PRAIRIE TRAILS MEMORANDUM
South Dakota State Library
Braille and Talking Book Library
Winter 2008, Volume 2, Issue 3
Editor: Carrie Gors
pdf download
Notes from the Director, Dan Boyd
Changes at the Library
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our patrons for their patience and understanding during this past year.

The South Dakota State Library has been undergoing many changes and since the Braille & Talking Book Library is part of the State Library we have also seen a number of changes. The changes that are being made allow us to provide additional services in the future.

The entire library has now moved to temporary quarters on the second floor of the library building. The first floor of the building ill now be remodeled and in about a year the library will move to first floor and that will become our permanent home.

The two biggest changes have been the State Library print book collection and the Braille & Talking Book Library cassette book collection. The Braille & Talking Book Library has reduced the size of its cassette book collection by one half. The reduction was because of less space and beginning in 2008 we will need room for the new digital books. The Braille & Talking Book Library still has all of the cassette titles just not as many copies.

Again, thank you for your patience. The move should be complete within the next month.


Talking Book Marker
Do you find that you fall asleep while listening to your talking books and have trouble finding the place where you left off? If you do, we have a solution for you!

The Talking Book Marker is a simple switch that plugs into your cassette player in the jack marked REM on the opposite end of the Ear Phone Jack. While you are listening to the tape, the switch must be held down. As soon as you relax your grip, the switch lets up and the talking book stops playing.

Jim Daily invented the Talking Book Marker in 1996 out of necessity to save time and frustration from trying again and again to find his place in books after falling asleep. As a result of using the Talking Book Marker he has noticed the battery life of his cassette player was extended resulting in more listening time per battery charge. It also eliminates the need to start, stop, and rewind over and over again when ordering talking books from the cassette version of Talking Book Topics.

If you are interested in learning more about the Talking Book Marker or would like to order, please call Jim Daily at 406-782-2202. The Talking Book Marker is $14.50 plus $3.50 shipping and handling. You can also check out Jim’s website at jimdaily.tripod.com.

The South Dakota Braille and Talking Book Library has 6 of the Talking Book Markers to give away! Give us a call if you would like one. Remember first call, first serve!


Keep the Books Coming!
You’re ready for a nice long weekend, but you suddenly realize that you have only one cassette book on hand when you were sure you had at least two. You need to order extra books to take with you on vacation, but this is Thursday and you’re leaving on Saturday. You’ve just returned all of your books and now you must wait until you receive another shipment.

It’s frustrating to find yourself out of reading material when you need it most. You certainly can’t control the time it takes for the post office to deliver your books, but there are some things that you can do to help keep those books coming regularly.

If you know you are going to need extra books for a holiday or a vacation, call several days in advance to give us time to put them in the mail. If you request books on Monday, the books will be mailed out on Tuesday. If you want to be sure that you have books on Friday, it is a good idea to call us no later than Tuesday.

Many of our patrons want to have several books on hand at all times. We encourage patrons to borrow as many books as they wish, but if you don’t want to get caught without anything to read, you may want to return you books a few at a time. If you have ten books and have finished four, return them and four more will be sent to you. Unless otherwise noted on your reading record, you are set up to receive books on a return one get one basis.

Please give us a call toll-free at 1-800-423-6665 if any changes need to be made to your talking book service.


Planning Ahead
Are you a “snow bird”? That is, a patron who flies off to a warmer habitat for the winter months? You can mail your cassette player postage free to your winter address. We can also continue to supply you with reading material while you are soaking up the sun down south or out west. Give us your temporary address before you leave home and your books will be mailed to you on your usual schedule. If you are so relaxed that you need additional titles, you can always call. Give us fair warning before you return and we will resume service to your South Dakota address.


Are Your Books Overdue?
The established loan period for talking books, magazines, and braille books is six weeks. The loan period for descriptive videos is one week.

Please enjoy the books, magazines, and videos that we send to you, but also realize that other borrowers may be waiting for you to return a particular title. Observance of this policy will make enjoyment of talking books a reality for everyone.


Did You Know?
The Paralympic Winter Games are Winter Olympic style games for individuals with a physical or mental disability. The Paralympic Games are held in conjunction with the Olympic Games in the same host city. There are currently three classes in the Paralympic Alpine Skiing competition, one including individuals who are totally blind and those with varying degrees of vision loss. Blind and visually impaired alpine skiers use a guide to help them traverse the slopes in a race against their fellow competitors.


If you like...Why not try!
If you like John Grisham...why not try: David Baldacci, Steve Martini, John Lescroart, Brad Meltzer, Lisa Scottoline, Robert Tanenbaum, Scott Turow, or Stuart Woods.

If you like Mary Higgins Clark...why not try: Carol Higgins Clark, Joy Fielding, Lisa Gardner, Tami Hoag, Iris Johansen, Faye Kellerman, Barbara Michaels, or Phyllis Whitney.

If you like Danielle Steel...why not try: Elizabeth Adler, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Jackie Collins, Barbara Delinsky, Eileen Goudge, Fern Michaels, Belva Plain, or Nicholas Sparks.

If you like Clive Cussler...why not try: Tom Clancy, Ian Fleming, John Nance, or Douglas Preston.


Enjoy the Pleasure of Reading the Best of Current Periodicals!
Want to keep up-to-date with the best of current magazines?

Treat yourself to a free subscription to Choice Magazine Listening. Six times a year, on two four-track cassettes, you’ll receive unabridged selections from an array of publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian, NY Times Magazine, and Sports Illustrated. The selections are read by professional voice talent and comprise eight hours of listening.

Choice, a not-for-profit entity, is available only to US residents who qualify for NLS services because of specific disability and who have a four-track cassette player.

To subscribe, visit www.choicemagazinelistening.org/ or call tollfree: 1-888-724-6423 or email: choicemag@aol.com.


Quick Reminder
If you are sent a replacement talking book cassette player from the South Dakota Braille and Talking Book Library please remember to plug it in and give it a good (12-16 hours) charge before using.


Designated Shooter for the Blind Permit
A Designated Shooter for the Blind Permit is available to a legally blind person who is legally licensed, but who cannot safely discharge a firearm or bow and arrow. A designated sighted hunter is allowed to shoot the game for the permittee, but the permittee must be physically present and participate in the hunt. The permittee may claim the game birds and animals taken by the designated hunter in accordance with the license possessed by the legally blind hunter. These permits are valid for one season, with an annual renewal requirement.

Permits are available from Game, Fish and Parks, 523 E. Capitol, Pierre, SD 57501. Or you may call 605-773-3630.

The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks offers a variety of special licenses and permits for disabled individuals. Specific criteria are required for their application process and approval. Some of these licenses or permits are free of charge and others have a permit fee. For more information or applications for these licenses or permits, contact you local Conservation Officer or GF&P office for further information. Further department information can be found on the GF&P website: www.sdgfp.info.


Music is for Everyone
Are you musically inclined? Like to sing or play an instrument? You may be interested in the NLS Music Service. The special music collection consists of more than 30,000 braille and large print music scores and texts, cassette instructions on learning to play an instrument, and information about musicians and musicianship. Also available are subscriptions to publications about music. There are materials suitable for beginning to advanced levels, and the loan period is three months.

Note: This music service does not have recorded music for recreational listening. These are generally available from your local public library.

The South Dakota Braille and Talking Book Library does not have these materials in our library—you can call the NLS Music section directly on their toll-free line at 1-800- 424-8567. Unless you are a brand new patron, they will have your account information. You can also call your Reader Advisor for more details.


Special Requests
Many of our patrons have called wondering why they have received brown boxes in the mail with Special Request on the side. When we reduced the size of our collection we kept only a single copy of some of the titles in our collection. If somebody calls in and specifically requests one of these titles we make a copy for them. To save time we use the brown boxes and Special Request stickers. That way when the books are returned we can reuse the boxes and cassettes.


From the Desk of Mary Sjerven, Reader Advisor
Remember the days of the old time radio programs? Such programs as Candu the Magician, One Man’s Family, Amos and Andy, the I Love a Mystery Show and the Charlie McCarthy Show. The South Dakota Braille and Talking Book Library has a number of these programs in our South Dakota collection. These programs are on two sided tapes which means that you must turn the tape over only two times instead of the usual four times. If you have any questions or would like to order these programs please contact your Reader Advisor. All titles are listed as Old Time Radio Programs and may be ordered under these numbers:
  • SD001008
  • SD001104
  • SD001155
  • SD001156
  • SD001157
  • SD001158
  • SD001159
  • SD001161
  • SD001162
  • SD001163
  • SD001165
  • SD001168
  • SD001169
  • SD001173

Be Kind to our Book Inspector
Our book inspector is working hard to make sure all tapes get rewound and cleaned when they are returned. It would help us tremendously if you would make sure to rewind books, magazines, and videos and wipe off the containers when and if something does spill on them. We have been receiving some rather dirty containers as of late. We do appreciate when you send the tapes back in the manner that they are sent to you - Clean, Rewound, and Placed in the correct containers in the correct order. The time spent doing this will benefit you as your book orders will be completed more quickly. Thank you.


NLS Announces BARD
For patrons who haven’t already heard it through the grapevine, NLS has expanded its download pilot test program to include any patron with a player capable of reading its new Digital Talking Book (DTB) files. The expanded and re-titled Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) program allows patrons to download digital talking book files over the internet and play them back through a DTB-enabled player. You can apply for this program on line at www.nlstalkingbooks.org/dtb/.

There is one catch: our new DTB-enabled players won’t become available until next spring at the earliest. For early-adopter patrons who just can’t wait until our DTB players arrive, the only alternative is to buy a commercial DTB player. To help them select one, NLS has published a new fact sheet, “Digital Audiobook Players,” available at www.loc.gov/nls/reference/ factsheets/audiobkplayers.html. Or call you reader advisor to have a printout mailed to you.


The Braille and Talking Book Library staff would like to thank all of our patrons, advocates, volunteers, and friends out there who have continued to brighten our days.

Happy Holidays & Best Wishes!



Holiday Closing
The Braille & Talking Book Library will be closed on the following holidays. Please place your book orders in advance so that you will have plenty on hand.
  • December 25 - Christmas Day
  • January 1 - New Years Day
  • January 21 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
  • February 18 - Presidents Day



The Prairie Trails Memorandum, published quarterly, is our means of communication with our patrons. The Prairie Trails Memorandum is available in braille, cassette or a computer 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:
    South Dakota Braille & Talking Book Library
    800 Governors Drive,
    Pierre, SD 57501
  • E-mail: talkbkreq@state.sd.us
  • Call: 1-800-423-6665 (SD only)
The Braille & Talking Book Library does not endorse any product or service listed in this newsletter.