Memorandum
South Dakota State Library
Braille and Talking Book Library
December 1999
Editor: Karen Knudsen
Patrons of the SD Braille & Talking Book Library
This MEMORANDUM is our means of communication with our patrons. If you have any questions or comments you would like to address, or wish to have this memo in large print or braille, please contact Karen Knudsen.

If you wish to receive the next issue of the MEMORANDUM, please return this issue. If you don't want to receive future issues of the MEMORANDUM, please contact the Library at 1-800-423-6665 and ask for Karen Knudsen.


NOTES FROM THE EDITOR.Karen Knudsen
Time surely flies doesn't it? I started doing this Memorandum in earnest last year at this time and here it is that time of year again.

It has been a busy year here at the library. I have hosted a thank you for the volunteers this April, went to a conference in Brookings where I had a chance to meet many of the library's patrons. I also went to a volunteer convention in Sioux Falls. There are many organizations and volunteers that manage these organizations. There is the American Red Cross, Retired Senior Volunteer Program, etc.

I am also hoping again this year that I won't have to use my snowboots or shovels that I bought last year too much this year. We have had a really dry year until we received a few inches of rain in late August. I haven't seen a lot of signs that point to a bad winter yet.

I have started Christmas shopping. I like to pick up gifts throughout the year so I can balance the budget a little better at this time of the year.

I and the other staff at the Braille and Talking Book Library hope that you have a happy & joyous holiday season & prosperous New Year.


FROM THE DESK OF DAN BOYD
DIRECTOR, INFORMATION SERVICES
Discussions on what the next generation of talking books and talking book playback equipment will be are taking place on a number of different fronts.

A committee has been established by National Library Service to begin discussions on the development of "the next generation". There are a number of players in these discussions. NLS is not developing the next generation of the talking book machine in a vacuum. There are twenty-one agencies and organizations involved. They are: ACB, AFB, APH, Association for Education & Rehabilitation of Blind & Visually Impaired, ASCLA (Association of Specialized & Cooperative Library Agencies), Blind Veterans Association, CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind), Hadley School for the Blind, Industry Canada (Assistive Devices Industry office), LaBarge Electronics, NCR Corporation, NFB, National Institute of Standards & Technology, NISO (National Information Standards Organization), NLS, Productivity Works Inc, RFB&D, Telex Communications Inc, TRACE Research & Development Center University of Wisconsin, VisiAide Inc, and World Blind Union.

The planning is moving forward and is based on three assumptions.
  1. The next system will be digitally based. Not only are analog systems declining in use, but digital systems offer a number of potential advantages over analog systems:
    • Improved sound quality (useful but not essential for spoken word recordings)
    • The ability to listen to an entire book without manipulating the medium (changing discs, turning/changing cassettes)
    • Enhanced navigational capabilities ( the ability to jump from table of contents to a chapter, skip a paragraph instantly, read or skip footnotes, or insert bookmark)
    • The ability to include the full text of the book in electronic form along with the recorded version (will allow the spelling of words, keyword searches of text, etc)
  2. The current 4-track, 15/16-ips cassette system will be in use for at least another five years or longer.
    • Eventually, we expect that a declining market for cassettes will lead to higher prices for cassettes, playback unit components, duplication equipment, and supplies.
    • Simultaneously, the cost of digital system components will be dropping.
    • A significant cost advantage will not be realized for at least five years.
  3. We will need to use a standard or slightly modified version of a widely used consumer product or technology to gain the cost benefits of mass production.
    • The NLS market is not large enough or does NLS have the research dollars to pursue a technology that is out of the mainstream.
Given these assumptions, how do we get from where we are to where we want to be? When NLS changed its delivery medium from records to cassettes only the medium, the mailing container, and playback device was replaced during the transition; otherwise the system stayed the same. Now we are planning a change that will affect possibly every aspect of our talking book system, from recording through distribution.

At the same time this issue is being discussed there is another very important discussion taking place that may also impact the future design of the talking book medium and talking book playback machine.

RFB&D are developing an experimental project to deliver textbooks over the Internet. RFB&D have traditionally produced audio-recorded textbooks on tape. More recently, it also has provided some textbooks in a digital format. This new project involves a more advanced type of digital book as well as Internet delivery.

Storing information in digital formats permits a number of ways to access and use it. The new format includes actually storing the book both as a digitized audio recording of a human reader and, on the same disk, an electronic version of the book that can be manipulated in a work processor. The user can toggle between the two versions depending on need. The human voice is more pleasant. But, when students want to check a word for spelling or other accurate information, the student can jump to the electronic text. The other scenario is the student does a search of the text for some phrase, paragraph, or page. Having located the correct spot in the text the student switches to the human voice for listening to the content.

In the near future colleges and universities will be able to obtain these new format books for students with disabilities and retrieve them over the Internet.

Many of the same organizations that are a part of the NLS study are also part of the RFB&D study.

The use of a new format for talking books and playback equipment is estimated to be seven to ten years into the future. As this process moves forward your library will keep you updated.


STAFF UPDATE
We have two new Reader Advisors on our staff now. Mary Sjerven was hired to replace Darcy who started her own business. Mary will be serving the part of the alphabet that begins with A-G. Kathy Schreiber who is the Machine Agency Technican has also assumed Reader Advisor duties. I will be doing an interview with Mary just as I did with Kathy in a future Memorandum. Kathy will be serving the part of the alphabet that begins with H-O.

We also have a new State Librarian, Suzanne Miller, who will bring some very positive changes to the library as a whole.

Suzanne is a SD native, whose professional experience includes working for law libraries in California and South Dakota.

Suzanne began her duties at the South Dakota State Library in Pierre on Monday, Aug. 30th.

Suzanne has been assistant librarian for technical services at the University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, Ca., since 1985. She previously worked at the University of LaVerne College of Law in California as director of law libraries and assistant law librarian. She began her professional library experience in 1977 at the University of south Dakota's School of Law.

Suzanne's experience also includes teaching positions at two California law schools where she worked. Her professional activities include membership in the American Association of Law Libraries and the Western Pacific Association of Law Libraries.

She holds a master of arts degree from the University of Denver's Graduate School of Librarianship. Her undergraduate English degree is from the University of South Dakota. She has also completed post-graduate work at the University of LaVerne.

"Suzanne's education and experience will be an asset as we bring South Dakota libraries into the new millennium. She also has deep roots in South Dakota. She was looking for a professional opportunity here; we're pleased that her career plans coincided with our needs," said Ray Christensen, Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Education and Cultural Affairs.


TIDBITS FROM THE STAFF
FROM KATHY
Years of Reading

How long would it take to listen to all the books in the Library? We are often asked this question, so we got out the old abacus and did little "figurin." We estimate that the average book has 704 minutes of reading time on two 4-track cassettes. With over 46,000 titles in the collection, it would take 32,384,000 minutes, or 539,733 hours, which is 22,488 days, or about 61 years to listen to every book. And since we add between 10 and 20 new titles each week, you may need a speed listening course.

FROM MARY
Novel Nuggets

Novels often contain bits of gold,
words of wisdom regarding every walk of
life. I will try to share some of these nuggets
with you.

...If the rose at noon has lost the beauty
it had at dawn, the beauty it had then was
real. Nothing in the world is permanent,
and we're foolish when we ask anything
to last. But surely we're still more foolish
not to take delight in it while we have it.
The Razor's Edge (RC10313)
W. Sonerset Maugham
A man can be destroyed
but not defeated.
The Old Man and the Sea(RC10319)
Ernest Hemmingway
If we win here we will win every-
where. The world is a fine place and
worth the fighting for and I hate very
much to leave it.
For Whom the Bell Tolls(RC12222)
Ernest Hemingway

BOOK CORNER
Recommended reading from your Reader Advisors...
Jerry, Kathy, and Mary

As the holiday season fast approaches we thought some Christmas reading would be appropriate. Here are a few titles we are suggesting.

Starting with an old classic, Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (RC43546) also available in video (DVS183) The 19th century Christmas story set in England describes the conversations of grasping old mister Ebenezer Scrooge when he is visited by ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.

Listening to some holiday traditions, Once Upon a Christmas by Pearl S. Buck (RC27990) is a lifetime of Christmas reminisces along with a collection of the authors' own stories reflecting the joy and spirit of the holidays. Mrs. Bucks' memories first of festivities in China and later of the traditions of snow covered Vermont and Pennsylvania.

Christmas Tree by Julie Salamon (RC43548) This book was inspired by a New Jersey nun who in 1995 donated a large tree to Rockefeller Center. The chief gardener tells of his yearly search for the perfect tree. Shortly before Christmas a young man receives a letter from a great aunt asking that he stop in for a cup of Christmas tea. The title of this book is Cup of Christmas Tea by Tom Hegg (RC40835).

Only the River Runs Free by Bodie Thoene (RC46729) tells of Mad Molly Fahey's prediction of a miracle on Christmas Eve in 1841.

Fourteen year old Marissa's plans to spend Christmas with her family in Hawaii were changed when she fell ill and was forced to spend Christmas with her grandmother. Read about her experience in Tidings of Comfort and Joy by T. Davis Bunn (RC48425).

This whimsical account of the birth of Jesus from the viewpoint of the innkeeper is in Jesus' Christmas Party by Nicholas Allan (RC36406).

A Christmas Sampler by E.A. Crawford, editor (RC38182) is written by American authors reinforcing the notion that Christmas brings mixed emotions. A Holiday of Love by Judith McNaught (RC40321) is a bestseller and contains romantic holiday stories.

Happy Holidays and Happy Reading!


The announcements of new products and services in our memorandum should not be considered an endorsement of those products and services by the SD Braille and Talking Book Library. The products and services are listed free of charge for the benefit of our readers.


NEWS RELEASES
Choice Magazine Listening
Here is information for anyone who is blind, visually impaired or unable to read because of other physical limitations. You are eligible to receive Choice Magazine Listening at no cost. CML is a not-for-profit taped audio anthology offering outstanding articles, short stories, and poetry selected from current magazines such as the New Yorker, Atlantic, National Geographic, Scientific American, Smithsonian, Gourmet, Travel and Leisure, Sports Illustrated, Foreign Affairs, Granta and Time. These free tapes are distributed throughout the US six times a year. The unabridged articles are recorded on 4 track tapes to be played on the special tape players available free through the Library of Congress.

To apply for a free subscription or to receive a brochure, write to: Choice Magazine Listening, Dept. RL, 85 Channel Drive, Port Washington NY 11050 or call 516-883-8280, or fax 516-944-6849. E-mail to adobrin_hu@earthlink.net. When you e-mail or fax please use the header Subscription-EM in the subject line and include your name, postal address and phone number and tell us if you have the four track player.

If you have the player you are automatically added to the list of subscribers.

You can also find us on the Internet at members.aol.com/CHOICEMAG.

Alfred A Rosenbloom, Jr. O.D., founder and current director of the Chicago Lighthouse Low Vision clinics and a member of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) Board of Trustees, and Abraham Nemeth, Ph.D, creator of the Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematic and Science Notation used by blind students in performing arithmetical computations and in mathematical problem solving, will receive AFB's 1999 Migel Medals. The awards will be presented at a ceremony and reception in their honor on Friday November 5th at the Chicago Marriott Downtown, following the fall meeting of AFB's National Board of Trustees.

Rosenbloom will receive the 1999 Professional Award; Nemeth is the recipient of the 1999 Volunteer Award.

The Chicago Lighthouse Low Vision Clinics have served over 20,000 people since their inception in 1957.

The AFB--the organization to which Helen Keller devoted more than 40 years of her life--is a national, nonprofit organization whose mission is to enable people who are blind or visually impaired to achieve equality of access and opportunity that will ensure freedom of choice in their lives. Headquartered in New York City, AFB maintains offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco, and a governmental relations office in Washington, DC.


FOR YOUR INFORMATION
  • Chemistry Book
    The "Braille Code for Chemical Notation 1997" is now available from the American Printing House for the Blind for $16 in both print and braille. Call (800) 223-1839. Library of Congress certified Nemeth Code transcribers may order a free copy from the National Service for the Blind and Physically Impaired.
  • L & M Teleservices
    Have you been searching for a reliable source to handle your telephone business? L & M Tele-Services can help. Whether you need help scheduling appointments, fundraisers, soliciting donations, conducting short surveys, or something else, this new company can handle it. If you need help with patient notification methods, the company offers a fee of $8 per hour, plus a one-time set-up fee of $10. Call, write or fax (605) 388-3056, 4455 W Sunnyside Dr., Rapid City SD 57701-8570, for more information.
  • 20th Anniversary
    WGBH's "Mystery" show launches its 20th anniversary season with "Second Sight," featuring Clive Owen as Chief Detective Inspector Ross Tanner. The detective is trying to maintain his edge while trying to conceal the fact that he's losing his sight. Co-star Claire Skinner is Detective Inspector Catherine Tully, an ambitious young investigator who offers to help the chief keep his secret-- as long as he uses his status to help her rebuild her career following a drug bust gone bad. They investigate the apparently motiveless, brutal murder of a 19 yr., old college student. The show airs on Thursdays on your PBS station (check local listings for times).
  • New Computers
    Have you ever wanted to get a new computer without spending your life savings? Month Cassellius, an independent representative of Excel Communications, can help you. Write him at 1004 S. Mercer Ave., #10, Bloomington, IN 61701; phone (309) 662-0314 or toll free at 1-(888) 242-4751 extension 6049; or e-mail him at montyjc@davesworld.net.
  • Magni-Cam Triad
    Innoventions, Inc. has designed and introduced an expandable roller set that enables the Magnicam user to quickly and easily adjust reading materials to a desired level of magnification. The two rollers are made of a durable material connected to a metal frame that, with the use of velcro, attaches to the underside of the camera. The rollers facilitate moving the camera across the reading material, and the adjustment for magnification is made by simply pushing down on the camera to increase magnification. To decrease magnification and to increase the field of view, pull the set out and place it down on the reading material. The new rollers, that are now included in the base price of the Magnicam, also enhance the stability of the unit.
  • You Can Read Again
    Telesensory's Aladdin companion is the world's most affordable compact and lightweight video magnifier. It will enrich your lifestyle and let you maintain your independence, privacy and freedom. With its built-in handle and weighing only 17 pounds, the Companion is the perfect "at home" or "on-the-go" video magnifier. Now you can once again enjoy viewing photographs, reading magazines and prescription labels with this easy to use video magnifier.

    Telesensory has been in the business of helping people with low vision for almost 30 years, and their state-of-the-art video magnifiers are helping thousands of people around the world to read again. It's time for you to join them.

    For an in-home trial, free video-tape, or more information, call 1-800-804-8004. Or visit us on the World Wide Web at www.telesensory.com
  • Free Brochure
    The Jewish Guild for the Blind has a free brochure available called "A Guide for HIV/AIDS Caregivers.when assisting those with vision loss." It is available in English & Spanish. For a copy of it, write to: Public Relations Department, Jewish Guild for the Blind, 15 W 65th St., New York, NY 10023, or call (212) 769-6263. Please specify which language version you prefer.
  • Playback Marketing
    Is offering several music packages of CDs and cassettes. You can purchase any of the following for $40 or buy three or more sets for $38 each: Country & Western, 12 CDs & 12 cassettes; Big Band and Easy Listening, nine CDs and nine cassettes; and Rock Oldies from the 50s to the 70s, nine CDs and nine cassettes. You may purchase either of the following sets for $20 or buy 3 or more sets for $18 each: Children's Songs and Stories, Five CDs & five cassettes; or Light Classics and Movie Themes, five CDs and five cassettes. The following six-hour cassette albums are available for $10 each, or if you purchase three or more, $9 each: Amos 'n Andy, two different albums; Lum 'n Abner, two different albums; Screen Director's Playhouse; Gangbusters; Murder at Midnight; and Dark Fantasy. You may order in large print, braille, on tape, or disk. Contact Playback Marketing, 1308 Evergreen Ave, Goldsboro, N.C. 27530. The phone number is (919) 736-0939 or toll free (888) 217-2312.
  • Package Park
    Are you tired of not getting your packages because you're not home when the carrier comes? Now you can receive packages quickly and securely, even when you're out. The Package-Park system consists of a rugged nylon laundry bag sized sack and a plastic coated bracket, and a padlock (which you provide). The bracket attaches to your door; attach the bag to it. Illustrated instructions on the sack show the carrier how to fit the package into it and lock it with the padlock. It costs $29.95 plus $6 shipping and handling. For more information visit the web site at http://members.aol.com/maitapds (website no longer active, 02/2006). Contact Maita Products at (301) 891-2328 to order. Credit card orders call toll-free (800) 293-6178 and ask for item HNOH1.
  • Share the Vision
    Helen Keller National Center's 1999 awareness campaign is focusing on the employment of people who are deaf-blind, skilled, highly motivated, hard-working and reliable employees. The campaign kicks off this month and will continue throughout the year.
  • Baseball Game Info
    Would you like to play baseball on your computer? You can with Version 13 of the world Series Baseball Game and Information System. You can also review the history of baseball, learn whose is in the Hall of Fame, check out baseball records, and try your hand at a 1,000 question quiz. The game comes with 262 teams. It costs $15 for new users, $5 for updates. Send your check to Harry Hollingsworth, 692 S. Sheraton Dr., Akron, Oh 44319; phone (330) 644-2421, or e-mail hhhollingsworth@ibm.net.
  • VIA PHONE
    The USA Newsletter for the Blind can now be reached by telephone. To call and listen, dial (918) 627-8867. There is no subscription fee, nor is expensive computer equipment required. Just use your touch-tone from anywhere in the United States. If you would like more information about the service, call Chuck Ayers at (918) 664-6646.
  • NEW FROM BRL
    BRL, Inc. has numerous new resources available. One of them is a list of blind e-mail distribution lists. It presents 80 of the most popular lists. Containing more than 5,500 e-mail addresses for blind individuals and groups that serve the blind. It is available on disk for $40. The blind web-site list offers information on more than 700 items for the blind. It, too, is available on disk for $10. The company also offers "A Verbal View of Windows" in regular print ($75), large print ($120), braille ($120), and on audio cassette ($75).

    Program key guides are available for Windows 95 and 98, as well as Microsoft Word 97. Standard print costs $20, large print costs $25, and braille costs $25. For more information, or to order, write BRL Inc., 110 Commerce Dr., Suite 210, Fayetteville, GA 30214; phone and fax (770) 716-9222; e-mail brlinc@mindspring.com, or visit the web site, www.wyfiwyg.com (website no longer active, 02/2006).
  • $25,000 Grant
    The GTE Foundation recently awarded the American Foundation for the Blind a $25,000 grant to support a one-year project that will develop and test strategies for making tables and other such data accessible to blind people using screen readers to navigate the World Wide Web.

Talking Book Readers
I thought you might be interested to have a breakdown of the ages of our 4107 patrons so I had Connie Sullivan run me a report for this Memorandum.

Here is a breakdown of the ages of our patrons.
Ages
100 and over=
32
40-49=
167
90-99=
479
30-39=
137
80-89=
830
20-29=
332
70-79=
460
10-19=
511
60-69=
230
under 10=
27
50-59=
235
other=
(hospitals, schools,
nursing homes, libraries)
667

Magazines
Free Offer
Party Line is a monthly cassette magazine. You can get a free monthly subscription from the Wilson Tape Lending Library Service, PO Box 1836, Mableton, GA 30126. If you wish to talk on the magazine, send a 90-minute cassette with your message (up to five minutes) with a $6 contribution to Sanford Rosenthal, 3360 NE 33rd St., Apt 4, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308.

By Subscription
The Travel Magazine is a quarterly publication in braille and on tape. Subscriptions cost $32.95 annually. For a sample copy, send $1 for cassette and $5 for braille to: The Travel Magazine, PO Box 24236, Cincinnqti, OH 45224.

Feminist Collections: A Quarterly of Women's Studies Resources is available on audio tape. It contains reviews of current books on topics ranging from reproductive technologies to women's autobiographical writing, web site reviews, e-mail discussion lists, new magazines and reference books, and much more. It comes out 4 times a year, along with a print copy of the issue. The subscriptions include two other resources: A Current Listing of Contents and New Books on Women and Feminism ( a twice yearly listing of most of the books recently published in English). Subscriptions cost $30 or individuals or women's programs, $55 for libraries and other institutions. Or you may select only the tape copies for $15. Send your check payable to University of Wisconsin-Madison to: Women's Studies Librarian, University of Wisconsin System, 430 Memorial Library, 728 State St., Madison, WI 53708.


FAVORITE AUTHORS
If you like books by
  • Louis L'Amour
    Try: Max Brand, Don Coldsmith, Loren Estleman, Brian Garfield, Ernest Haycox, Will Henry, Elmer Kelton, Hank Mitchum, Frank O'Rourje, Stephen Overholser, Gordon Shirreffs, Luke Short
  • Janet Oke
    Try: June Masters Bacher, Grace Livingston Hill, Barbara Johnson, Catherine Marshall, Frank Peretti, Bodie Thoerie
  • Robert Parker
    Try: David Lee Burke, Philip Craig, Robert Crais

INTERNET SOURCES
  • Bibliomania is a collection of approximately 150 full-text works of literature and reference books on the Internet. Most are 19th century British and American works. The site is divided into four main sections: fiction; nonfiction; poetry; and reference works. All texts are fully searchable. You can find this at bibliomania.com
  • Fortune 500 has listing of the top 500 companies in America on the Internet. The online listing includes rank, company and revenue. A link for each company provides details including name of CEO, address, type of business, web site, other rankings, and much more. You can find Fortune 500 at: pathfinder.com/fortune/fortune500
  • One more ready reference guide on the Internet is maintained by librarians at the Windsor School in Boston. This large guide to ready reference is arranged alphabetically by topic from "Abortion, U.S." to "Zip codes." It includes links to primary sites in more than 650 subject areas.

    You can find Ready Reference Guide: Use the Internet at http://63.67.3.52/pages/sitepage.cfm?id=304 (website no longer active, 02/2006)
REMINDER
Patron Requests
We get a number of calls from patrons inquiring about why they did not receive all of the books they had ordered.

One reason could be that some of the books you ordered are checked out to other patrons and may not be available at this time; this is especially true with many of the new releases. Another reason could be that you have run out of requests in your file and you need to provide us with more requests.

Here are a few suggestions to try so that you do not run out of books:
  • Try to order as many books as you can at a time. We usually suggest an order of at least 20 or more, that way there is a better chance that some of them are available.
  • If you do not get a shipment of books at the time you normally do, please contact us to see if some have been mailed out recently or there is some other reason you have not received your regular shipment of talking books.

VOLUNTEER INTERVIEW
Our interview this month is with Marilyn Koch. She has been volunteering for about 40 years. I told her she probably started volunteering when she was 15 yrs old. She certainly looks like a youthful 55.

Marilyn does her volunteer work in the cassette inspection and repair section of the library as well as reading of the newspapers on the talking book radio program. She also reads some general fiction and non-fiction books that we add to our SD collection.

Some of the other places she has volunteered at are: Pierre Fire Department Auxiliary, PTA and mentor in several schools, Girls Scouts, Telephone Pioneers, Countryside Hospice, Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce, SS Peter & Paul Catholic Church, Special Olympics, Pierre & Ft. Pierre Area Senior Citizen Centers and State Capitol Christmas tree display. She says the one area she would like to volunteer in is the archive section of the Cultural Heritage Center.

She has lived in Pierre for 51 yrs. Before that she lived in rural Kennebec and rural Ft. Pierre.

Some of her favorite hobbies and other things to do include: going to movies, reading, and crafts. She also likes to make jelly and do home canning. Her one special interest is family genealogy.

The staff here at the BTBL(Braille & Talking Book Library) extends a most sincere thank you to Marilyn for her many hours spent in helping our patrons.