey. The survey runs through May 10, 2013. WLBPD @ AADL 2012 Standards Review The WLBPD @ AADL recently received commendations on our second biennial site visit regarding standards of service as recommended by the American Library Association for subregional libraries. The final report of this positive site visit from the BTBL is now available online at http://wlbpd.aadl.org/wlbpd/wlbpdnews in PDF, audio and text formats. If you would like a copy in large print or Braille, please let us know. Accessing Books From Other NLS Libraries As a patron of the WLBPD @ AADL, you have access to locally recorded audiobooks available at select NLS libraries around the country. Just like books downloaded from BARD, these locally recorded books play only on an NLS digital player or NLS-approved listening device. Some of the books can be downloaded from online catalogs while others are available by Inter-library Loan request. To request an Interlibrary Loan, call (734) 327-4224 or email wlbpd@aadl.org. Here is a list of participating libraries with links to their online catalogs: NOBLE - The State Library of North Carolina BARD Local • Catalog: http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/lbph/noble.html#books • Access: Download online. A login or password is not required. • Sample: Silk Flags and Cold Steel: The Civil War in North Carolina, the Piedmont by William R. Trotter. Read by John Stein. DBX01136. WTBBL - Washington Talking Book & Braille Library • Catalog: http://www.wtbbl.org/login.aspx • Access: You may request access to these books by sending an email to WTBBL at wtbbl@sos.wa.gov. • Sample: More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Washington Women by L.E. Bragg. Brief biographies of sixteen extraordinary women from Washington’s past. ?Includes Narcissa Prentiss Whitman, Kick-Is-Om-Lo (Princess Angeline), and Mayor Bertha Knight Landes. 1998. Narrated by Lynda Emel. SHELF (Shared Electronic Files) Project Libraries Braille Institute Library Services, Colorado Talking Book Library, Idaho Talking Book Library, Kansas Talking Book Library Catalog, Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Perkins Braille and Talking Book Library (Massachusetts), Utah Library for the Blind, Vermont Department of Libraries, Special Services Unit, and the Wolfner Talking Book and Braille Library (Missouri) • Catalog: Wolfner Library’s online catalog, WolfPAC: http://wolfpac.sos.mo.gov/klasweb • Access: Interlibrary Loan only. • Sample: Morsels of Mischief: Orphan Tales from my Childhood by Chris McClarren. In the fall of 1945, five-year-old Tommy McClarren was placed in the German St. Vincent Orphan Home in St. Louis, Missouri, where he would live and go to school for the next nine years. This memoir tells how he transformed adversity into one adventure after another. 2012. Narrated by Keith Krueger. MDB11031. More DVDs with Descriptive Narration If you’ve ever seen this icon on a DVD, it means that included on that film or program is a descriptive narration track. Described Videos are movies in which the visual elements are described – the action, characters, locations, costumes, and sets – without interfering with the movie’s dialogue or sound effects. The WLBPD @ AADL is building our collection of Described Videos (youth, comedy, drama, action, mystery, documentary, and more) in DVD format available for check-out. To view a list of available titles go to: http://wlbpd.aadl.org/wlbpd/described_videos. To find out what’s available or to request titles, call or email the WLBPD @ AADL. Libraries Without Walls 2013 Conference On Tuesday, June 4, the Braille and Talking Book Library is hosting the Libraries Without Walls 2013 Conference. Sponsored in part through a grant from the Library of Michigan Foundation, this year’s theme is “The Freedom of Digital Books.” The conference is 9 AM-4 PM and will be held in Lansing at the ?Lansing Community College West Campus, 5708 Cornerstone Drive. Registration is $10 and includes morning refreshments, lunch, and an afternoon snack. The keynote speaker is Karen Keninger, Director of the National Library Service for the Blind & Physically Handicapped. Breakout sessions following the keynote address include: • What’s hot in K-12 reading using iOS products. • Accessibility of the Android OS. The latest screen reader technology. • The versatility of the new Mac OS. • A comparison of screen enlargement programs. • How to create Braille books. • Accessible health care. For more information on the Libraries Without Walls 2013 Conference, please call Scott Norris at (800) 992-9012. Guide to “Old News” for Low Vision Users AADL has obtained copies and rights to many local newspapers over the years, including the Signal of Liberty, The Ann Arbor Argus, The Ann Arbor Courier, as well as The Ann Arbor News, whose archives AADL took possession of in 2010. Old News is the online home for all of this information. There are a variety of features in the Ann Arbor District Library’s Old News archive that can be of use to users with low vision. Visit Old News online at oldnews.aadl.org. Large Article Images and Photos Articles in Old News are scanned at high resolution and are served up that way on the site. Simply click on any article image or photo you see in Old News to bring it up in its own window. Selecting the expansion button below the article image will blow it up to its full size, often as much as twice as large as it appeared originally in print. OCR Text Many of the articles in Old News appear with Optical Character Recognition text that is readable by screen readers. Look below the article image and look for the “View Uncorrected Scanned Text” section. AADL staff and patrons are working to correct the errors in this OCR and add OCR to articles from which it is missing. PDF Copies of Historic Newspapers Many of the newspapers in Old News have been digitized as full issues and are provided on Old News as issue PDFs, in addition to being broken into separate articles. After selecting a newspaper from the Papers page at oldnews.aadl.org/papers, just pick any issue you wish to see by clicking on its date. You’ll see an option to “Download PDF” on each issue. These PDFs have large images of each page and text underneath for any screen reader to access. AADL Local History Podcasts Old News isn’t just for reading, it’s also for listening. Take a step back in time while listening to Old News Podcasts at oldnews.aadl.org/podcasts. AADL talks to locals and “townies” on a variety of topics including Argus Camera, the turbulent 60s, University of Michigan Sports, and heritage businesses such as Schlanderer & Sons, Vogel’s Lock & Safe, and more. Top Ten BARD Downloads in the Past 90 Days Fiction 1. Backfire (DB75130) by Catherine Coulter. Read by Jim Meskimen; Deanna Hurst. 2. The Racketeer (DB75597) by John Grisham. Read by John Polk. 3. A Wanted Man: A Reacher Novel (DB75349) by Lee Child. Read by Mark Delgado. 4. The Bone Bed (DB75546) by Patricia Cornwell. Read by Martha Harmon Pardee. 5. 11th Hour (DB74778) by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro. Read by Suzanne Toren. 6. The Midnight Club (DB48563) by James Patterson. Read by Chuck Benson. 7. Mad River (DB75441) by John Sandford. Read by Jon Huffman. 8. The Innocent (DB74709) by David Baldacci. Read by Ray Childs. 9. The Witness (DB74582) by Nora Roberts & Julia Whelan. Read by Julia Whelan. 10. Gone Girl: A Novel (DB74888) by Gillian Flynn. Read by Erik Sandvold. Non-Fiction 1. Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot (DB75615) by Bill O’Reilly; Martin Dugard. Read by Richard Davidson. 2. No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Ladin (DB75401) by Mark Owen & Kevin Maurer. Read by Mark Ashby. 3. Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever (DB73850) by Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard. Read by Mike Stefanelli. 4. Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball (DB57093) by Stefan Kanfer. Read by Mitzi Friedlander. 5. To Heaven and Back: A Doctor’s Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels, and Life Again (DB75227) by Mary C. Neal. Read by Margaret Strom. 6. Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife (DB75791) by Eben Alexander. Read by Jon Huffman. 7. The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments (DB68777). Read by Alexander Scourby. 8. The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town (DB63332) by John Grisham. Read by Craig Wasson. 9. Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors: And Other True Cases (DB76079) by Ann Rule. Read by Laural Merlington. 10. F for Effort!: More of the Very Best Totally Wrong Test Answers (DB76007) by Richard Benson. Read by Jack Fox. CONTACT US: Phone: (734) 327 - 4224 Email: wlbpd@aadl.org Website: wlbpd.aadl.org WLBPD LOCATION & HOURS The WLBPD collection is housed in the Downtown Ann Arbor District Library at 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor, at the corner of Fifth Ave. and William St. The Library is open: Mon. 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM Tues.-Fri. 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM Sat. 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM Sun. 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM LIBRARY LOCATIONS Downtown 343 S. Fifth Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Malletts Creek Branch 3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway Ann Arbor, MI 48108 Pittsfield Branch 2359 Oak Valley Dr. Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Traverwood Branch 3333 Traverwood Dr. Ann Arbor, MI 48105 West Branch 2503 Jackson Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48103