learningexpress

Did you know that you can access dozens of practice tests and 150 e-books by going to the LearningExpress Library from our Research Pages? Just click on the Research Tab and then the click on the link that says "Test Prep". LearningExpress Library is the sole item with that heading. You will need an additional log in to access this database to take practice tests. Once you get there, you'll see all sorts of test preparation resources from the GMAT, the LSAT, the PCAT and the GRE. There's even some basic math skill building, which can be useful for everyone, every day!

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...in English as a Second Language conversation group at three of our locations each week. AADL's partnership with Washtenaw Literacy provides us with trained volunteers to help participants get comfortable speaking English. Groups meet Mondays at the Pittsfield Branch from 1:00-2:30 PM; Wednesday at our Traverwood Branch from 7:00- 8:30 PM. There's also a group that meets at Mallets Creek on Fridays from 1-2:30 PM. Participants do not need to register to take part in these groups and can attend as many as they'd like. If you're interested in learning more about Washtenaw Literacy, check out their website or give them a call: 734-879-1320.

The National Federation of the Blind of Michigan is pleased to offer two scholarships in the amount of $500 to outstanding blind college students in the state of Michigan. Scholarship winners will be required to attend the entire state convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan, and participate in all activities sponsored by the Michigan Association of Blind Students. This convention will take place October 18-20, 2013 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. All convention expenses including transportation, hotel accommodations, and registration will be provided as part of this scholarship. All application materials must be submitted by Sept. 6, 2013, and winners will be notified by Sept. 27. If you have questions or would like an application contact Terri Wilcox at 734-663-4050 or trising@sbcglobal.net.

AADL continues to grow its collection of films that have a Descriptive Video Service or DVS feature. More films are being produced for children and adults that are Described Video Recordings for L Card users to borrow. There are comedies, action, animation and science fiction films available. Many can be sent by mail to our WLBPD patrons as Free Matter for the Blind. If your vision isn't what it used to be, you may want to try watching a film with described narration. That way you don't have to ask other folks what's happening on the screen and can concentrate on the film.

Washtenaw Health Plan's Plan A/ABW Open enrollment is a month-long rare opportunity for uninsured Adult Residents of Washtenaw County to possibly become insured. Under this insurance plan, adults between the ages of 19-64 with NO minor children in their custody may be eligible for comprehensive health coverage-including a $1.00 co-pay for brand and generic prescription drugs. You can apply online or come to one of the numerous enrollment opportunities throughout the rest of April. The Washtenaw Health Plan office will be taking walk-in applicants all month. Additionally, there will be a chance to enroll at the following sites this week: Tuesday, April 23 Packard Health West, 1-3 pm; Ypsilanti Library Whittaker Road, 5-7 pm; Faith in Action-Chelsea;Wednesday, April 24th, 9-11 am; and Packard Health-Main; Thursday, April 25th, 9-11 am. Don't forget every day until May 1 at at Washtenaw Health Plan, 555 Towner, Ypsilanti, 8:30 am-5pm. College Students and other uninsured adults may be eligible for this program.

Join the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living on every other Monday starting April 15 from 1 pm to 2:30 pm for Job Talk, a career development workshop. Come to support and be supported through discussions on the challenges of unemployment, news, tips, and networking to help you land a job. To register or for more information about Job Talk, contact Cheranissa Roach at cheranissa@aacil.org or (734) 971-0277.

The next Michigan Commission for the Blind Braille and Talking Book Library Book Club meeting will be held on April 13 at 1:30 p.m. in Lansing at the Library of Michigan in the BTBL public service area located on the first floor across from the elevators. This month's book is DB45619 A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson . The meeting can be attended in person or via the OPAL online meeting room. The meeting site is accessible. Individuals attending the meeting are requested to refrain from using heavily scented personal care products in order to enhance accessibility for everyone. People with disabilities requiring additional accommodations (such as materials in alternative format) in order to participate in the meeting, or those seeking more information, should call Scott Norris at (517) 373-5516 at least five business days prior to the meeting.

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 can access the survey at www.LibraryOfCongressSurvey.org or call 866-545-1618 to schedule a phone survey.

The survey will run March 11 - May 10, 2013.

There are a variety of features in the Ann Arbor District Library Old News that can be of use to users with low-vision.

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, 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. AADL talks to locals and “townies” on a variety of topics including Argus Camera, the turbulent 60’s, University of Michigan Sports, and heritage businesses such as Schlanderer & Sons and Vogel’s Lock & Safe, and more.