News

ISSN 1046-1663

January-March 2000, Vol. 31, No. 1

National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped

The Library of Congress





Global outreach extends services and materials



To accomplish its primary mission of providing library services to U.S.

citizens with impaired vision or physical disabilities that prevent reading,

NLS maintains numerous overseas contacts that contribute to this goal.

Making NLS reading materials available abroad facilitates interlibrary loans

and services to U.S. citizens living overseas. International acquisitions

bring to the network and NLS patrons in the United States special-format

materials produced in other countries. In addition, sharing technological

information helps improve production techniques worldwide.

     Major long-term international goals over the years have been 1)

removing customs barriers that inhibit the free exchange of materials, 2)

cataloging available materials to indicate contents and sources, and 3)

standardizing formats so that exchange materials can be easily utilized. At

the same time, NLS services encompass a multitude of ongoing activities that

help provide reading materials to overseas patrons and promote international

involvement and cooperation.



International exchange and information



Cataloging resources worldwide

Especially since the 1970s, NLS has worked to identify and publicize sources

of reading materials in special media. A major step forward in this effort

was the 1977 creation of the NLS Union Catalog and its expansion over the

years to include special-format materials produced around the world. With

access to the Union Catalog, blind or handicapped readers in any country can

locate titles they may request through interlibrary loans or through

purchase, and libraries can formulate acquisition plans.

     The NLS Union Catalog contains nearly 340,000 entries. Most of these

are items available from NLS, its network libraries, or the Princeton, New

Jersey, company Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D).

     Most of the productions from other countries are English-language

volumes--many from Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. More than

38,000 titles from the United Kingdom were added in the first weeks of this

year (see article below).

     Roughly 28,000 titles in the Union Catalog are in languages other than

English. Some, mostly Spanish-language recordings, were produced under NLS

contracts. NLS has also produced some works in other European languages as

well as a few in less widely spoken languages such as Vietnamese, Cambodian,

and Laotian. Some 5,000 works purchased from foreign producers have been in

Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, Polish, and Russian, among others.



International directories. Over the years NLS has produced numerous

reference works about international resources in special media. Among the

earliest of these directories were Foreign Language Books, a cumulative

listing of NLS-produced foreign-language titles; Guide to Spoken-Word

Recordings: Foreign-Language Instruction and Literature, a list of

commercial publishers of foreign-language materials on tape and disc;

International Directory of Libraries and Production Facilities for the

Blind, describing organizations that produce special-format materials

worldwide; International Directory of Tactile Map Collections, a list of

sources and collections of special-format maps available worldwide; and

International Directory of Braille Music Collections (produced in

cooperation with the International Federation of Library Associations and

Institutions--IFLA). 

     NLS products of the 1990s that provide information about special-format resources useful worldwide include Foreign Language Referral

Bibliographies and Source Documents, which lists sources of special-media

materials in over sixty languages and provides author-title lists of the

foreign-language books in the NLS collections (1997); and Bibles and Other

Sacred Writings in Special Media, listing versions of sacred texts and

publications of many world religions (1999). In 1990 NLS produced, in

cooperation with UNESCO, an updated edition of the 1974 publication World

Braille Usage. This directory contains braille alphabets used around the

world, based on information from 700 organizations in 140 countries. In 1993

NLS compiled The International Yearbook of Library Service for Blind and

Physically Handicapped Individuals, which was published by K.G. Saur Verlag

in Germany in cooperation with the Friends of Libraries for Blind and

Physically Handicapped Individuals in North America.



Easing mail delays and customs barriers

One of the earliest international efforts was to provide easy identification

for tariff-free materials, based on the Universal Postal Union convention

guaranteeing free international surface mailing of reading materials for

blind individuals worldwide. In the mid-1980s NLS participated in the

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)

Postal subcommittee's development of a label for this purpose. It reads

"BLINDPOST" and has easy-to-read, bold black letters and a black frame set

against an orange background. The use of the BLINDPOST label has helped

clear many obstacles and delays in providing international library services

to blind and handicapped readers.



Services for U.S. expatriates

NLS services are available to U.S. citizens with visual (or other)

impairments, regardless of where they live. As constituents of this federal

program, citizens abroad receive essentially the same services they would in

the United States: free loan of unlimited recorded titles, cassette

machines, and braille volumes; postage-free mailings of all of these;

reference information such as bibliographies and catalogs; and information

on the NLS web site and online communications for those with Internet

access.

     Some of NLS's overseas patrons are members of the diplomatic community

or private-sector employees and their families. Many others are retirees who

have chosen to live abroad. NLS's overseas librarian Yealuri Rathan Raj

reports that NLS has some 325 patrons living in other countries and that

they borrow several thousand titles each year. Reading materials, cassette

machines, and other information from NLS are received at their homes or

through the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.



International interlibrary loan

Readers in other countries who are blind or disabled but are not U.S.

citizens can also benefit from the NLS collection through an international

interlibrary loan system. Such overseas lending is generally channeled

through the national library for the blind in each country and amounts to

roughly 10,000 volumes from NLS each year. For example, NLS processed 9,468

requests for recorded books and 198 for braille volumes in 1999.

     Most interlibrary loan requests come from English-speaking countries,

especially Great Britain, Canada, and Ireland, and substantial numbers are

also received from Australia, Hong Kong, and South Africa. Foreign-language

requests are often received from libraries in Germany and Mexico. Books on

international interlibrary loan are generally returned within a period of

two or three months.



Foreign acquisitions

Books purchased from foreign producers generally become part of NLS's

Special Foreign Library Collection, which includes more than 5,000 works in

Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Polish,

Russian, Serbo-Croat, Spanish, Ukrainian, and many other languages. The

special collection also includes more than 1,400 English-language titles

produced in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Numbers vary widely from year to year based on availability; roughly 100

recorded titles and 145 braille volumes were purchased overseas in 1998. In

1999, a substantial number of Russian-language titles on cassette were added

to the collection.

     Magazines are acquired in recorded and braille formats from producers

in other countries. Some English-language braille magazines come from

England; the French-language version of The Reader's Digest (S‚lections du

Reader's Digest) is purchased from the Canadian National Institute for the

Blind (CNIB). Master tapes for the German-language version of the Reader's

Digest (Das Beste aus Reader's Digest) are purchased from Germany.



Fulfilling worldwide demand for NLS products



Donations and exchanges

Volumes from the NLS collection are often requested by libraries in other

countries. Some, especially "excessed" (surplus) braille volumes, are

donated to libraries in developing countries where special-format

collections may be new. In addition, NLS provides on exchange to foreign

libraries the commercial audio books received through copyright deposit by

the Library of Congress. Donated volumes included more than 5,500 braille

volumes and 355 commercial audio titles in 1998. They were provided to

libraries in Bangladesh, India, Jamaica, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria,

Pakistan, Philippines, St. Lucia, and Zambia. 

     Some libraries serving blind and handicapped readers in other

countries have arranged to purchase NLS materials at cost directly from NLS

producers in the United States. These purchases enable foreign libraries to

acquire braille or recorded titles at a reasonable cost, after the

contractor has fulfilled its obligations to NLS. The Canadian National

Institute for the Blind, for example, purchased about 700 titles from NLS

producers in 1998. Similar arrangements were made by the South African

Library for the Blind, the National Library for the Blind in Stockport,

England, and the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind in Melbourne,

Australia.

     Braille magazines from the United States are especially popular in

English-speaking countries. Producers reported at-cost sales of more than

1,100 braille magazine issues in 1997 and more than 750 in 1998. Of these,

most were to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.



Cassette machines

NLS's cassette players are mailed abroad for free loan to U.S. citizens who

are NLS patrons. For others who have arranged for interlibrary loans of NLS

recordings or who have recorded books with the same specifications, cassette

players based on the NLS design--four-track, 15/16 inches per second--are

available through special arrangement between NLS and the manufacturer that

supplies its cassette players in the United States. By the mid-1980s, forty-nine overseas agencies in eighteen countries had arranged to purchase more

than 25,000 cassette players based on these design specifications.



Maintaining overseas contacts



Meeting librarians and other experts

NLS welcomes numerous visitors from other countries to its Taylor Street

headquarters in Washington each year. In September 1999, noted French

librarian Catherine Desbuquois arrived for a one-year working visit at NLS.

As chief librarian at the Bibliotheque Publique d'Information, Centre

Georges Pompidou in Paris, Desbuquois has done extensive research on the

reading needs of blind and handicapped individuals. While at NLS, she will

formulate recommendations to help NLS acquire French braille and audio

publications, among other projects.

     Other foreign visitors in 1999 included more than fifty librarians and

representatives of organizations in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France,

Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago,

and the United Kingdom.

     In 1997 and 1998 Bulgaria, Colombia, Namibia, Norway, and Tajikistan

were also represented among foreign visitors to NLS. One of these, in early

1997, was Faith Macheng from the Botswana National Library Service. She

traveled to NLS as part of her preparation for Botswana's first nationwide

program of library services for blind and disabled citizens.



International organizations

NLS has been active in international organizations representing visually

impaired library patrons, even before the International Federation of

Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) adopted NLS director Frank Kurt

Cylke's proposal to establish a Section of Libraries for the Blind (SLB)

within IFLA in 1977. In addition to furthering the establishment of SLB,

Cylke has authored two books and seventeen articles on matters related to

international cooperation (see below).

     The goal of SLB as conceived by Cylke is to further international

cooperation and sharing of scarce resources in order to bring more reading

materials to blind and physically handicapped readers everywhere. NLS has

been represented at IFLA conferences and continues its active participation

in IFLA projects. At the 1990 conference in Stockholm, Sweden, Henry Paris,

then chief of the NLS Materials Development Division, presented a paper on

"Interlending: A Call for Standardization." At the 1997 meeting research and

development officer Michael Moodie reported on different types of public-access catalogs in use and features such as international links and ordering

capabilities that affect accessibilities. 

     NLS has been represented at annual conferences of the International

Council on English Braille (ICEB), the organization that works to improve

standards and coordinate braille usage among libraries in Australia, Canada,

New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United

States. In late 1999, several members of NLS's Braille Development Section

attended the Baltimore meeting of the ICEB General Assembly, and NLS has

been represented at ICEB overseas meetings.

     The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) invited Cylke to

the October 1999 award ceremony, at which several NLS productions were

honored for their quality recording and narration. CNIB and NLS

representatives often attend each other's annual conferences to further

cooperation and information sharing.

     NLS's association with the Latin American Union for the Blind produced

an invitation to Carolyn Sung, chief of the Network Division, to a 1997

workshop as one of thirty-five delegates and observers from thirteen Latin

American countries, Sweden, and the United States. Sung presented a paper

describing recent improvements in NLS's production of Spanish-language

books.

     NLS's foreign language librarian Jim Herndon attended a conference on

services to blind readers sponsored by the National Library in the Dominican

Republic in 1997. He delivered a paper about NLS service standards and

discussed prospects for cooperation between the two countries (and appeared

in a locally televised interview about NLS).

     Herndon has also authored several papers that were delivered on his

behalf at international conferences. His publications include "The National

Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of

Congress... and the Sharing of Special-Media Materials among Libraries:

Sale, Loan, Exchange, and Gift," Journal of Resource Sharing and Information

Networks (1993); and "Library Service for Blind and Physically Handicapped

Spanish-Speaking Persons in the United States, Spain, and Mexico," Reforma

Newsletter (1990).

     Linda Redmond, head of NLS Reference Section, was invited by the

Russian State Library for the Blind to speak at a conference in Moscow in

October 1995 after that library's assistant director spent a four-month tour

of duty at NLS. Redmond's presentation at the conference was "Modern

Information Technologies in Libraries for Blind and Physically Handicapped

Individuals."

     Ruth Foss, then-head of the NLS Collection Development Section, met

with specialists in adaptive technology in India in December 1998. She

delivered a paper entitled "Access to Print Materials for Blind and

Physically Handicapped Individuals" and visited service providers in the

area.

--Rita Byrnes

(photo caption: In March 1999, a delegation of sixteen librarians from

Taiwan visited NLS as part of a tour of regional libraries. They braved a

heavy snowfall in the District of Columbia to meet with their NLS

counterparts. Photo by Jim Higgins.)

(photo caption: NLS overseas librarian Yealuri Rathan Raj)

(photo caption: The easy-to-read BLINDPOST label helps identify reading

materials in international shipments.)

(photo caption: Faith Macheng of the Botswana National Library Service)

(photo caption: NLS director Frank Kurt Cylke (right) presents a plaque

depicting a NASA artist's conception of the Deep Space 1 fly-by close to the

asteroid Braille on July 28 to Euclid Herie, president of the World Blind

Union (WBU). The international association's North America/ Caribbean Region

met at the Library of Congress September 30 and October 1. All delegates to

the meeting received a copy of the plaque. Photo by Jim Higgins.)





International Cooperation: Selected Frank Kurt Cylke bibliography



"Proposal for International Coordination of Library Service for Blind and

Physically Handicapped Individuals"

     Leads, June 1977



A Proposal for International Coordination of Library Service for Blind and

Physically Handicapped Individuals

     International Federation of Library Associations, Brussels, Belgium,

September 1977



Coordination of Library Services for Blind and Physically Handicapped

Individuals: Summary of a Meeting Under the Sponsorship of the International

Federation of Library Associations

     International Federation of Library Associations, Strbske Pleso,

Czechoslovakia, September 1978



Library Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped: An International

Approach

     Munich: K.G. Saur, 1979



"International Coordination of Library Services for Blind and Physically

Handicapped Individuals: An Overview of IFLA Activities"

     UNESCO Journal of Information Science Librarianship and Archives

Administration, Vol. 1, No. 4, 1979



International Directory of Libraries and Production Facilities for the Blind

(with Peter Hanke)

     Section of Libraries for the Blind, International Federation of

Library Associations and Institutions, National Library Service for the

Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.,

1984



"The Role of a National Library in Providing Library Service for Blind and

Physically Handicapped Individuals"

     Section of Libraries for the Blind, IFLA, Amsterdam, Netherlands,

August 1984



International Directory of Tactile Map Collections (with Judith M. Dixon)

     Section of Libraries for the Blind, International Federation of

Library Associations and Institutions; National Library Service for the

Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 1985





Development of NISO standard for digital talking book continues



The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) Digital Talking Book

Standards Committee met at the American Printing House for the Blind in

Louisville, Kentucky, on November 15 and 16, 1999, to discuss nearly twenty

topics related to the developing standard. The committee discussed how best

to implement navigation in a digital talking book (DTB) and agreed to seek

the assistance of experts in Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language

(SMIL), as the technical issues are quite complex. SMIL is a specification

of the World Wide Web Consortium that allows the text and audio files of a

DTB to be synchronized. A working group addressing style sheets (software

that allows a fixed text to be displayed differently in different media)

described their success in creating guidelines for a style sheet for

refreshable braille displays. Work also progressed on formats for bookmarks

and the overall file structure of a DTB.

     While significant work on several complex issues remains, the

committee felt confident that a draft standard could be ready for public

comment by September 1, 2000. The group discussed the tests that would need

to be completed successfully before comment could be sought on the standard

and set a schedule for preparing for them.

     At subsequent meetings at NLS on January 31 and February 1, nearly a

dozen international experts in SMIL and related technologies met with a

small group of NISO DTB members to consider how best to implement the

navigation requirements set by the standard. They concluded that the most

recent version of SMIL ("SMIL Boston") contained the necessary features and

demonstrated how it could be utilized successfully for this application.

Several of the experts attending agreed to assist the NISO committee in

drafting the detailed specifications required for the standard. The full

committee will meet next in Los Angeles in March.





Digital equipment installed for recording, duplicating



NLS moved one step closer to being able to produce digital talking books

with the recent installation of a new state-of-the-art digital recording

facility. A major step in the development of digital talking books, the new

studio follows installation of a digital duplication system at the

Multistate Center East in Cincinnati earlier this year.

     "These initiatives represent the Library's long-term commitment to

develop digital technology for blind and physically handicapped

individuals," said NLS director Frank Kurt Cylke. "The new digital recording

and duplication facilities will permit NLS to develop specifications for a

digital mastering and duplication system. The results of this prototype

effort--and a second system to obtain experience with alternative mastering

systems--will provide the technical specifications that will be used to

produce digital talking books and magazines." 

     Wells B. Kormann, chief of the NLS Materials Development Division, who

chairs the NLS Digital Audio Development committee, noted that, "while these

efforts are important in digital technology development, there remains much

work to be done in determining how and with what delivery mechanism digital

talking books will eventually become available to users. Having digital

recording and duplication standards in place within the next several years

will allow NLS to build a digital archive of talking books and magazines.

This resource will be important when we are able to offer patrons access to

digital recordings in the future."

     The experimental digital audio mastering equipment selected is called

Digidesign Pro Tools 24. "This system, which operates on a personal

computer, was custom-engineered and assembled and installed in the NLS

recording studio," said John Cookson, head of the NLS Engineering Section.

     "At present there is no standard digital audio mastering system that

meets talking-book performance requirements for producing digital original

master recordings," said Billy R. West, audio book production specialist.

     A contract for the equipment, installation, custom wiring, and

fabrication of the recording studio was recently awarded to Washington

Professional Systems. The goal is to complete mastering of the first

experimental digital talking book by spring 2000.





Records for British-produced materials added to NLS Union Catalog



More than 38,000 bibliographic records from the Royal National Institute for

the Blind (RNIB) of the United Kingdom have been incorporated into the NLS

Union Catalog of braille and audio materials for blind and physically

handicapped readers. These records represent book titles recorded on two-

and four-track format cassette tapes, as well as braille books and musical

scores. 

      The NLS/RNIB project is the culmination of several years effort and

represents an RNIB commitment to make available its holdings to users of the

NLS Union Catalog through interlibrary loan or sale. RNIB is the leading

agency working on behalf of blind and visually disabled individuals in the

United Kingdom, as well as being one of the world's foremost producers of

books in special formats. 

     Stephen King, director of Technical and Consumer Services at RNIB,

says "This cooperative effort with the Library of Congress means that our

titles, available for sale or interlibrary loan, will be accessible on-line

internationally through the Internet. Not only will citizens in the United

Kingdom benefit, along with those in the United States, but everyone

internationally. And this venture has been accomplished at minimal cost." 

     "The NLS Union Catalog of reading materials for blind and physically

handicapped individuals represents the most comprehensive bibliographic tool

of its kind in the world," says NLS director Frank Kurt Cylke.

"Accessibility to this catalog through the Internet has assured its use

worldwide and represents yet another achievement by the Library of Congress

in meeting its twin goals of international cataloging cooperation and making

its own collections more widely available."

     Book titles in Moon format, a tactile writing system based on the

standard English alphabet, will be added in the near future. Some RNIB

titles that are not available for sale or interlibrary loan will not be

incorporated. Robert Axtell, head of the NLS Bibliographic Control Section,

who oversaw the logistics of converting the 38,000 bibliographic records for

these materials says, "This contribution is a signal milestone on the path

towards universal bibliographic control of books in special formats." 

     The NLS Union Catalog is intended to serve both as a tool for resource

sharing through interlibrary loan and as a means to reduce duplication of

effort among producers of books in special formats.





Colorado regional holds panel on educational options



As Colorado students went back to school this past fall, the Colorado

Talking Book Library (CTBL) attempted to show the way to resources that

would make young consumers more successful students. On September 25, 1999,

the CTBL sponsored a mini-conference titled "Educational Options for

Students Who Use Talking Books." The panel of speakers represented agencies

that serve print-handicapped students at all levels of the educational

spectrum. 

     Nancy Bolt, Colorado State Librarian, greeted participants with

introductory remarks about her own experiences as the parent of a learning-disabled child. The keynote speaker was Assistant Commissioner for Education

Richard Elmer. Other agencies represented on the panel were Recording for

the Blind and Dyslexic, the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind, the

Learning Disabilities Center at Auraria Campus (Colorado Department of

Higher Education), the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind, the Colorado

Instructional Media Center, and the Talking Book Library.

     Overwhelmingly, the thirty-eight parents and teachers who attended the

conference represented the rapidly growing group of school-aged consumer who

are reading disabled. Following ten-minute presentations by each speaker on

the panel, the floor was opened to questions that reflected the deep well of

frustration that parents feel with educational service to their learning-disabled children. The morning-long discussion group was followed by

exhibits from several of the participating agencies, during which parents

and teachers could ask more targeted questions about their children's needs.

     Within days, the CTBL began receiving calls from parents around the

area asking when the workshop would be repeated. The participants' feelings

about the workshop were reflected best by a thank-you note sent in by a

parent: "Thank you for the workshop. We often feel so alone. It was nice to

know that others care."

(This article was provided by Lois Rubin Gross, senior consultant at the

Colorado Talking Book Library.)

(photo caption: Parents and teachers of learning-disabled children listen to

panel speakers during the Colorado Talking Book Library's workshop on

students and talking books.)





Oregon regional celebrates thirtieth anniversary



On October 15, 1999, the Oregon Talking Book and Braille Services officially

observed its thirtieth anniversary at the Oregon State Library.

Approximately one hundred patrons, staff, and invited guests joined in the

festivities, which included tours of the facility, a showing of a

descriptive video movie, and a special "Happy Birthday Talking Book and

Braille Services" cake.

     In 1969 the service officially became a part of the Oregon State

Library when it physically moved from quarters at the Multnomah County

Library in Portland to its own facility in Salem. It then had 6,000 square

feet of space to support 2,000 patrons. At that time, Talking Books was

still referred to as the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

     In 1985, Talking Book and Braille Services, with its new name

highlighting services instead of recipients, relocated to the State Library

building, making the partnership between the two entities complete. At the

same time, the library was automated, thereby providing faster services to

its patrons.

     Recently the entire work area for Talking Books was redesigned in a $5

million renovation of the State Library building. In addition to air

conditioning, a seismic upgrade, and efficient staff work areas, the

renovation includes an on-site repair facility for the Telephone Pioneers.

The area now has well over 10,000 square feet of space to support more than

7,000 patrons.

     At the anniversary celebration, State Librarian Jim Scheppke stated,

"Talking Book and Braille Services is a key service of the Oregon State

Library. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of some very talented staff

and volunteers over the past thirty years, we have one of the best regional

libraries for the blind and print-disabled right here at the State Library."

(This article was provided by Marion Dehut, administrative specialist at the

Oregon State Library.)





Wisconsin regional honored



The Wisconsin Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped was

chosen, as one of seven extraordinary community leaders, to receive a

Leadership Award from the Badger Association of the Blind. The library was

cited as "demonstrating...commitment, energy, and resources to fostering the

independence of more than 52,000 people who are blind or visually impaired

in Wisconsin." 

     The awards were presented on November 1, 1999, at the Badger

Association's eightieth anniversary luncheon at Milwaukee's Italian

Community Center. Julie Werner, a tandem cycling silver medallist in the

1998 Paralympic Games, herself blind, was keynote speaker. 

     Other recipients included Patrick Brockman, Dr. Herbert Griller,

Donald Natzke, the Milwaukee Foundation, Mount Mary College, and the

Telesensory Corporation.

     By all measures, the event was a big success. Over 250 community

members, government officials, and business leaders attended. They came

together to honor a distinguished group of recipients and to recognize the

important role the Badger Association for the Blind has played in

the lives of so many who are blind or visually impaired throughout its

eighty-year history.

(photo caption: Leadership Award winners Dr. Herbert Griller, Patrick

Brockman, Donald Natzke, Mount Mary College, Milwaukee Foundation, WRLBPH

(Marsha Valance), Telesensory Corporation (Steve Wehrle).)





Upcoming biennial conference



The twentieth biennial conference of librarians who provide services for

blind and physically handicapped patrons will take place at the Manhattan

Beach Marriott Hotel in Manhattan Beach, California, from April 30 to May 4,

2000. The theme, "To the Future," explores how innovations in information

technology are revolutionizing the way the network meets the needs of

readers.

     Highlights will include a keynote address by actor Dana Elcar and a

reading by poet Billie Dee, who will present a poem about NLS programs

written especially for the occasion.

     In addition, the network's four regional conferences will meet in

separate sessions during the four-day event, and each region will present a

program of current interest to the entire group.





Open house draws crowd to Braille Institute Library Services



Los Angeles Mayor Richard J. Riordan read the official proclamation and the

biggest, best-attended Braille Institute Library Open House was on. Nearly

800 guests from throughout Southern California gathered October 23 for a

program that included tours of not only the library but also of the

Institute's educational programs and braille press, plus displays by twenty

exhibitors of products and services for those with visual handicaps. A

special center of interest was the imaginative Tactile Time tunnel.

     Henry C. Chang, library director, greeted the visitors and introduced

two famous special guests who delighted the audience: comedian Don Knotts, a

library patron, and actor Joseph Campanella.

     Institute president Leslie E. Stocker expanded on the theme

"Remembering the Past and Moving toward the Future" as he discussed the

roles of Institute and Library in the new millennium. The number 2000 also

was central to the recognition of two library patrons and a volunteer.

Stocker and Barry N. Kaye, vice president of operations, presented awards to

 Heather Bandy, who read 2,000 pages during the 1999 summer reading

program;

 Michael Bowman-Jones, an active library patron, who has been registered

for 2,000 days; and

 Nick Barsulgi, a talking-book repair volunteer, who has contributed 2,000

hours in the past three years.

     Mayor Riordan presented the official City of Los Angeles Certificate

of Commendation to the Library for "outstanding service in providing books,

magazines, and other braille and recorded materials for loan to blind,

visually impaired, physically handicapped, and reading disabled library

patrons."

(This article was provided by Bill Thorson and Sara Vosburg of the Braille

Institute of America.)

(photo caption: From left to right: Dr. Chang, V.P. Barry Kaye, actor Joseph

Campanella, Mayor Riordan, comedian Don Knotts, president Leslie E. Stocker)





New home for Alexandria, Virginia, subregional 



The Talking Book Service has settled into the Alexandria Public Library's

new building at 5005 Duke Street at the western end of the Washington, D.C.,

suburb, a location near a major shopping center and easily accessible from

Interstate 395.

     The library was dedicated on January 9, 2000, and two days earlier a

time capsule, to be opened in 100 years, was buried just outside of the

children's area in the reading garden.

     The building was designed by Michael Graves, the renowned architect

responsible for the impressive scaffolding that surrounded the Washington

Monument while it was under repair. Evidence of his reputation as a

postmodern architect is evident as you approach the library building. Its

five steeply peaked roofs and impressive columned entrance topped with a

conical roof make a statement of action and versatility.

     The many windows allow light to enter from all sides, and the feeling

of open space is evident throughout. The Talking Book Service is especially

pleased with this aspect of its new quarters because the previous space had

no windows. The location is easily accessible from the elevator. 

     Computers throughout the library will offer such programs as Opti-voice and Window-eyes, and the Talking Book Department will have both a

TeleSensory Reading Machine and a Kurzweil Personal Reader (optical scanners

that turn print into speech). All of these technical aids help open the

print collection to visually impaired readers. Another service offered to

the community is braille translation for theater programs, brochures, T.V.

schedules, and the like. 

     Surrounding the library is extensive landscaping with benches, a

reading garden, and many fragrant plantings to bloom in season.

     Architect's drawings and photos of construction stages are available

on the library's web site, www.alexandria.lib.va.us.

(Information for this article was supplied by Loni McCaffrey, subregional

librarian.)

(photo caption: Architect's drawings illustrate the dramatic design of the

Alexandria Public Library's new building. Drawing by Alexandria Public

Library, Pierce Goodwin Alexander & Linville, and Michael Graves.)





International briefs



Great Britain. The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), the

leading charity for blind and partially sighted people in the United

Kingdom, and the National Library for the Blind (NLB), Europe's largest

lending library for people who cannot read print, have proposed a

partnership that would greatly improve access to reading services. 

     Currently, blind and partially sighted patrons must "shop around" for

reading materials in alternative formats, but with the partnership, they

will have access to all alternative-format materials from a single source. 

     In addition to providing a greater selection of materials in a more

user-friendly system, the partnership will help the NLB and RNIB reduce

costs. The two organizations will avoid duplicating resources and will be

able to share the cost of investing in new library systems. The impetus for

the proposal came from a ś200,000 grant to the Library and Information

Commission "to ensure that blind and visually impaired people benefit in a

much wider way from access to library and reading services." A pilot phase

of the partnership will begin in April.



Ireland. One-fourth of the December 1999 edition of Irish Library News was

devoted to services provided for blind and partially sighted individuals by

the National Council for the Blind of Ireland. Besides stressing the

advantages of 4-track tapes over commercial recordings, it contains the

following information about services: 

     The institution has more than 3,000 titles in its collection, with an

increase of 200 to 300 titles per year. Magazines and newspapers are also

available in audio format. Patrons receive and return at no charge special

four-track playback equipment, as well as their audiotapes, via postage-free

mail. About 800 people currently use the service, and up to 200 new readers

are expected to join each year.

     The institution has also been building its collection of educational

textbooks with help from a team of volunteer readers, all of whom are

secondary school teachers. For additional resources, an interlibrary loan

service is available with RNIB and NLS. 



Germany. On March 20-23, the German Federation of Library Associations and

the German Association of Information Science and Information Practice will

hold a Joint Congress in the context of the Leipzig Bookfair, which runs

from March 23-26. This Congress, entitled "Information and Public

Accessibility," marks the first time that information and library

professional organizations of the unified Germany have met all together, and

approximately 3,000 participants are expected.

     Activities will include more than 200 professional meetings,

performances, and discussions involving more than 150 international speakers

and papers. The Congress's exhibitions will contain library and information

equipment plus related hardware and software for electronic

media. For more information, visit www.htwk-leipzig.de/kongress2000.





Cuban librarian visits Wisconsin regional



Foreign visitors are welcomed at network libraries as well as at NLS

headquarters. On October 27, 1998, the Wisconsin Regional Library for the

Blind and Physically Handicapped (MRLBPH) hosted a visit by Jos‚ Diaz Roque,

vice president of UNEAC-Cienfuegos and information librarian at the

Bibliteca Provincial "Roberto Garcia Valdes," Cienfuegos, Cuba. Dr. Diaz

Roque, who is also a published poet, is responsible for braille circulation

in that province of Cuba.

     During his visit, Dr. Diaz Roque received guided tours of the regional

library, Volunteer Services for the Visually Handicapped, Inc. (the

library's volunteer braillists and tapists), and the Milwaukee Public

Library (MPL). He was welcomed to MPL by City Librarian Kate Houston and

Assistant City Librarian Sandra Lockett, who also attended his presentation

to the MRLBPH staff on service to blind individuals in Cuba. The

presentation was also attended by the staff of MPL's Mobile Library service;

Paula Torgeson, special needs consultant for the Mid-Wisconsin Federated

Library System in Fond du Lac; and Vibeke Lehmann, coordinator of

Institution Libraries for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. 

     Dr. Diaz Roque's visit to Wisconsin was sponsored by IFLA, the

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. While in

the state, he attended the annual meeting of the Wisconsin Library

Association, spoke to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's (UW-M) Center

for Latin American Studies, and pursued studies at the UW-M Library School.

     As Dr. Diaz Roque understands English quite well but is not a fluent

speaker, his presentation at WRLBPH was translated by two staff members,

Wanda Morales and Rafael Ruiz. 

(This article was furnished by Marsha Valance, Wisconsin regional

librarian.)

(photo caption: Patricia Lidicker (center), computer braillist, demonstrates

a Thiel braille printer for Marsha Valance and Jos‚ Diaz Roque.)





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, Robert Fistick, and Michael Moodie