Prairie Trails Memorandum
South Dakota State Library
Braille and Talking Book Library
Summer 2001, Volume 1, Issue 2
Kathy Schreiber, Editor
Comments from the Director
You have received or will be receiving a survey document from the SD Braille & Talking Book Library. It is time for the library to conduct a patron survey. We are required to survey our patrons every two/three years.

The survey is your opportunity to provide information on to the library on how you view the library services you receive. The responses we receive from our patrons are then used to correct any problem.

Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and return it to the library. If you do not receive a survey, call the library and one will be mailed to you. If you need assistance completing the survey, please call the library and staff will assist you in com-pleting the survey over the telephone.

New Service:
The SD Braille & Talking Book Program is working with Keystone Systems on an enhancement to our computer system. Beginning in August, if you have a personal computer, or access to a computer with Internet access you can search the library collection and add a list of books you would like to read to your library record.

This will allow you to add books to your request list any time of the day or night. With this system it will be possible for you to add requests one day and have the titles mailed to you the next day.

For additional information on this program, please call the library.


Experience is the best teacher but the tuition is costly. New Catalogs from NLS
Two new catalogs from the National Library Service (Library of Congress) have recently been sent to patrons and to libraries.
  • Cassette Books 2000 lists all adult books produced on cassette during the past year. Titles are arranged by subject or type of fiction. If you have not already re-ceived a copy (it is blue in color), you may request a copy by calling or writing the library.
  • Braille Books 1999-2000 lists all adult braille books produced by the Library of Congress during the past two years. Books in this catalog are also arranged bysubject or type of fiction. If you have not already received a copy (it is purple incolor), you may order one by writing or calling the library.

Talking Newsletters
You can now hear the SBVI "Visions" newsletter and the "Dakota Link News-letter" from the newspaper reading services at 1-866-721-2200. To request anapplication for the SD Telephone Reader Service contact the State Library.


Discounted Internet Service
Discounted Internet service is being offered by ABLE-NET for those with disabilities. Their unlimited Internet access and e-mail service starts at $11.50 monthly. Further information is available by calling 888-221-4900 or by using their website at www.able-net.net.


Web-Braille News from NLS
The records in the NLS International Union Catalog for Braille and Audio Materials will now contain links directly to the electronic Braille files on the NLS Web-Braille site. The record for each Braille book that is also available via Web-Braille will contain the words: "Note: Also available from Web-Braille as a grade2 Braille digital file. Users must register with their cooperating library."

A link to each volume of a Web-Braille title will appear in both the brief displayand the full display. When a Web-Braille link is selected, the user will be prompted to enter a Web-Braille user ID and password. To search only Web-Braille titles, you may enter "web-Braille" as two words in the "annotation, notes, contents" field and only records containing links to Web-Braille files will be retrieved.

NLS is now conducting a pilot project to make Braille magazines available through Web-Braille. Initially the project will consist of a weekly posting of the Braille edition of the New York Times Large Type Weekly and an occasional posting of Braille sports schedules. Other magazines will be added over thenext few months. A link to the Braille magazine pilot project can be found on the Web-Braille site. All current subscribers to Web-Braille can access the magazines immediately.


New Products
California Canes offers four-joined folding and lightweight rigid canes. They are announcing a new product for guide dogs.v The Nightlight Harness Handle glows at night and can be seen from 500 feet when fully charged. It is charged by street lights and headlights or for maximum visibility, 3-5 minutes under any direct light. It has a rubber handle grip and comes in American and European standard sizes. They also offer a Nightlight Utility Pouch made to fit all working dog harness handles. The pouch holds not more than a pound so it will not effect the performance of the working dog. For more information call 949-489-1973, or check out their web page at www.californiacanes.com


Magazine Subscribers
Over 70 cassette, Braille and large print magazines are available from the National Library Service, as well as from private organizations. Patrons can receive such periodicals as the Reader's Digest, Sports Illustrated, Ensign, U.S. News and World Report, People, Analog and many other popular magazines.

For a listing and description of all the magazines available on cassette please call and request a new 2000 Magazines in Special Media catalog.

The Arizona Regional Library is producing four new magazines that may be of interest to you. If there is enough demand we will circulate requested magazines.
  • Saturday Evening Post, a bi-monthly general interest magazine containing humor, fiction, and non-fiction articles.
  • Native Peoples
    , another bi-monthly, is a high quality magazine that portrays the arts and life ways of native peoples of the Americas.
  • Hayden's Ferry Review
    , published twice a year by Arizona State University, publishes the best in contemporary fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and art.
  • American History
    , a bi-monthly recorded by our affiliate in Sun City, contains articles on all phases of American history, but emphasizes personalities and concrete events.

Questions from our Readers
What are the types of service?
There are different ways to regulate the number of books you wish to receive.

The simplest way is the "turnaround." This means when you return a book to us we will automatically send you another.

A second method is to have books sent only when you ask for them -- "on demand." This means, however, that no matter how many requests are in your file, we will NOT send you a book unless you ask for one.

The third method is through use of a set schedule. For example, if you choose to receive one book per week, then every Monday you would be sent a title from your request list.

You may send us a list of titles, authors and/or subjects that you would like to read. These will be kept on file and books will be selected according to your type of service.


Machine And Equipment Area
Do you ever think about the condition of the equipment that we lend to you? The overwhelming majority of Talking Books clients take very good care of their equipment. On rare occasions, however, readers return machines that are so dirty that the machine cannot be restored and must be destroyed.

One of the major causes of failure of a cassette player is spillage from drinks and food or other foreign objects. For example, we have received machines embedded with pet hair, damaged by soda or coffee, harboring insects, with popcorn ker-nels or bobby pins inside and machines coated with dirt and grease.

We realize that this damage is not deliberate, but we also know it can be avoided. Taking reasonable care of your machine is your responsibility. Please don't allow food or pets to be placed on your machine, keep the equipment in a clean, dry environment, and maintain the outside casing regularly by spraying a household spray such as Fantastic, Windex or 409 on a clean cloth and wiping the case clean. These simple steps will increase the life of your machine and allow you to enjoy continuous reading.

Thank you.


The Average Book
Over 2,000 of the 40,000 books that hit print in the English language each year are produced in braille or on cassette by various producers under contractwith the Library of Congress.

The average cassette book is 12 hours long recorded on 2 cassettes on 8 sides . The average number of copies produced and distributed to the libraries for the blind throughout the country is 984. The average cost is $5.50 per copy. About half the cost is for narration and half for duplication and packaging.

At BTBL, we have over 46,000 titles available. That equals 552,000 hours or when converted to minutes equals 33,120,000 of reading pleasure.

The average press braille book is 480 pages in 2 volumes. Only 63 copies areproduced for the braille libraries throughout the country. The average cost is $101 per copy. About 60% of production costs are for braille transcription and 40% for embossing and binding the braille.


What happens when you cross a librarian and a lawyer?
You get all the information you want, but you can't understand it.


In The Spotlight: Enid Hyde
We will be showcasing our volunteers as a way of expressing our appreciation and saying thank you for sharing their time and many talents.


This picture shows Governor Farrar ('69-'71) presenting a tape recorder to me on behalf of Minnesota Mining at the dedication of the South Dakota Service to the Visually and Physically Handicapped.

I was thrilled and proud to become part of that service, and I still am. My mother's eye sight had failed her in her latter years, and the "talking books" were like manna to her so I wanted to give back to the service. I recorded more than fifty books for the South Dakota collection.

Much to my dismay, the tapes pretty much self-destructed over the thirty years, as have my looks, but my interest still remains. I love coming to the library and reading the paper to folks in "radio land", and if I promise to edito-rialize and they promise to forgive my bloopers, I will continue to make my small contribution.

Enid Hyde


"Every flower is a soul blossoming in Nature."


From Mary's Desk
Some of the books in our South Dakota collection are written by South Dakota authors. Some of these books are for younger readers as well as adult books. You may enjoy reading both. The following are the latest books we have added to the collection:
  • SD003398 Diamond Trump by Robinson, Ron
    Diamond Trump travels along the dusty roads and mean streets of the dirty thirties encountering along the way humor, suspense, mystery, lust, tragedy of "hard diamonds and soft hearts".
  • SD003399 Morning Shift by Taylor, Kathleen
    Overworked, overweight, eminently inquisitive waitress Tory Bauer thought she knew about most of the closeted skeletons in this not-so-sleepy corner of South Dakota. But, on this Halloween day, the husband of the cafe's chief cook lay dead in the men's room floor. A Tory Bauer Mystery.
  • SD003400 Grandpa Was A Cowboy and an Indian by Sneves, Virginia DrivingHawk
    Lakota story teller Virginia Driving Hawk Sneves tells of Lakota and Dakota generations today. Young people can learn from listening to their elders if they choose to listen. Includes different legends of the Lakota.
  • SD003401 Wild Winds by Jorgensen, Brian
    In an age when the only law of the frontier comes from the gun, Maggie Malone is determined to earn her living as a private detective. Her stepfather asks her to free his son from prison. Along the way she meets an ex-Texas Ranger, Hawk Reynolds. Together they encounter a crossfire of lies, double dealing and betrayal that will sow the seeds of suspicion and arouse passion.
  • SD003402 Frontier Woman by Wyman, Walker
    Walker Wyman retells accounts of frontier women from the original notes and letters of Grace Fairchild, a Wisconsin teacher, who went to south Dakota in 1898.
  • SD003435 Itchy Feet by Spaulding, Ted and Ardes
    The book includes narratives of World War II between 1939 and 1945.
  • SD003434 Pioneer Days in the Black Hills by McClintock, John
    This is a rough and tumble account of the early days of Deadwood, Dakota. Armstrong Custer announced that he had found gold "among the roots of the grass". Almost overnight a number of settlements sprang into existence and among them was Deadwood.
  • SD003441 Prairie Wisdom: Reflections of life by Coyner, Michael J.
    The winds blow, the world changes, the way is uncertain. And God says "Keep moving, for you are a Pilgrim People". The author reflects on her move from Indiana to the Dakota's. The book includes inspirational accounts of journeys into the Dakota's.
  • SD003442 Puddle On The Prairie by Bauske, Gloria
    The book depicts life in rural South Dakota. Gifts of nature were plentiful and we had fun with them, sledding, skating on neighbor's stock ponds and build-ing snowmen in the front yard. But nature wasn't always fun. There were tornados and snowstorms. Includes family stories of Gloria Bauske's life.
  • SD003443 Labor of Love by Heupel, Raedeen
    The authors account of daily life and spiritual reflections. Raedeen was diag-nosed with bipolar disorder and the book describes how she deals with the disorder.

Hotbraille.Com
If you want to send a braille letter to someone but you don't know braille, there's a website that can help: www.hotbraille.com will transcribe it into braille and send it to the addressee, free of charge. Braille will also process letters into 19 different languages. Letters sent should be no longer than 2 braille pages - about 250 words or one page of print. Letters are usually processed the same day and sent out as "Free Matter."


From Judy's Desk -- NEW MOVIES!
  • DVS 00250 Dracula
    This 1931 horror classic stars Bela Lugosi in his most famous role as the quintessential Transylvanian vampire Count Dracula.
  • DVS 00251 Primary Colors
    Primary colors follows a fictional - but very Clintinesque - southern Governor (John Travolta) on his rocky road to the White House. Also starring Emma Thompson, and Kathy Bates.
  • DVS 00252 Soul Food
    This drama-comedy focuses on a contentious, African-American family that gathers each Sunday night for soul food. Starring Vanessa Williams, Vivica Fox, Nia Long and Irma P. Hall.
  • DVS 00253 The X Files
    A full-length adaptation of the popular Fox television series, starring David Dochovny and Gillian Anderson.
  • DVS 00254 X-Men
    Entertaining, big-screen version of the comic book clas-sic starring Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and Halle Berry.
You may keep the movie for up to a week, but we ask that you return it immediately after watching so that another patron has a chance to view them. You, the patron, are responsible for payment if any damage occurs to the video.

For those of you that have not heard of our videos, they are Blockbuster movies that are specialized for peoplewho are blind or have low vision. Descriptive Video Service (DVS) carefully describes the visual elements of a movie such as the action, characters, locations, cos-tumes and sets without interfering with the dialogue orsound effects. To watch those movies, you need a regular VHS videocassette recorder (VCR) and a television. If you have a decoder most of the movies are also close captioned for hearing impaired viewers.

BLINDSPOTS is a Website that rates movies based on the reviewer's ability to follow movies with the aid of a sighted assistant. Movies are rated on scale of 1 - 10 with 10 being movies that can be followed without assistance.

The information includes the movie rating of 1-10 rating with a short review of the movie and comments available as well. The address is www.vashti.net/blind.


Appreciation is like an insurance policy. You have to keep renewing.


Life Lessons
When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over my yard. My kids see flowers for Mom and blowing white fluff you can wish on.

When I look at an old drunk person and he smiles at me, I see a smelly, dirty person who probably wants money and I look away. My kids see someone smiling at them and they smile back.

When I hear music I love, I know I can't carry a tune and don't have much rhythm, so I sit self-consciously and listen. My kids feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don't know the words, they make up their own.

When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk. My kids close their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it until they fall to the ground laughing.

When I pray, I say thee and thou and grant me this or give me that. My kids say, "Hi God! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please keep the bad dreams away tonight. Sorry, I don't want to go to Heaven yet. I would miss my Mommy and Daddy."

When I see a mud puddle, I step around it. I see muddy shoes and dirty carpets. My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross and worms to play with.

I wonder if we are given kids to teach them, or to learn from them?


Prairie Trails Memorandum
The Prairie Trails Memorandum, is published quarterly, is our means of communication with our patrons. The Prairie Trails Memorandum is available in Braille, Cassette or on a diskette upon request and is also posted on our website.

If you have any questions or comments you would like to address, or wish to request this newsletter in alternative format, please contact the Braille and Talking Book Library.

The Braille & Talking Book Library does not endorse any product or service listed in this newsletter.

Kathy Schreiber, Educational Materials Coordinator, Editor

605-224-4914 or 800-423-6665