News
October-December 1998, Vol. 29, No. 4
ISSN 1046-1663

National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
The Library of Congress


Change is coming to NLS exhibit program

NLS is undertaking a fresh approach to selecting staff to serve in the
national exhibit program. Plans are in motion to broaden the base of
participation with the goals of ensuring inclusiveness and strengthening
the program through diversity.
     NLS participates annually in exhibits and related functions at
meetings of more than twenty major health, education, and service groups
and other organizations attended by patrons and their families,
caregivers, or service providers. NLS participation is based on the
group's proven or presumed ability to reach large numbers of potential
patrons or people who have frequent contact with potential patrons.
Exhibit booths are staffed by NLS staff members and, on occasion, by
network library personnel.
     Earlier this year, a special Task Force on Awards, Training, and
Travel reviewed for overall inclusiveness several NLS initiatives,
including the exhibit program. The task force consisted of equal numbers
of management, professional staff, and support personnel. Their report,
A Proposal for Advancement, recommended
      establishing an oversight committee to ensure that consistent
standards are adhered to throughout the exhibit program;
      requiring staff to have a minimum of one year's employment at
NLS and to complete exhibit training before being approved to represent
NLS at an exhibit; 
      contracting the services of an outside trainer to offer
instruction on exhibit marketing and outreach techniques; and
      continuing the present training sessions for exhibitors, adding
in-depth orientations by NLS section heads on the function of their
sections to provide a rounded view of the talking-book program.
     The report also recommended that NLS expand the list of eligible
staff by allowing individuals to self-nominate and by establishing an
NLS oversight committee to choose representatives for conferences that
do not require subject specialists. In addition, the committee
encouraged NLS to continue to use as many staff as possible at local
exhibits.
     NLS director Frank Kurt Cylke has appointed an implementation
committee to oversee changes noted in the task force report. "By
reexamining the program, we hope to improve our standard of service as
part of our accountability to the NLS constituency," he says.
     The implementation committee is headed by Marsha Jackson, head of
the NLS Administrative Section. She will be assisted in the effort by
Marvine Wanamaker, assistant to the director; John Lewis, head,
Inventory Management Section; and Veronica Groom, cataloger,
Bibliographic Control Section.
     Marsha Jackson says the committee's primary goal is to actualize
the recommendations made by the task force. "We are seeking the
cooperation and participation of NLS staff to make these fundamental
changes. The partnership between management and staff will promote a
more inclusive program."
     Some impact of the recommendations will be seen in staffing for
the upcoming exhibit year, but most changes affecting the exhibit
program will take effect in fiscal year 2000.
(photo caption: Implementation committee discusses procedures raised in
task force report, A Proposal for Advancement. From left, Veronica
Groom, Bibliographic Control Section; Marvine Wanamaker, Office of the
Director; Marsha Jackson, Administrative Section; John Lewis, Inventory
Management Section. Photo by Lorenzo T. Wright.)
(photo caption: Marsha Jackson, committee chair. Photo by Lorenzo T.
Wright.)


Two NLS books win Canadian awards

The 1998 TORGI awards, presented by the Canadian National Institute for
the Blind (CNIB), honored two NLS recorded titles in the category of
partner-produced books. The winners were Angela's Ashes: A Memoir by
Frank McCourt (nonfiction), narrated by Patrick Horgan, and Rose
(fiction) by Martin Cruz Smith, narrated by John Horton. Both were
produced for NLS by the American Foundation for the Blind.    
     The awards ceremony, held on October 19, honored the best in
Canadian and international talking books. A Tiny TORGI was presented for
the best print-braille book for children.
     "TORGI Awards are offered as a significant acknowledgment of
appreciation to the authors, publishers, donors, and volunteers whose
generosity continues to open the world of literature and information to
thousands of Canadians who are blind or visually impaired who would
otherwise have no access to it," say Frank Verge, chair, CNIB Library
Board.
     Winners for CNIB-produced books were Elephant Winter (fiction) by
Kim Echlin, narrated by Anne Saunders, and Where the Hell Are the Guns?
A Soldier's Eye View of the Anxious Years 1939 44 (nonfiction) by George
G. Blackburn, narrated by Simon Curwen. The Tiny TORGI Book of the Year
was Jerimiah Learns to Read by Jo Ellen Bogart.
     Nominees included twenty works produced in Canada and around the
world. Winners are selected by committees of Canadian talking-book users
who base their decisions on literary merit, technical quality,
excellence in narration, and overall success of the title as a talking
book. Young jurors who read braille choose their favorite print-braille
book for the Tiny TORGI Award.
     "Ninety percent of the CNIB Library's readers use talking books.
For many of them, it's their only resource for lifelong learning and
culture," says Rosemary Kavanagh, executive director for the CNIB
Library for the Blind. "The TORGI Awards is the only place where they
join with the larger literary community in celebrating our literary
heritage."


NLS exhibit schedule--1998 1999

NLS will exhibit at twenty-two conferences in fiscal year 1999 as part
of its public outreach effort. Exhibits are operated by NLS staff and
local network affiliates. Conferences on the 1998 1999 schedule are
listed below in order of their occurrence. Each entry includes
organization name, place, and date.

East West Eye Conference
Cleveland, Ohio
October 15 18, 1998

American Public Health Association
Washington, D.C.
November 15 18, 1998

Gerontological Society of America
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
November 20 24, 1998

Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps
Seattle, Washington
December 3 5, 1998

American Library Association Midwinter Conference
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 30 February 1, 1999

Southern Educational Congress of Optometrists
Atlanta, Georgia
February 24 28, 1999

Music Library Association
Los Angeles, California
March 17 20, 1999

Music Educators National Association
Cincinnati, Ohio
April 10 15, 1999

American Occupational Therapy Association
Indianapolis, Indiana
April 16 20, 1999

Abilities Expo East
Edison, New Jersey
April 23 25, 1999

National Braille Association
Colorado Springs, Colorado
April 29 May 1, 1999

International Reading Association
San Diego, California
May 2 7, 1999

Association for the Care of Children's Health
Long Beach, California
May 30 June 2, 1999

American Diabetes Association
San Diego, California
June 19 21, 1999

National PTA
Portland, Oregon
June 26 29, 1999

American Library Association
New Orleans, Louisiana
June 26 29, 1999

National Federation of the Blind
Atlanta, Georgia
June 30 July 6, 1999

American Council of the Blind
Los Angeles, California
July 3 10, 1999

American Federation of Teachers
Washington, D.C.
July 1999 (TBA)

Abilities Expo Midwest
Chicago, Illinois
July 30 August 1, 1999 

Blinded Veterans Association
Capri Bay, Puerto Rico
August 9 12, 1999

American Legion National Conference
Anaheim, California
September 3 9, 1999


National advisory group meets on collection-building activities

NLS was encouraged to continue producing all titles in a series and
maintain its current production of foreign-language titles when the
National Advisory Group on Collection-Building Activities held its
annual meeting this past September.
     The group defined a series as a "collection of books with a
continuous story line that should be read sequentially." It also
recommended that the NLS acquire complete series by locating copies that
may be out of print. The committee said that NLS should continue to add
Spanish titles, but noted that other languages may also be available. 
     Series and foreign-language policies are two examples of current
practices the group recommended continuing. The committee noted NLS's
efforts to receive input from patrons and network libraries regarding
material selection. It also recognized the agency for "leadership in
providing patrons and network staff with improved access to the Union
Catalog through electronic media," including CD-ROM and the World Wide
Web.
     Says Ruth Foss, head of the Collection Development Section, "About
one-third of the `recommendations' were really `commendations.' Fewer
than a third concerned collection issues; the remainder focused on
technology, service, or reference materials. This is the most positive
feedback we have ever received. I hope that means we are doing something
right!"
     The committee did consider some areas for improvement. The members
asked that NLS
      increase the collection's number of bestselling fiction titles
available in braille;
      include mainstreamed schoolchildren in its outreach efforts;
      encourage network libraries to download braille-formatted
materials from the NLS website to circulate to patrons who do not have
Internet access;
      update reference circulars on materials available from other
sources, such as educational and reference materials; and
      investigate playback equipment that allows adjusting voice
pitch without adjusting speed.
     The committee's first recommendation, that NLS update the
publication Magazines in Special Media, was accomplished almost
immediately; the print version was already in production. Braille,
cassette, and flexible-disc editions are being prepared. Other
recommendations have been considered by NLS staff and responses sent to
committee members.
     The next meeting of the advisory group will be in May 1999, with
future annual meetings planned for spring so that suggestions can more
easily be incorporated into management plans for the following fiscal
year.
(1998 Committee Members

Librarians: Geraldine Adams (Midlands Region), Vicki Vogt (Northern
Region), Barbara L. Moyer (Southern Region), Henry C. Chang (Western
Region), and Pamela Finley (children and young adults)
Readers-at-large: Zeze Miller (Midlands Region), Barbara Wysocki
(Northern Region), Michael "Mike" Duke (Southern Region), and Joy K.
Smith (Western Region)
Consumer representatives: Tom Mitchell (American Council of the Blind)
and Ellsworth "Skip" Sharpe (Blinded Veterans Association) 
(photo caption: Librarians and patrons consider issues related to book
selection. Photo by Yusef El-Amin.)
(photo caption: Reader-at-large Barbara Wysocki, Northern Region, makes
a point to Barbara Moyer, subregional librarian in Miami, Florida. Photo
by Yusef El-Amin.))


NLS names committee for digital audio project

NLS director Frank Kurt Cylke has announced the start of a multiyear
Digital Audio Development Project and named Brad Kormann, chief of the
NLS Materials Development Division, as project director and head of the
executive committee. The project group will oversee the development of a
new audio technology for America's talking-book program.
     Says Cylke, "The Library of Congress now embarks upon its fourth
major technological advance in the provision of reading materials for
blind and physically handicapped people." He cites the beginning of
service more than a century ago with the provision of braille materials,
the development of the national program and the long-playing vinyl
record in the 1930s, and the introduction of audiotape technology in the
1960s.
     "The digital talking book will be the Library's
twenty-first-century technology, and this committee will lead the
project," says Cylke. During the 1990s, NLS has been aggressively
researching and developing plans for this fourth technological advance.
     Other executive committee members are John Cookson, head of the
NLS Engineering Section, and Michael Moodie, NLS research and
development officer. Robert Fistick, head of the NLS Publications and
Media Section, will provide communications support. A thirteen-member
steering committee of NLS technical, consumer, and network specialists
has also been named.
     Brad Kormann, project director, says, "It is important to remember
that this new technology represents a complex and total replacement of
an existing national infrastructure of playback equipment and -

recorded-book collections valued at more than $200 million. It is vital
to the success of this cooperative federal, state, and local government
program that appropriate attention be given to technological design that
represents the broadest needs of program patrons. It was for this reason
that NLS, two years ago, initiated the development of a national digital
talking-book standard through the National Information Standards
Organization (NISO), coordinated by Michael Moodie."
     In July, NLS issued a seventy-two page report, Digital Talking
Books: Planning for the Future, outlining the scope of the development
activity and steps required, including consumer involvement in
technology planning and design. Copies of the report are available in
print, in braille, and on cassette from the Reference Section, National
Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of
Congress, Washington, DC 20542; telephone (202) 707-5100; fax (202)
707-0712; e-mail nls@loc.gov.


Profile--John Lewis

NLS does not require all prospective employees to serve on a navy
destroyer, earn a master's degree, or have more than thirty years at the
Library of Congress, but John Lewis brings all these qualifications to
his job as head of NLS's Inventory Management Section (IMS). His diverse
experience has proved valuable at the Taylor Street headquarters. 
     With seven employees under Lewis's supervision, IMS handles NLS's
equipment, supplies, and publications--receiving shipments, maintaining
storage, managing distribution, and recording changes in inventories.
IMS also monitors the operations of NLS's two multistate centers, in
Ohio and Utah, where supplies and reading materials are stored for
further distribution to network libraries and patrons. In addition, IMS
handles the program for redistributing talking books and braille volumes
among network libraries--the XESS ("excess") program. 
     Lewis describes his days as "busy, rewarding--with very
interesting people and a lot of technological advances to keep up with."
     Lewis's background demonstrates his commitment to education,
training, and hard work. He is a graduate of Roosevelt High School--just
a block away from NLS's Taylor Street address. Early in his career he
served as a summer intern at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing
and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology at George Washington
University. After joining the U.S. Naval Reserve, he served eighteen
months during 1967 and 1968 on active duty, most of it as a radio
operator. 
     Lewis's Library of Congress career began in 1966 as a college
student, working part-time as a deck attendant and shelf-reader. He
quickly rose through the ranks and was detailed to manage the Library of
Congress Microform Reading Room prior to coming to NLS in 1997 on a
temporary stint as head of IMS. When that assignment was completed later
that year, he was reassigned as IMS section head.
     During his thirty years at the Library of Congress, he also earned
a master's degree in public administration from Southeastern University
in Washington, D.C., with a specialty in government management. He also
taught courses on materials handling and workplace safety for two years
as an instructor in the Library of Congress ergonomics initiative.
     As head of IMS, Lewis balances wide-ranging responsibilities that
serve the entire NLS network and all headquarters staff. Lewis visits
both multistate centers each year, holds annual meetings with their
directors, and communicates with the directors several times a week. His
days are varied, as he says, because "any item coming into or going out
of NLS--including the daily mail, office furniture, and books being sent
to contractors for production--goes through IMS."
     IMS is working to adopt innovations in the fields of inventory
control and information management before the year 2000. Streamlining
and improving performance overall are the main goals of the changes.
Lewis foresees NLS's inventory management system of the early
twenty-first century as an automated warehouse that will be adapted for
NLS's particular missions. Planning for the new automated warehouse
system is well under way, and training staff for the new skills that
will be required has already begun. "Professional development," he says,
"is an important concern in managing employees in any organization."
     Lewis views NLS as a complex, ever-changing organism, and the
willingness to change as vital to successful management. He considers
the basis for such change to be respect for NLS's patrons, employees,
network librarians, and the organization's overall mission.
(This article is the first in an occasional series introducing NLS staff
members whose functions occur largely out of the public view.)
(photo caption: John Lewis, head, Inventory Management Section. Photo by
Lorenzo T. Wright.)


Pilot program puts braille on the web

NLS has undertaken a pilot to provide formatted grade 2 braille files of
NLS-produced books on the Internet. The Web-Braille project that began
in the spring of 1998 allows patrons to use their computers to download,
save, and read the full text of books using various types of braille
devices. Feedback from pilot participants is helping project
coordinators resolve technical and production issues so Web-Braille can
be put in full operation and provide text for more braille books.
Consumer relations officer Judith Dixon, research and development -

officer Michael Moodie, and writer-editor George Thuronyi manage file
formatting, password assignments, website maintenance, page creation,
and feedback analysis.
     For testing purposes, NLS placed the files for fifty braille books
on a password-protected website. The files were encoded to be readable
only by grade 2 braille-aware devices. The books cover a wide variety of
subjects, including cookbooks, short stories, novels, finance, and
self-help. Because of copyright restrictions, materials were made
available only to those within the United States or to American citizens
living abroad. 
     Evaluators for the three-month test were solicited using several
electronic mailing lists. More than 140 persons and institutions agreed
to download files, use them with their available equipment, report
difficulties, and make suggestions for improvement. Participants
included individuals who read braille, teachers and librarians in public
schools, staff of cooperating network libraries, teachers in schools for
the blind, braille transcribers, and braille producers. 
     Evaluators used a variety of braille equipment and software so
that the downloading and reading process could be tested under a wide
range of circumstances. Sixty-two of the individuals used braille
note-takers, such as Braille Lite and Braille 'n Speak; fifty-five used
braille embossers; and thirty-six used braille computer displays.
Regarding Internet web browsers, sixty-four evaluators favored Lynx
software for downloading the files from the Internet, twenty-four used
Internet Explorer, and fifteen used Netscape.     People logging on to the
Internet site were presented with a web page that featured information
about the fifty braille books. The display was arranged by book number
and included the title, author, and annotation for each book. Because
the files were originally created during the production of each book
into braille, the text was separated into braille volumes. Links on the
web page led readers to each volume, which could then be downloaded for
embossing or to be read on-line with a braille display. In a seven-week
period, there were 2,808 "hits," or accesses, of the Web-Braille web
page and the braille volumes.
     Pilot testers gave the service an overwhelmingly favorable review
and expressed interest in continuing the program on a permanent basis.
Evaluators also provided valuable technical suggestions regarding file
structure and naming, downloading instructions, searching capability,
adjustable line length, and other issues. 
     The NLS pilot managers are currently reviewing these
recommendations and developing procedures for future project management.


D.C. librarians become Cybrarians

Four librarians from the District of Columbia Regional Library for the
Blind and Physically Handicapped were named winners of the MCI Cybrarian
of the Year award to honor their efforts as Internet innovators in
sharing the wonder of the World Wide Web with their community. The
librarians--Grace Lyons, Edith Lewis, Doris Greer, and Janice Rosen--
have all been involved in providing assistive technology and training to
library patrons.
     "We've been teaching classes for seniors on how to access the
Internet, concentrating on medical, health care, and disability
information for several years," according to Lyons, the regional
librarian. The library also hosts an assistive technology center in
which computers are equipped with DecTalk, Zoom Text, Jaws, and other
assistive software and hardware. 
     As winners, the librarians will receive a $1,000 donation for
library educational materials and one year of dial-up Internet access.
The library plans to use the award money to purchase assistive equipment
for workstations in branch libraries to help raise awareness among the
general public.


New Mexico regional library celebrates new location

The New Mexico Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
has a new home, now that the New Mexico Library, Archives, and Records
Center has moved to 1209 Camino Carlos Rey in Santa Fe. The regional
library is on the first floor of the state library building. The new
site is about six miles from the library's former home. It gives the
regional library larger space, a more accessible location, more parking
places, and better facilities overall to serve the library's 4,500
patrons and visitors.
     The library's grand opening on October 16 was intended primarily
to welcome patrons to the new location. (The state library held the
building's grand opening the next day, complete with officials,
speeches, and other festivities.) 
     The October 16 event provided an opportunity for regional library
staff and friends to honor a longtime patron, George Mendoza. Mendoza is
a nationally recognized athlete who represented the United States in the
1980 and 1984 blind olympics. A book about his life, Running toward the
Light by William J. Buchanan, is the first book being narrated in the
regional library's new recording studio.

Carousel shelving
Planning for the move gave regional librarian John Brewster an
opportunity to implement a number of innovations and improvements in
library services. In the past few years, the library had seen a dramatic
increase in its collections and patrons; with no similar increase in
staff, Brewster sought ways to streamline collection management and
other operations without curtailing services. As a result, along with
its move to new quarters, the library implemented a new shelving system
that combines automated equipment with an adaptation of industrial
technology widely used to save space.
     Relying on its online cataloging procedures and random-order
shelving, which made more efficient use of shelf space, Brewster and
records management consultant Rodger Breazile devised and installed a
system of moving carousels, essentially conveyor belts similar to those
often seen revolving around the premises of dry cleaners. 
     Each of the four carousels is roughly ninety feet long and fifteen
feet high. On each carousel are fifty steel bins, affixed in place. In
each bin are sixteen shelves that hold seven boxes per shelf, and each
box holds sixteen recorded books. The carousels circulate through the
collection area, controlled by electric switches accessible to library
staff. Barcoded labels are affixed to each box and to each book,
providing information about the location of each volume. 
     Information-management aspects of the carousel system are handled
by computer. Library staff can check online to find out whether a
particular title is "on the shelf," and if it is, which box must be
called in order to retrieve the requested title. With this information,
staff members, in effect, make the book "come to them," instead of
walking and searching through a collection area.
     The new carousel shelving system has doubled the number of books
that can be stored within an area. Thus, the storage capacity of the
library's 7,000-plus square feet of space is the virtual equivalent of
14,000 square feet. The computer that operates the carousel shelving
system works in coordination with the library's computer-operated
Keystone Library Automated System (KLAS). The KLAS system keeps records
of patron requests and is used to check out books to patrons.
     One confirmation of the value of the carousel shelving system,
says John Brewster, is that its $500,000 cost has resulted in savings of
more than double that amount. The revenues saved will go toward
providing even better service to the regional library's patrons
throughout New Mexico.
(photo caption: New Mexico Library, Archives, and Records Center.)
(photo caption: Annie Winchell, Telephone Pioneers; Paul Agriesti,
administrative librarian; John Brewster, regional librarian; and Devon
Skeele, then NLS network consultant, pose in front of the new carousel
shelving during the library's Pioneer Recognition Day.)


Former regional librarian named state librarian

Benjamin T. Wakashige, former regional librarian in New Mexico and
consultant in Maine, was appointed New Mexico state librarian last
summer. In his new post, Wakashige is responsible for overseeing the New
Mexico State Library and its related programs, including the library for
the blind and physically handicapped, the Books by Mail program, a
bookmobile, a state information and reference service, interlibrary
loan, and public library consulting.
     His experience in two regional libraries gives him a unique
perspective on services to blind and physically handicapped persons.
Wakashige says his stint as New Mexico regional librarian was "the most
satisfying job" he had ever had. The library's recent move into new
quarters with its computerized carousel system (see story that begins on
page 8), will make his job "exciting and challenging."
     A native of Hawaii, Wakashige was most recently director of the
Mary and Jeff Bell Library at Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi. He
is well known to the New Mexico library community, where he has spent
most of his career. Wakashige has worked in the development of community
libraries in nine pueblos in New Mexico, served on library boards in
several communities, held positions in three New Mexico universities,
and worked as a librarian at the Albuquerque Public Library and in the
Albuquerque Public Schools. He was supervisor at the New Mexico regional
library from 1975 to 1976 and consultant at the Maine State Library
Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in 1974. He holds a
master's degree in library science from Emporia State University.


Michigan's Wayne regional moves to Westland

Michigan's Wayne County Regional Library for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped celebrated the grand opening of its new facilities on July
13 with a gathering that brought together library staff, patrons, and
visitors; county and state officials; and rep-resentatives of NLS in
Washington. The festivities were held outdoors on a beautiful sunny day
at the new address, 30555 Michigan Avenue in Westland--just a short
drive north of the former address at Van Born and Venoy roads in Wayne.
The regional library had been at the former quarters for more than forty
years. Some guests and patrons took the opportunity to arrive at the
gathering on the bus--access by public transportation was an important
factor in determining the new address.
     Welcoming library patrons and guests to tour the new facilities
and test some of the new assistive technology was Fred Howkins, who has
served as regional librarian since April of this year. His service at
the library for more than ten years before that had also included four
years as assistant regional librarian. 
     Wayne County librarian Pat Klemans, former librarian for the blind
and physically handicapped, served as master of ceremonies and addressed
the crowd of some 400 saying, "You are what we're all about." 
     Other speakers at the festivities included Westland mayor Bob
Thomas, Wayne County executive Ed McNamara, county commissioner Kay
Beard, Michigan state librarian George Needham, and chief of the NLS
Network Division, Carolyn Hoover Sung. 
     Nancy Simmons, owner of Low Vision Solutions, which has provided
adaptive equipment for use at the library, told how, as a college
student with impaired vision, she made extensive use of the library for
the blind. The Michigan regional library's collection consists of
cassette recordings of books and magazines, large-print and braille
books, and descriptive videos. It includes 125,000 copies of more than
45,000 titles in talking-book and braille formats. The library serves
more than 4,000 registered patrons and has many visitors to its spacious
reading area. 
     In addition to postage-free mailings available to registered
patrons, readers who visit the facility have free access to computers
that are equipped with screen enlargers, voice output, and braille
printouts. The library's Kurzweil reader, for example, scans printed
material and reads it aloud. Other adaptive technology includes a
closed-circuit television that is adapted to serve readers with visual
impairments.


Magazine article features NLS narrators

NLS narrators are the topic of an article in the March April 1998 issue
of Enable Magazine, published by the American Association of People with
Disabilities. "The People behind the Talking Books" features interviews
with NLS studio director Margie Goergen-Rood, narrators Laura
Giannarelli and Ray Hagen, former NLS narrator Flo Gibson, and also
Suzanne Toren, who has narrated more than 1,000 NLS talking books at the
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB).
     Author Kathi Wolfe, who identifies herself in the article as "one
of 780,000 patrons of the government program that provides recorded
books to people who are blind and/or have physical disabilities," writes
frequently on disability issues. Her work has appeared in the Washington
Post and the Miami Herald.
     In describing NLS headquarters, Wolfe writes, "When you step in
the door, you immediately know you haven't wandered into a typical
government bureaucracy. Talking books, recorded on cassette and flexible
discs, and books in braille overflow on the shelves."
     The article covers the recording process and some of the attitudes
narrators have toward their art and the extensive work that goes into
preparation of each recording.
     Wolfe describes Giannarelli's and Hagen's reaction to fan mail.
Giannarelli says, "This can be lonely work. One spends months reading a
book. Then it's sent out. But, as far as we know, it's resting in a
vault somewhere. It's wonderful to get a letter!" Hagen exclaims, "So
far as we know, we're just reading to ourselves!...We get fan letters--
but never as many as we like."
     The article contains photographs of Giannarelli and Hagen, as well
as images of NLS patrons and a photograph of Helen Keller and Robert
Irwin, both of AFB, with the original talking-book machine.


Services to blind readers of Katowice, Poland

The Talking Books Division of the Municipal Public Library in Katowice
was the first specialized branch library in the Katowice area and was
organized in cooperation with the Polish Society of the Blind in 1986.
Its collections contain recordings of literature, popular science,
religious and secondary school materials, a variety of large-print
magazines, and selected recorded newspaper articles. The branch houses
some 3,400 titles representing nearly 40,000 cassettes, which are fully
cataloged and cross-referenced. The materials are purchased for the most
part through the Polish Society for the Blind in Warsaw.
     As a district library, the branch serves readers from outside the
immediate Katowice environs. Thirty-two percent of its readers are from
out of town, where other public and institutional libraries assist in
the distribution of materials.
     The library conducted a survey of randomly selected readers, which
indicated that most of the blind and physically handicapped clients
learned about the service through the Society for the Blind (66
percent). Twenty percent first received information from other readers,
7 percent from their families, 5 percent from ophthalmologists, and 2
percent from radio announcements. Almost a third of the readers have
been with the program since the branch library's founding in 1986, 39
percent have known about the branch for several years, and another third
are new patrons. Ages range from primary school children through persons
in their nineties, with the majority in the 45 to 65 age range.
Frequency of library visits is high: all but 7 percent check books out
once a month or more often. The survey also covered issues such as
subject matter preferences, favorite authors, demographics of the
readership, and satisfaction with the service, which is high.
     Although there were no questions on the survey concerning why
blind and physically handicapped people like to read so much, the answer
may be found in the outreach conducted by the branch. The library
provides many activities for readers of all ages and in particular for
young adults, who enjoy meetings with librarians, reading competitions,
and excursions to local sites. One patron, a seventy-eight-year-old
woman, commented, "I read more now than I did when I could see."
(Information for this article is from the May 1997 monthly handbook of
the Association of Polish Libraries.)


Cleveland regional hosts family fun and learning day

Patrons of the Cleveland Public Library, Library for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped, traveled near and far to attend the fourth
annual Family Fun and Learning Day gala on July 30.
     Patrons and their families and friends had their choice of
attending an Internet tutorial led by Judith Dixon, NLS consumer
relations officer, or a variety of other informative and fun programs.  
     Programs included a visit by personnel from the Cleveland
Metroparks Nature Center, who offered a multisensory presentation of the
sights and sounds of local parks. Animal pelts were passed around to
touch and smell. Ranger Joni Norris played a selection of bird songs as
she described the bird that makes each sound. Cleveland Zoo edZoocator
Nancy Slusser brought "residents," including a partridge, a corn snake,
and an armadillo. Patrons were also able to touch the "baby" tail of the
zoo's newest resident, Tyra, a Masai giraffe. 
     Luncheon speaker Joyce Weidenhoffer presented an engaging book
talk on Linda Lear's Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature. Those in
attendance were quick to add RC 45361 to their request lists.
     "Feel the Music" was a program in which musicians gave a short
history of their instrument, played a selection, and let patrons touch
the instrument. Musicians demonstrated the flute, violin and viola,
drums, bagpipes, saxophone, and piano. Musicians and patrons alike were
able to jam to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "Happy Birthday," thanks to
the NLS Music Section, which provided multiple copies of these songs in
both braille and print.
     Finally, patrons were treated to a poetry reading by a fellow
patron. Sarah Bishop, disabilities advocate and Renaissance woman,
presented selections by Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou, as well as
ditties such as "A Mouse Went a Courtin'."
(Material for this article was provided by Barbara Mates, Cleveland
regional librarian.)
(photo caption: Juanita and Gertrude Mosby meet an armadillo from the
Cleveland Metroparks Nature Center.)


The Program
The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of
the Library of Congress publishes books and magazines in braille and in
recorded form on discs and cassettes for readers who cannot hold,
handle, or see well enough to read conventional print because of a
temporary or permanent visual or physical handicap.
     Through a national network of state and local libraries, the
materials are loaned free to eligible readers in the United States and
to U.S. citizens living abroad. Materials are sent to readers and
returned by postage-free mail.

Books and Magazines
Readers may borrow all types of popular-interest books including
bestsellers, classics, mysteries, westerns, poetry, history,
biographies, religious literature, children's books, and
foreign-language materials. Readers may also subscribe to more than
seventy popular magazines in braille and recorded formats.

Special Equipment
Special equipment needed to play the discs and cassettes, which are
recorded at slower than conventional speeds, is loaned indefinitely to
readers. An amplifier with headphone is available for blind and
physically handicapped readers who are also certified as hearing
impaired. Other devices are provided to aid readers with mobility
impairments in using playback machines.

Eligibility
You are eligible for the Library of Congress program if:
 You are legally blind--your vision in the better eye is 20/200 or
less with correcting glasses, or your widest diameter of visual field is
no greater than 20 degrees;
 You cannot see well enough or focus long enough to read standard
print, although you wear glasses to correct your vision;
 You are unable to handle print books or turn pages because of a
physical handicap; or
 You are certified by a medical doctor as having a reading disability,
due to an organic dysfunction, which is of sufficient severity to
prevent reading in a normal manner.

How to Apply
You may request an application by writing NLS or calling toll-free
1-800-424-9100, and your name will be referred to your cooperating
library.

News is published quarterly by:
National Library Service for the
Blind and Physically Handicapped
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20542
All correspondence should be addressed to the attention of Publications
and Media Section.

Editor: Vicki Fitzpatrick 

Writers: Rita Byrnes, Jane Caulton, Carol Corrigan, Margaret Cytron,
Robert Fistick, and George Thuronyi