Notes from the Director, Dan Boyd
Library Happenings

South Dakota Braille & Talking Book Library:
Top Ten Books of 2004

It is always interesting at the end of the year to examine our book collection and find the top ten books based on the number of times they circulated.

This past year all books in the top ten circulated 300 or more times. In this group there is only one non-fiction title. "The Greatest Generation Speaks" by Tom Brokaw. There are two titles by Janette Oke, "A Gown of Spanish Lace" and "A Quiet Strength". Three titles by Danielle Steel made the top ten list. Those titles are; "Granny Dan", "The House of Hope Street" and "Leap of Faith".

Take a few minutes to study this list. You might find an author or title that you would be interested in reading. I hope you had a "Very Merry Holiday Season and Happy Reading in 2005".

1. RC 49312 - Tom Brokaw, "The Greatest Generation Speaks: Letters and Reflections"
   Narrator - Ted Stoddard, Circulated - 369 times this year
   Collection of letters and other responses Brokaw received in response to The Greatest Generation (RC 47490); offers more accounts of the "heroism, values, friendships, and pain" of the Great Depression and World War II; explores the effects of these two crises on that generation and those that followed.


2. RC 49180 - Janette Oke, "A Gown of Spanish Lace"
   Narrator - Jill Ferris, Circulated - 365 times this year
   Arianna Benson, a religious young schoolteacher, never knew her birth mother but treasures the wedding dress she inherited. She falls in love with Laramie Lawrence, the adopted son of an outlaw boss. They plan to marry but when Laramie sees the gown of Spanish lace, they realize they may be siblings.


3. RC 48717 - Danielle Steel, "Granny Dan"
   Narrator - Gabriella Cavallero, Circulated - 351 times this year
   When Granny Dan dies at age ninety, her granddaughter receives a bundle of letters and a pair of ballet shoes. When she has the letters translated, she discovers all the wonderful things she never asked her Grandmother, Danina Petroskova, a famous Russian ballerina who danced for the czar and czarina.


4. RC 50266 - Danielle Steel, "The House of Hope Street"
   Narrator - Faith Potts, Circulated - 349 times this year
   California divorce lawyer Liz and Jack Sutherland have five children and an idyllic marriage. But after Jack is killed by the deranged husband of a client, the family gradually learns to cope without him. Then an accident brings a new person into their lives. Some strong language.


5. RC 49959 - Janette Oke, "A Quiet Strength"
   Narrator - Laura Ginnarelli, Circulated - 343 times this year
   Virginia and Jonathan marry, and Virginia looks forward to a quiet wedded life. But trials and disappointments await the couple as first Jonathan's grandmother moves in, then the trouble daughter of Virginia's dear friend Jenny.


6. RC 50849 - Christina Schwarz "Drowning Ruth"
   Narrator - Annie Wauters, Circulated - 332 times this year
   Oprah's Book Club. In March 1919, nurse Amanda Starkey, seeking refuge, returns to her family home to live with her younger sister Mathilda and Mathilda's three-year-old child, Ruth. Within a year, Mathilda is dead and Amanda is raising Ruth as her own. But both Amanda and Ruth are hiding memories of the night Mathilda died.


7. RC 48505 - Elmer Kelton, "The Good Old Boys"
   Narrator - Don Feldhein, Circulated - 327 times this year
   Will easy-riding, old-time cowboy Hewey Calloway finally settle down? He realizes that a new era is coming to Texas in the early 1900's, but at the age of thirty-eight, he doesn't want to change with the times.


8. RC 53515 - Stephanie Grace Whitson, "Sarah's Patchwork: Keepsake Legacies"
   Narrator - Erin Jones, Circulated - 316 times this year
   1947. When Lorna's Aunt Sarah died, she left Lorna her patchwork quilt. Lorna uses the fabric in each square to relate the story of Sarah's transformation from an orphan, who came west on the orphan train, to a courageous woman of strength and faith.


9. RC 52282 - Danielle Steel, "Leap of Faith"
   Narrator - Margaret Strom, Circulated - 301 times this year
   Marie-Ange's privileged French childhood ends at age eleven, when her parents and brother are killed. Having no other relatives, the girl is sent to an elderly aunt in Iowa, who treats her as a servant. Marie-Ange's only friend is Billy Parker, who stands by her when she faces a devastating betrayal.


10. RC 51115 - Tracie Peterson, "A Shelter of Hope"
    Narrator - Gillian Green, Circulated - 300 times this year
    Wyoming Territory, 1890. Raised by an abusive father since the age of ten, seventeen-year-old Simone Dumas finds herself in an even worse situation; she believes she has killed a man. Simone escapes to Chicago, where she meets Jeffery O'Donnell, who offers her hope and love.

Meet Brian Pendergast the new staff member at Braille and Talking Book Library.

I was born and raised in Norfolk, Nebraska and graduated at the local Public School. I headed off to California after graduation for my 8 weeks of Navy Boot Camp. After Boot Camp and Aviation School, I found myself on an aircraft Carrier called the USS Carl Vinson. This massive Carrier took a few days to learn how to navigate around in.

During my naval career, I traveled half the world visiting and learning about many country's cultures. I found Japan and Australia to be the most interesting. United Arab Emirates was more of a culture shock than anything. The heat didn't help much either.

I found myself in the Persian Gulf patrolling the water off Iraq, in support of Operation Southern Watch. This was to prevent any unauthorized shipments into Iraq, and to find any underwater mines that my not have been cleared away. This was after the first Gulf war.

After my naval career, I headed back to my home town. I enrolled in college and found a job. I worked nights at a medical manufacturing plant and went to school during the day. I took note cards to work so I could study while working. When my shift at work was over, I ate and headed off to school.

After graduating from college with my associates in Computer Programming, I left for Tennessee. I stayed with my brother in Tennessee for the summer while I was looking for my first career. While I was with my brother I called my college friend in Pierre, South Dakota. My brother helped convince me to move to Pierre.

I moved to Pierre and joined the National Guard. I worked full time and started going back to school. I got into the Officer Candidate program and started that school as well. I graduated the officer program but was not able to take my commission until I finished school. At that time I had six months of school left.

I finished school the day before I got activated to go to Iraq. The activation happened so fast that I did not have time to enjoy my Bachelor's Degree in Management of Information Systems. I was able to do one thing though, and that was marry my college friend.

I returned home 14 months later and gave my wife the wedding she always wanted. We purchased our first home and expecting our first baby in March. I finally started my career and look forward to the future.


Patron Spotlight:
We are starting a new section called Patron Spotlight. The patron in the Spotlight is: Milburn Dalton.

Milburn was born on May 5, 1926 in Pride, Kentucky. He went to a one room school for grades 1 - 3. Milburn went to Pride School for grades 4 - 8, and Sturgis High School for grades 9 - 12 in Sturgis, Kentucky.

He entered the service in 1943-1950. In 1947, moved to Rapid City, South Dakota to the Army Air Base. He left the service in 1950, and worked for the Chicago Northwest Railroad. Milburn has worked as a Fireman, Engineer, Trainmaster, an Travel Engineer. He worked with the Railroad for forty-one years (1950-1991). He now resides in Rapid City, South Dakota, where he likes to read books form his favorite author W.E.B. Griffin. Milburn thinks that William Johnstone is the best western writer.

Books from W.E.B. Griffin are: Badge of Honor Series, Brotherhood of War Series, and Men at War Series. Books by William Johnstone are: Mountain Man Series, First Mountain Man Series, and Dreams of Eagle Series.


Books Braille and Talking Book Staff Recommend Reading:

• Dan Boyd - Director
  • RC 45162, "The Winner" by David Baldacci.
    LuAnn Tyler, a poor unwed mother in rural Georgia, is asked by a stranger to take part in an illegal lottery scheme. LuAnn unwillingly accepts the winning ticket in exchange for a life abroad. But when she tries to return ten years later, she jeopardizes her life. Some violence. Bestseller
  • RC 56333, "Ties That Bind", by Phillip Margolina.
    Portland, Oregon, attorney Amanda Jaffe is still recovering emotionally from a violent criminal case "Wild Justice" (RC 50857) when she agrees to represent pimp Jon Dupre-accused of killing a U.S. Senator. Dupre claims he was framed by a cabal of corrupt businessmen. Violence, strong language, and some explicit descriptions of sex.
  
  
• Mary Sjerven - Reader Advisor
  • RC 49238, "The Blue Bottle Club", by Penelpe J. Stokes.
    Christmas Day, 1929. In an act of faith, four young women write their dreams on slip of paper and hide them in a blue bottle in the attic. Sixty-five years later a demolition worker discovers the bottle and hands it to reporter Brendan Delaney, who searches for the four women.
  • RC 55498, "James Arness An Autobiography"
    Autobiography of the actor best known for his TV series role in Gunsmoke. Describes his Minnesota childhood with his brother (future actor Peter Graves); his WW II tour of duty, which earned him a Purple Heart and Bronze Star; and his theatrical career.


• Brian Pendergast - Reader Advisor/Equipment Coordinator
  • RC 55273, "Prey" by Michael Crichton
    Unemployed computer programmer Jack Forman stays home with the children while wife, Julia, works at a firm developing "molecular manufacturing." or nanotechnology. Hired as a consultant, Jack discovers that an experiment has gone horribly astray and that escaped swarms of tiny robots are feeding off flesh. Strong language and some violence. Bestseller.
  • RC 47462, "The Left Behind Series" by Tim LaHaye.
    As Captain Rayford Steele pilots a plane across the Atlantic, his senior flight attendant, Hattie Durham, gives him the shocking news that half the passengers have disappeared. Before long, he learns that people are missing all over the world. Rayford, his priest, and several others form the Tribulation Forces to fight the Antichrist. Prequel to Tribulation Force (RC 47463).


• Danelle Youngbluth - Reader Advisor
  • RC 55046, "Four Blind Mice", by James Patterson.
    Alex Cross helps buddy John Sampson investigate the case of an army sergeant framed for serial murder. The pair discover a pattern of wrongful military court convictions around the country, but authorities are uncooperative, and the real killer is ready to strike again. Violence, strong language, and some explicit descriptions of sex.
  • RC 56484, "Bare Bones", by Kathy Reichs.
    As North Carolina forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan investigates an infant killing, a small plane crash, and six headless bear carcasses discovered by her dog, she realizes the three cases are intertwined. With the help of detective Andrew Ryan, her Canadian love, Brennan uncovers a local criminal cabal.


• Kathy Schreiber - Educational Materials Coordinator
  • RC 50338, "Leota's Garden", by Francine Rivers.
    At eighty-four Leota can no longer tend her once-beautiful backyard. And her born-again granddaughter, who is rebelling against her domineering mother, needs guidance. Then a college boy volunteers to help restore Leota's garden. Together the three come to find peace and solace amid the blossoms.
  • RC 53518, "The Shunning": Heritage of Lancaster County Series, by Beverly Lewis.
    Katie Lapp has always felt she does not belong in the Amish Community of Hickory Hollow, Pennsylvania. Then on the eve of her wedding to widower Bishop John, a startling announcement by her parents begins to unravel the only world Katie has ever known.

South Dakota Collection
The following titles have recently been added to the South Dakota collection. If you would like to order any of these books call your Reader Advisor and list the SD (South Dakota) number assigned to the title.

• SD003707 -"Another Homecoming" by Janette Oke & T. Davis Bunn
  She was one of a thousand weeping women that day. Martha clung to her husband, as he held her close, assuring her that he would be back soon. "But what if." was the question she could not ask as Harry kissed her. She was thinking of her nine short weeks of marriage as the train whistle interrupted her thoughts while Harry boarded the train. There she stood with other weeping mothers wives, and children. Martha's last image of Harry's departure was of a train smothered in smoke and made blurry by tears, a train that had grown a thousand arms of its own.
• SD003708 -"Maggie...Woman of Robert's County": by Char Jarman
  Maggie Sinclair came to the Dakota Territory in the 1880's to begin a new life as a teacher and found what she wanted in Roberts County. This is a story of the everyday life of Dakota pioneers...their mistakes and triumphs...friendships and loves, with their faith in God and each other giving them the strength to carry on. A South Dakota author.
• SD003726 -"Sioux City" by J. Hyatt Downing
  A South Dakota author. A historical story which begins in the town of Sioux City, Iowa on the Missouri River in the middle 1880's. The story continues with SD003709 Anthony Trant.
• SD003709 -"Anthony Trant" by J. Hyatt Downing
  Tells the story of Sioux City, Iowa, a town on the Missouri River in the middle 1880's, when a prodigious boom in real estate prices rocketed it into brief national prominence. Historically its promoter in the Eighties, caught up in the bright and feverish American dream of money for nothing, it seemed a younger and lustier Chicago; people talked first of a quarter than of half a million prospective population. This is the sequel to "Sioux City." A South Dakota author.
• SD003706 -"Pinky Dog" by Verne D. Hall
  A tale of adventure set in South Dakota during the Depression era is a heartwarming story of a boy and the dog he finds and rescues from a local gun-toting recluse bent on the dog's destruction. In order to save his champion dog the boy resorts to a life of crime, even turning his back on his family. Circumstance makes Pinky face responsibilities to his family and his dog. He does so with courage and newfound conviction. A South Dakota author.
• SD003718 - "Charity a novel" by Paulette Callen
  Haunted by a secret sorrow, Augusta Roemer comes to Charity, South Dakota to escape the constraints of turn-of-the century Philadelphia society. Even as a teacher Augusta is not well accepted as a newcomer. Her one friend is also troubled by a family murder and drinking husband who is accused of the crime. This is an evocative story of a woman on the frontier seeking the freedom to be herself. A South Dakota author.
• SD003719 -"More Than Dust" by Clara Emilia Burr
  As he looked at the gaunt man who faced him across the seedling peach tree that he was grafting, Luther Payne fought a foreboding fear. Bart West had paid him a series of visits, ostensibly to by his California horticultural gardens for one of West's real estate clients. This story includes nature's challenges and in the end Luther knew that the gifts of the Divine Creator had no end and no measure. A South Dakota author.
• SD003720 -"The Delinquents" by Henry Craig
  Jimmy Wilson is an uneducated 16-year-old delinquent living a life of crime on the streets. He gets caught once too often and has to spend a ten year sentence at a desolate Wyoming ranch as part of the LASKO (Last Attempt to Straighten Kids Out) Program. Jimmy grows and matures through humorous and often dangerous adventures. While in the program he meets a girl which makes his life take a dramatic turn. A South Dakota author.
• SD003721 -"Wildblossom" by Cynthia Wright
  An English nobleman and a woman from the Wild West - this is a story filled with adventure, humor, and people who are completely out-of-place in fascinating places. A South Dakota author.
• SD003722 -"Love's Bold Embrace" by Brynn Gilbert
  Castlemayne Thomas, an orphan came to live with her mother's family in England. Her grandfather's young wife wants the family fortune to go to her daughter Honora and not Cassie. But Cassie is a fighter and falls for the man that has been selected as Honora's future husband. Honora had always gotten her way and had never met anyone quite like Cassie before. A South Dakota author.
• SD003723 -"The Band Played Murder" by Edith Howie What happened to me--the first part at least--was the sort of thing that happens only in dreams, or in the movies. Many movies have made familiar the saga of the underdog on the bench through three long seasons and as many quarters, until a desperate coach puts him in, at the big game's crucial moment, to score the winning touchdown, the understudy who plays a Broadway show to a personal triumph when the star suddenly becomes ill; the singer. This begins the mysterious and suspenseful story of "The Band Played Murder." A South Dakota author.
• SD003724 -"Desert Heat" by Judith A. Jance Joanna takes on the police in Cochise County when they try to claim her deputy sheriff husband committed suicide and was involved in drug dealing. When her own investigation gets too close to the truth, Joanna and her family are all placed in danger. Contains explicit sex, strong language and violence. This book is a Joanna Brady Mystery.
• SD003725 -"Hour of The Hunter" by Judith A. Jance A novel of suspense set in Arizona that mixes a tense and horrifying account of a psychopathic killer with Native American myth. The Assistant superintendent tells Carlisle to "knock 'em dead" as he's released from Florence State Prison. Little did he know that's exactly what Carlisle intended to do. This story contains violence and strong language.

Judy's Desk

Good news, I just order 11 new videos. They should be here shortly after Christmas. You can put your orders in now and be one of the first to receive the video. What has been ordered is: Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ', The Terminal, Raising Helen, The Last Samurai, Cold Mountain, Mystic River, Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat, Peter Pan, Cheaper By The Dozen, and Why The Tower Fell.

Current Strategic Business Plan for the Implementation of Digital systems, March 2004 is now available on cassette and can be ordered from the Library.
Update Your Patron Information

If you will be moving, or even spending an extended time at a temporary address, your Talking Book service can go with you! Changing your address is as simple as calling the library and giving us your new information. You can also notify us of changes by regular mail, or by e-mailing us at talkbkreq@state.sd.us. For uninterrupted service, please don't forget to let us know your new address before you move.


Visual Disability and Airport Security

The Transportation Security Administration of the US Department of Homeland Security has published a helpful list for people with a visual impairment when they pass through airport security checkpoints. If this applies to you, you may ask the screener to:

• Explain the security process to you.
• Communicate with you orally through every stage of the X-ray belt.
• Help you (with an arm, hand, shoulder, as you prefer) as you proceed through the inspection process.
• Find someone to escort you through the screening process.
• Let you know where the metal detector is located.
• Let you know when there are obstacles.
• Perform a physical inspection in place of an X-ray inspection of your collapsible white cane This will allow you to guide yourself through the metal detector.

Heritage for the Blind

Since 1979, the objective of Heritage for the Blind has been to help people with visual limitations, and they do this by making available Braille and large print materials. The latest publication is on arthritis. Other free health-related large print publications available from this source include those on aspirin, depression, stroke, diabetes, breast cancer, mastectomy, personal emergency response systems, and colds and flu.

For more information, contact the Heritage for the Blind at 2071 Flatbush Avenue, Suite 63, Brooklyn NY 11234, (800)236-6283.


"Middle Missouri Archeology"
Who ordered this book? Please call the Braille & Talking Book Library and ask for Mary.


Holiday Closings
The Braille and Talking Book Library will be closed for half a day on the following holiday. Please place your book orders in advance so that you will have a plentiful amount of books on hand.

Good Friday, March 25, 2005



Prairie Trails Memorandum The Prairie Trails Memorandum, is published quarterly, it 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 wish to request this newsletter in an alternative format, please contact the Braille and Talking Book Library at 1-800-423-6665.

If you have any questions or comments that you would like to share with us about the library program, please contact us.

Write to: South Dakota Braille & Talking Book Library
800 Governors Drive,Pierre, SD 57501

E-mail: talkbkreq@state.sd.us

Call: 1-800-423-6665

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