News
January-March 1999, Vol. 30, No. 1

ISSN 1046-1663

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


www.loc.gov/nls 

As a service to patrons, librarians, and the public, NLS provides access to
its resources and documents through a comprehensive Internet presence
consisting of World Wide Web, FTP, and telnet sites and e-mail contact
points. This wide range of access methods to NLS publications, program
information, and bibliographic data opens new paths to blind and visually
impaired individuals. 
     The web site is designed to be fully accessible by persons using
text-based browsers and adaptive devices that output information in
large-print, braille, or synthetic speech. This capability allows users to
work in their most productive mode instead of whatever medium happens to be
available.
     This level of universality is accomplished by adhering to guidelines
of the World Wide Web Consortium accessibility group. Visitors to the NLS
web site will not find the dancing graphics, colorful pictures, and
scrolling text lines popular in many web pages, because these graphical
features are often unreadable by persons using adaptive devices. Instead,
the material is presented in straightforward, formatted text arranged in
logical, easy-to-follow order. Images, where present, are not vital to the
content of the text and are marked with special alternate-text tags that
describe the images.
     To reach the NLS web site, individuals need a personal computer that
is connected to the Internet. The site consists of many web pages and
documents that cover different aspects of the NLS program. The NLS home page
is the anchor from which the other web pages are connected. Visitors to this
page are presented with the following:
      welcome message and eligibility information to help interested
individuals determine if they qualify for NLS services;
      network library addresses giving the location of all regional and
subregional libraries throughout the United States and listing each
library's name, street address, phone number, librarian's name, and e-mail
address. This document is updated as address and phone number changes
warrant;
      an e-mail link and telephone contact number for NLS;
      basic factsheet about NLS, contact list, and organization chart; 
      Frequently Asked Questions, twenty-five questions and answers about
the NLS program;
      Access to NLS Information on the Internet, which details the various
aspects of NLS's online presence and how people can connect to the services
offered;
      an audio sample of a talking book from Talking Books: Pioneering and
Beyond. The clip is configured to play in RealAudio, a popular, freely
available Internet audio playback software;
      news releases, documents concerning digital talking books, and other
topical, timely publications; and
      laws and regulations that pertain to the national program.
     The next section of the home page allows persons to view and search
catalogs and book listings. This feature offers patrons and librarians
direct access to the NLS Union Catalog describing more than 250,000 books
produced by NLS, network libraries, and other cooperating agencies. A
forms-based tool, called Web-BLND, lets users search for special-format
books by author, subject, title, series, book number, and keyword. This
service is popular with patrons and receives more than 22,000 "hits" per
month. This section also contains:
      current and recent listings of braille books in Braille Book Review
and talking books in Talking Book Topics; and
      cumulative catalogs, bibliographies, and minibibliographies, which
are in plain-text format for easy downloading to personal computers.
     The reference documents section of the site offers a full range of
publications:
      reference circulars, compilations of current information on topics
of interest to persons with disabilities and those who provide services to
them;
      reference bibliographies on topics of interest to students,
professionals, and others doing research on some aspect of disability;
      factsheets that provide annual data about NLS, a publications
checklist, and information about specific policies and services; 
      directories that list information on libraries in the United States
that provide reading materials to visually and physically handicapped
readers, periodicals available in special media, and volunteers who will
transcribe braille, narrate books, or produce large-print materials; and 
      Focus on Electronic Information bulletins with information on
full-text Internet resources.
     A section titled Other NLS Services leads users to NLS music program
circulars and catalogs and gives information about braille transcribing and
proofreading instruction, literary braille competency certification, and
braille technology. The Newsletters, Technical Papers, and Other Information
section provides full-text versions of NLS News, Update, and Projects and
Experiments and the text of speeches, technical papers, and other
informational items. 
     The last section provides links to the home pages of more than eighty
cooperating network libraries for blind and physically handicapped
individuals.
     NLS established its web site in 1994 as an outgrowth of an older
Internet file system called MARVEL. As the Internet became more popular and
standards were developed for formatting documents, more publications and
services were added to the site. Development and maintenance of the site
rests jointly with Judith Dixon, NLS consumer relations officer, who is
primarily responsible for accessibility issues and training users to access
the site, and George Thuronyi, writer-editor, who chiefly formats and
publishes web documents and manages the file and link structures.


NISO committee moves ahead with digital standards 

The Digital Talking Books Standards Committee, working under the auspices of
the National Information Standards Organization (NISO), met in Minneapolis
in October 1998 to continue development of a digital talking-book (DTB)
standard. The committee is composed of representatives from twenty-three
organizations. Members reported on continuing efforts in creating the
standard that will be the basis for audio books of the future.

Digital book features list
Members first discussed a number of issues raised during the June to
September public-comment period for the draft list of digital talking-book
navigation features (see News, April June 1998). These features will allow
users to move from one part of a book to another to read desired passages.
The majority of the responses received stated that the list seemed complete
and expressed potential users' desires.
     Talks included discussion of audible signals a reader would receive
when encountering cross-referenced items in a book and those leading the
reader to another book or document. The committee also agreed that readers
should be able to select the option of reading footnotes. Finally, the group
agreed that footnotes would be marked as either "explanatory" notes or
"source" notes. The playback device could then discriminate between the two
kinds of notes.

File synchronization
Mark Hakkinen, chair of the file-specification working group, provided a
report of developments affecting the synchronization of the text and audio
files of a digital talking book. He reported that the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C) approved the first release of SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia
Integration Language) in June 1998. This step provides a solid platform to
build on in the synchronization area. Several software-based SMIL players
have been developed, and two SMIL-compliant playback machines that
synchronize audio and text exist. Several firms, including Hakkinen's
Productivity Works, Inc., are developing software tools that will allow DTB
producers to create the SMIL files that will link audio and text. 

Digital talking-book players and production
To set the stage for subsequent discussions, Gilles Pepin of VisuAide, Inc.,
and George Kerscher of the DAISY Consortium presented two different aspects
of the digital talking-book world. Pepin focused on key items that affect
the design of a DTB player, namely, user interface, sound quality, book
storage media, battery life, processing power, and memory. He emphasized
that the features list being developed by the committee should describe the
capabilities desired but should then leave manufacturers free to use their
creativity to implement them.
     Kerscher presented an outline of a document titled "Digital Talking
Book Production Process." He explained that producers of digital talking
books will have choices regarding the production path to follow for a given
book. The simplest path combines a human speech recording with a small,
tagged, text file (for navigation) consisting of the major headings and
perhaps page numbers found in the book. The more complex route requires the
full, marked-up text of the book. Such a file, while more expensive to
produce, gives the producer far greater flexibility in regard to
distribution format because it can be output as either electronic text or
braille or it can be combined with recorded audio to create a full-function
digital talking book. 

Time-scale modification
Don Hejna of Enounce, Inc., demonstrated his time-scale modification
software, called Time-Scale Tailor, which was designed to allow users to
control audio playback speed while maintaining constant pitch. He explained
that Time-Scale Tailor is efficient compared to other solutions, is
flexible, and is robust, in that it models the ear rather than the vocal
tract. Hejna demonstrated the system changing the speed from one-half to
three times normal. 
     Pepin demonstrated the system on VisuAide's "Victor" playback unit,
varying playback speed of a moderately compressed file over a wide range.
The challenge now is to improve this capability with highly compressed files
on portable playback devices.

Discussion of draft document type definition (DTD)
A DTD defines markers (called "tags") for elements of a book and the rules
for their use. It can be used by authoring software to spot inconsistencies
that detract from the user's ability to navigate the book. Structuring
guidelines under development will provide more specific instructions on how
producers should apply the tags in actual documents. 
     Some examples of elements added are producer notes or instructions to
the user; footnotes; footnote references; page numbers occurring in print;
poems; poem titles; groups of lines, such as stanzas in a poem; and
individual lines.
     George Kerscher and Harvey Bingham presented the latest version of the
DAISY/NISO DTD and led a discussion of a number of open issues.
     The DTD borrows heavily from HTML 4.0 (Hypertext Markup Language,
widely used for World Wide Web applications) and adds a number of elements
specific to digital talking books.
     Bingham also presented a short explanation of "stylesheets," software
that allows the salient features of a marked-up document to be presented in
a manner appropriate to the format in which it is distributed or the
preferences of the user. For example, a major heading might be centered in
braille, rendered in enlarged, boldface type in a large-print version, or
announced as a heading in synthetic speech. Stylesheets would be used, for
example, to implement a user's choice to read all footnotes in a book or
skip over them. Bingham emphasized that the effort to produce effective
stylesheets is significant.

Actions planned
Committee chairperson Michael Moodie asked members to continue the good work
they had done in creating the navigation features document and contribute
first drafts of the various pieces of what will become the standard and its
supporting documents. Those segments include language describing audio
compression, text markup, synchronization, and associated files;
production/structuring guidelines; and user interface issues. 
     NLS staff will select a test book and mark it up in accordance with
the draft DTD. NLS and Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic will work
together to prepare a recording of the chosen book and to synchronize the
text and audio files. A new working group was established to investigate the
creation and use of stylesheets. The committee will meet again in March
1999.
     
For further information on the NISO Digital Talking Books Standards
Committee, see News, January March 1997, July September 1997,
October December 1997, and April June 1998. 


Books being selected for grade 1 braille

A variety of fiction and nonfiction books in grade 1 braille are now being
added to the NLS collection. This action is prompted by the National
Advisory Group on Collection-Building Activities, which recommended NLS
provide this format for adult readers who have a need for or prefer the more
elementary form of braille. 
     Grade 1 braille is a letter-for-letter substitution for print and
mastering it is the first step to braille literacy. Books in the NLS
collection are generally in grade 2 braille, which contains a number of
contracted forms that speed reading and take up less space. Mastering the
contractions is a more advanced braille reading skill.
     Approximately three to five books a year are being selected for the
grade 1 braille collection with an anticipated limit of about fifty. A
larger number is not considered necessary because most patrons advance from
this level to grade 2 braille. More important than the number of books, the
collection must represent the varied interests of people who are learning
braille. Criteria used for selection include high general interest,
relatively short length, and low vocabulary. Such popular works of fiction
include classics, westerns, and romances. Nonfiction titles are generally
subjects believed to be of interest to many patrons.


Young Illinois readers "Dive into Books"

1998 marked the tenth anniversary of the statewide summer reading program
that was conducted by the Illinois Regional Library for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped and six Talking Book Centers (TBCs). Mailings to
children, their parents, teachers, and public librarians brought responses
from 357 children and teens to "Dive into Books" this past summer!
     Librarians and reader's advisors were hard at work before the summer
began. They produced eight age-appropriate bibliographies, which were sent
out at different points during the course of the summer to help maintain
interest.
     The six Talking Book Centers were very creative in how they
implemented the program on the local level. Activities included making
additional mailings and telephone calls to prospective readers, sending
activity sheets and games, and awarding incentives to the children to keep
on "Diving"!
     Incentives were varied, but included items with a sea theme, such as
stuffed sea animals and slinkys shaped like fish. For grand prizes or
raffles several TBCs awarded cassette players that can play both NLS tapes
and regular tapes. Different methods were used for prize distribution.
     Most importantly, the children took charge of their own reading by
registering, choosing their own books, and reporting on books either on the
telephone with a reader's advisor or by mail. One reader set an unofficial
record by giving his reader's advisor a thirty-minute report on the Count of
Monte Cristo.
     The Chicago Talking Book Center held a most successful
end-of-the-summer party, complete with a pirate known as Captain Jerry--a
reader's advisor in disguise! The day included food, a performance by
"Giggles de Clown," and a descriptive video.
     Reader's advisors asked their readers for book suggestions, which will
be included in the library's newsletter, Just for Kids. Recommendations
ranged from Mr. Lincoln's Drummer to How to Be an Ocean Scientist in Your
Own Home. Other "good reads" included The Ghost Belonged to Me, The Deserted
Library Mystery, and Chadwick the Crab.
     The regional library also provides Connections, a newsletter for young
adults, now in its second year of publication. 
(Material for this article was provided by Lori Miller, programs/outreach
librarian for the Illinois regional library.)
(photo caption:      Reader's advisor Jerry McNally, a.k.a. "Captain Jerry,"
presents summer reading program participant Greg Nowak with his certificate
of achievement. Greg gave a thirty-minute book report (a Chicago TBL record)
on The Count of Monte Cristo.)


Donna Bensen named Oregon regional librarian

Donna Bensen assumed her duties as regional librarian of the Oregon Talking
Book and Braille Service on June 15, 1998. She succeeds Mary Mohr, who
accepted a network consultant position with NLS.
     Bensen previously served for twelve years in supervisory positions
with the New Jersey Library for the Blind and Handicapped. She was public
education coordinator, head of the New Jersey Adult Services Section where
she supervised eight people, and public relations coordinator for eight
years. She also served for four years as supervisor of the New Jersey radio
reading service. Bensen holds a master of library science degree from
Rutgers University.
     In addition, Bensen chaired the Retired Senior Volunteer Program
(RSVP) Advisory Board in Mercer County, New Jersey, and currently serves as
a member of the RSVP Advisory Board in Marion County, Oregon. Also, she has
been chair of the Special Populations Section of the New Jersey Library
Association, charged with stimulating and coordinating the association's
activities serving specific populations and institutionalized people. Other
related activities include being a facilitator of the New Jersey Train the
Trainer program that coordinated a yearly three-day workshop to train
librarians to become trainers, and chairing the Mercer County Monday Morning
Group, a regional advocacy network of people with disabilities, their
families, and friends.
     Of her new position Bensen says, "The Oregon regional library has a
small but very dedicated staff that I truly enjoy working with. The Oregon
State Library follows the `team' approach, so I coordinate the group
workflow to accomplish the activities efficiently." 
     She is also enthusiastic about the location. "I am really enjoying the
state of Oregon. I had no idea so much of the state is desert. The mountain
ranges are beautiful, and the coastline is gorgeous. It was a good move!"


Big bash at the Montana State Capitol rotunda!

The Montana Talking Book Library celebrated its thirtieth anniversary on
September 29, 1998. The library's birthday provided an opportunity to
introduce patrons to those who have worked hard on their behalf and to honor
the volunteers who have played a vital role in the library's success.
Regional librarian Christie Briggs kicked off the festivities and described
some of the library staff's adventures and accomplishments over the years.
Montana state librarian Karen Strege introduced secretary of state Mike
Cooney, who presented awards to volunteers for their contributions in
narrating and repairing cassette machines. Dorothy Laird, Montana State
Library Commission chair, honored young volunteers who worked with library
staff. Keynote speaker Stan Lynde, a noted Montana author and artist, spoke
about his lifelong love of reading and the importance of universal access to
books. Carolyn Sung, chief of the NLS Network Division, made a special
presentation to the local Telephone Pioneers for more than thirty-five years
of service to talking-book libraries. 
     Volunteer Barbara Baarson received a Special Appreciation Award for
her dedicated work on behalf of library patrons. Chuck Wirth received a
Telephone Pioneer Award for his long hours spent repairing cassette book
machines. Lea Blunn, Mary Zednick, Jane Briney, and Giles Walker were
honored as Recording Team of the Year. Five summer youth volunteers received
special Life-Saver awards for contributions made during school vacations,
and at least a dozen volunteers received individual awards for service
ranging from five to thirty years. The librarians thanked all the volunteers
and presented them with the staff's own creation: a glass plate etched with
the skyline of a nearby mountain range.
     Montana's Talking Book Library has a collection of 38,000 titles in
recorded format, including 400 recordings that were produced in the state
and have particular appeal to Montanans. Seventy magazine subscriptions are
also available. Both the collection and library's inventory of adaptive
equipment are being steadily expanded and improved to provide even better
service to the library's nearly 3,000 patrons.
(Material for this story was provided by Susan Merrin, Montana State
Library.)
(photo caption: Barbara Baarson (left), holding her Special Appreciation
Award from the Montana State Library for her many years of dedicated
service, and regional librarian Christie Briggs.)
(photo caption: Jessica Vashro, Tyler Simmons, Christina Rose, and Alexis
Lund (left to right)--all summer youth volunteers--are applauded as they
receive Life-Saver awards for their contributions to the Talking Book
Library.)


International briefs

World Blind Union (WBU). In January 1997 Pedro Zurita of Spain, WBU
secretary general, was seriously injured in an automobile accident while on
WBU business in Morocco, causing much concern in the international blindness
community. After almost two years of treatment and rehabilitation therapy,
he has gradually resumed his duties, and he reports an office schedule that
is "practically normal."
     His letter describing the incident and his subsequent recovery has
been translated into English by James Herndon, NLS foreign-language
librarian, and is available from the NLS Reference Section.
     
Great Britain. The National Library for the Blind (NLB) reports a new
program of particular interest to visually impaired teenagers. The Fiction
Cafe offers online access to books and library services. This
bookshop-cum-meeting-place opened officially during Children's Book Week in
October 1998 on NLB's web site and is already proving "hugely popular."
Using state-of-the-art computer technology including voice synthesis, a
variety of options are available such as different daily specials for
ordering books, a virtual scrapbook for recording reading experiences, and a
"coffee shop" chat room for meeting friends. 
     NLB also offers several forms of help for people new to braille. The
Learners' Library is a small but rapidly expanding section of NLB devoted to
the needs of people learning or teaching braille or Moon. Courses are
available for people to borrow and, in addition, short books can be provided
to encourage students to read. Grade 1 books are currently offered to almost
two hundred members, along with books in graduated braille and enlarged
braille. A new feature is books in "parabraille," which has grade 2 braille
at the top of the page and the same text at the bottom in grade 1. A list of
titles is now available in print, grade 1, and grade 2 braille.
(Information for this article is from the autumn 1998 issue of NLB's
newsletter, Hands On.)
     
Russia (Moscow). Vladislav Sergeevich Stepanov, director of
Tifloinformational Polygraphic Publishing Complex (Logos), and Vadim Oussik,
Program Coordinator of the All-Russian Association of the Blind, visited NLS
in Washington, D.C., in August. Logos, founded in 1978, is a division of the
All-Russian Association of the Blind and provides publications, printing,
and products for Russians who are blind and visually handicapped as part of
a comprehensive information services and technical development program.
     Logos carries out its mission of helping to make the level of
information support for blind and visually handicapped Russians comparable
to that of sighted persons by performing the following activities:
      Records annually some 350 talking books and magazines that are
distributed by special libraries; recorded books, which are compatible with
the U.S. system, are also made available for purchase by outside agencies,
like NLS, which buys Russian-language titles for the Special Foreign Library
collection.
      Creates and widely distributes raised-print visual aids such as
geographic maps and depictions of architecture and the natural world, as
well as braille and digital publications.
      Broadcasts, since 1996, radio reading services in the Moscow area
for both periodicals and books; announces simultaneous commentaries on
television transmissions; and broadcasts information about the activities
and mission of the Association of the Blind and about rehabilitation
services.
      Develops and produces technical resources for blind and visually
handicapped people, including new information systems and the latest
computer technology; an experimental lab produces braille, recorded, and
digital information on demand.
      Employs 250 people, half of whom are legally blind and who work in
fully equipped, adaptive computer workstations with braille displays, raised
print, and special software.
      Is in the process of establishing a network of technologically
equipped centers designed to serve blind persons, in cooperation with other
similar efforts; sponsors internships for specialists from regional centers.
      Prints works of blind writers and poets; prints information on
rehabilitation; prints large-print books; issues information in various
formats on the Association of the Blind and its available services.


North Carolina: Going strong at forty

North Carolina's Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NCLBPH)
celebrated its fortieth birthday on September 18, 1998, in festivities that
began the previous evening with a dinner at the Velvet Cloak Inn in Raleigh
and included an open house at the library's Capital Boulevard address. The
events were hosted and sponsored by the State Library, its parent Department
of Cultural Resources, the NCLBPH, and the Friends of the NCLBPH. 
     The open house provided an opportunity to welcome patrons, volunteers,
and visitors to the library's 21,000-square-foot facility and to honor staff
and volunteers for their dedication and loyalty to patrons. Guests were
greeted by Francine Martin, regional librarian; Ruth Bame, assistant
regional librarian; John Welch, assistant state librarian; Bill Waters,
Friends of NCLBPH president; and Michael Moodie, NLS research and
development officer. 
     Library tours were conducted all day and featured demonstrations of
available services and equipment and presentations on the digital technology
that promises to be important in future generations of cassette machines.
There were also exhibits by the Triangle Radio Reading Service, the Raleigh
Blind Bowlers League, the Friends of the NCLBPH, and the Lions Club "Eye
Will" program.
     NCLBPH's history begins in 1958, when members of the North Carolina
Lions Club and the Lions Association for the Blind met to discuss plans for
improving access to library resources for people with impaired vision.
Within about a year, the State Library had six employees operating a library
for blind and physically handicapped readers. The first NCLBPH had about
1,000 titles on long-playing records, 1,000 patrons, and an annual
circulation of 28,000. By 1998 the NCLBPH had thirty-three employees serving
more than 10,000 patrons with 80,000 titles in recorded, braille, video, and
large-print formats, and an annual circulation of nearly 500,000. The
collection continues to grow at a rate of more than 2,000 titles each year.
     The NCLBPH has received generous support from volunteers, patrons, and
friends throughout its forty years. The dedicated staff has not always faced
an easy task, however. In 1977, the library was damaged by a fire set by an
arsonist. In 1996, Hurricane Fran forced NCLBPH to close for a week while
the town recovered. In 1997, a lightning strike played havoc with the
library's computer and communications equipment. Staff and volunteers
bounced back after these disasters, and they continue to seek new ways to
improve services to library patrons.
(Information for this article was provided by Linda Carron, "LBPH Hosts
Fortieth Birthday Open House on September 18, 1998," Tar Heel Talk..., No.
114, June-November 1998 (published by NCLBPH).)


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