HumanWare, Inc., is introducing the Braille Companion, a portable personal organizer that has speech and braille-display output. The unit features built-in software that accommodates taking notes, creating and formatting documents, looking up addresses, scheduling appointments, calculating figures, and printing or brailling files. It is user friendly; holds "hundreds of files"; uses voice prompts; simple menus, built-in help messages; and has an online users' manual. For more information contact HumanWare, Inc., at 6425 King Road, Loomis, CA 95650; 800-722-3393; fax (916) 652-7296; e-mail info@humanware.com.
A bimonthly braille magazine for African Americans with visual impairments is available for $22 per year. Invisible Sight, compiled by Taletha M. Crawley, features political discussions, African American history, celebrity interviews, poetry, and more. Contact Avenues to Explore for the Blind, Inc., 3189 South Waring Street, Detroit, MI 48217-1042, (313) 382-7191.
The Braille Money Marker is a pocket-sized device that can be used to emboss print money with the numbers 1, 5, 10, and 20. Available from Braille Mark LLC, it costs $30. Write Braille Mark LLC at 121 Fulton Street, Second Floor, New York, NY 10038; or toll-free 800-345-6667; fax (212) 619-9137.
Kraft Creative Kitchens has introduced three new braille publications: Baker's Easiest Ever Chocolate Recipes, Package Preparation Directions, and Holiday Homecoming Cookbook. Baker's Easiest Ever Chocolate Recipes contains confections for the time-conscious cooks and sells for $10. Package Preparation Directions presents instructions for cooking Kraft favorites such as Shake 'n Bake, Macaroni & Cheese, Stove Top Stuffing Mix, and DiGiorno. It is available for $12.95. In addition, Kraft will send purchasers product coupons equaling the cost of the cookbook. Both publications are available from the National Braille Press, 88 St. Stephen Street, Boston, MA 02115; phone (617) 266-6160 or toll-free 1-800-548-7323; fax (617) 437-0456.
The Holiday Homecoming Cookbook is a special collection of easy, festive recipes for appetizers, main dishes, accompaniments, and desserts. Six bonus recipes offer fast, tempting recipes for chicken dishes. It is available for $12.95 from Braille International, 3290 South East Slater Street, Stuart, FL 43997; phone (407) 286-8366 or toll-free 800-336-3142.
Offers are good, while supplies last, through January 1, 2001.
The following information is reprinted from Talking Book Topics, May-June 1998.
The members of the National Advisory Group on Collection-Building Activities wish to thank their fellow
patrons and librarians for their input on the NLS program. Please be assured that your ideas and suggestions were thoroughly discussed and incorporated into the recommendations that the committee made during its deliberations in September 1997. Copies of recommendations from the September meeting and NLS responses to the suggestions are available upon request by writing to Consumer Relations, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Washington, DC 20542 or by e-mail to nls@loc.gov. Please indicate whether you prefer large-print, audio cassette, or braille format.
The group meets again at NLS on September 16-18, 1998. Please continue to assist us by contacting committee members or your cooperating library with your suggestions. Certain suggestions, such as the addition of a recommended book, are time-consuming to implement because of the many production and quality-checking steps in the audio recording and brailling processes. Do not let these time constraints discourage you from forwarding your comments. Input from readers is a key ingredient in the success of our program. The NLS National Advisory Group represents you.
American Council of the Blind
Mr. Tom Mitchell
1019 East Foxhill Road
North Salt Lake, UT 84054
Blinded Veterans Association
Mr. Ellsworth "Skip" Sharpe
1110 Fidler Lane
Silver Spring, MD 20910
National Federation of the Blind
Mrs. Barbara Walker
2224 South 35th Street
Lincoln, NE 68506
Reader-at-large Representatives
Midlands Region--includes the following: Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma,
and Wisconsin
Mr. Edward Legge
1309 Heritage Hills
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Northern Region--includes the following: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia
Ms. Barbara Wysocki
c/o Cora J. Beldon Library
33 Church Street
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
Southern Region--includes the following: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Virgin Islands
Mr. Michael "Mike" Duke
4911 Old Canton Road, Apt. 239
Jackson, MS 39211
Western Region--includes the following: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
Ms. Cheryl "Cherrie" Handy
VIST Coordinator
Department of Veterans Affairs
Room B-308
351 E. Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
For a cassette or compact-disc copy of the publication, write Student Aid Audio Guide, Federal Student Aid Information Center, P.O. Box 84, Washington, DC 20044-0084.
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