Update
April-June 1998, Vol. 21, No. 2
ISSN 0160-9203

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

Elfuns open Indiana repair shop

The General Electric (GE) Company Elfun Society of Fort Wayne,
Indiana, recently initiated a volunteer service to repair
playback equipment for the NLS talking-book program. The Elfuns
staff the Fort Wayne workshop, located at the GE plant, three
days a week. Their targeted output is approximately one unit per
person per week for about one thousand units per year.
     The Elfun Society is a national organization composed of
active and retired GE employees. The Fort Wayne workshop is the
eighth Elfun workshop to join the national volunteer talking-book
machine repair network.

Getting started
The project began to take shape last August when Elfun Dan
Lovinger recruited Frank Avila, Dick Beard, Don Bussick, and Dick
Kirk to form a start-up team. They visited the Cincinnati, Ohio,
chapter's repair facility to learn how the work is done. In the
weeks that followed, they set up their facility, obtained
funding, recruited other Elfun volunteers, and arranged for
training. GE supplied surplus equipment, furniture, racks, sinks,
plumbing, and lights.
     In September staff from the Indiana regional library's
machine lending agency (MLA) held the first orientation and
training session with the Elfun chapter. Linda Scribner and
Barbara Vlasic of the League for the Blind and Disabled of Fort
Wayne expressed appreciation on behalf of the patrons of Indiana.
Ms. Scribner spoke about the benefits the volunteer program will
provide. MLA staff member Ron Rose read a letter from William
Wilke, a longtime talking-book patron, expressing his gratitude
for the program and the dedication of the repair technicians.

Bright future
MLA electronic technician Paul Sholders, who will work closely
with the group, expressed confidence in the capabilities of the
new shop by noting, "The Titanic was built by experts, and Noah's
ark was built by volunteers." Lissa Shanahan, regional librarian,
agreed: "The new Elfun workshop ensures that we will not have a
waiting list for equipment in Indiana." 
     In addition to the start-up team, the following Elfuns have
joined the project: Dick Baumbauer, Tom Beadie, Ralph Church, Ken
Collins, Tom Dickson, Bill Elsea, Dan Ewing, Bob Franz, Lou
Klump, Len Knecht, Gene Martin, Al Proper, Walt Riedinger, Ray
Rogers, Glen Rout, Jim Webber, Tom West, and Harold Wilkerson.
(photo caption: Elfuns in Fort Wayne, Indiana, get the job done.)


Kruppe named lifetime achiever in Arizona

On March 8, Arizona's Braille and Talking Book Library (BTBL)
held its annual Volunteer Recognition Event at Harvey's Lakeside
Caf‚ in Tempe. Staff presented each of the 265 people in
attendance with a southwestern name tag and each volunteer with a
chocolate "plaque," bearing the words "thank you" in both script
and braille.
     This year there were eighteen new names on the display
plaques recognizing all of those volunteers who have given one
thousand, five thousand, or ten thousand hours of service in such
diversified areas as book recording, collection review, and
machine and book repair and inspection. The BTBL tasks amounted
to thirty-eight thousand hours of service logged in by 453
volunteers during 1997.
     The BTBL honored Chuck Kruppe with a Life Achievement Award.
"Chuck Kruppe," said Kami Krenz, special services librarian, "is
one volunteer who has given both years and time in abundance. For
twenty-five years, he has given selfless service not only to BTBL
but to many facets of the disabled community in the Valley of the
Sun." Mr. Kruppe is currently head of the Telephone Pioneer
machine repair group in Phoenix. Through the years, he has spent
more than thirteen thousand hours repairing machines, reviewing
collections, devising tools to make repair jobs easier, and many
other special projects. In 1988, he was nominated for the Hon
Kachin Award and was noted as one of the "Twelve Who Care," the
Valley of the Sun's most prestigious annual award for community
service. 
     Mr. Kruppe has also been awarded the Conquistador and
Timothy Awards from the Telephone Pioneers of America, and in
1995 BTBL placed his name on its ten-thousand-hour plaque. He is
one of only two people to achieve this accomplishment in the
library's history.  Along with a letter of congratulations from
the governor for his life of service, Mr. Kruppe received a
special plaque set with keys from a talking-book machine; it
reads, "You hold the keys to our hearts: A lifetime of volunteer
service." Mrs. Krenz noted, "Chuck Kruppe has truly won the keys
to the hearts of Arizonans working with disabled people. He is
not only one of `Twelve Who Care' but one in a million."
     Jeanie Pawlowski, volunteer coordinator, facilitated the
recognition of each volunteer group. One team a group of
visitors who winter at Aztec RV Park in Mesa has been assisting
the library since the 1970s. Member Dell Sumin was recognized for
logging in one thousand hours of service, and the group as a
whole for contributing more than twenty thousand hours through
the years. 
     Mrs. Krenz then recognized the new one-thousand- and
five-thousand-hour volunteers, and Mary Johnson, deputy director
of Arizona Department of Library, Archives, and Public Records,
presented each with a letter of congratulations from Governor
Jane Dee Hull. Gordon Sabine, one of the founders of the Friends
of the Talking Book Library, was recognized for five thousand
hours of service, including his work with the Friends, weeding
and reviewing cassette tapes, and service as a former studio
narrator.
     Patron Varina Martindale described her experiences with
BTBL, both as a library user since the age of ten and as a
volunteer in collection review and book inspection. She has made
extensive use of the library throughout her years in school,
college, work, and volunteering in the community. She says
volunteering has given her a chance to give back to others. She
is a frequent contributor to the library's "book talk" listserv
and, through this medium, helps other patrons discover good books
to read.
     Linda Montgomery, director of BTBL, concluded the affair by
thanking volunteers again for all their efforts, assuring them of
how proud the state of Arizona and the library are of their
service.
(photo caption: Chuck Kruppe receives a Lifetime Achievement
Award from Mary Johnson, deputy director of the Arizona
Department of Library, Archives, and Public Records. Linda
Montgomery, regional librarian, reads the citation.)


Patron promotes talking books 

Wallace H. Knowlton Jr., a patron of the South Carolina regional
library, doesn't believe in keeping a good thing to himself. In
fact, he's on a mission to educate the public about the
talking-book program so that everyone who's eligible can receive
service.
     "I've been with the program for thirty-one years. Over that
number of years, I've found numerous people who have never gotten
into the program, people who are eligible but have never been
enrolled," says the retired teacher. 
     Mr. Knowlton is a resident of the Seabrook, a retirement
center in Hilton Head. He moved to South Carolina from St. Croix,
Virgin Islands, where he had been a preparatory school
instructor. Mr. Knowlton taught for twenty-five years in Newton,
Massachusetts, before moving to St. Croix.
     It was in St. Croix that Mr. Knowlton started sharing
information about the talking-book program. He continued talking
about it when he moved to the Seabrook in 1993. "I introduced
several people at the home to the program," he says, and soon
people began to call him. 
     When he first approached Guynell Williams, director of the
state's Department for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, with
the idea of his conducting a promotion campaign, he says she was
very supportive and supplied him with materials such as
applications and brochures. Mr. Knowlton says he then began
contacting local organizations, using a list he received from the
Chamber of Commerce. He set up meetings with groups like the
American Association of Retired Persons, Lions Club, and local
churches. Some of his contacts would supply him with the names of
their members who could use the service, and he would help
eligible persons to enroll in the program. 
     "It is so satisfying," says Mr. Knowlton, who at the height
of his campaign was spending eight hours per day at the task. "I
spent a good many hours organizing the campaign, making contacts,
and following up."
     Ms. Williams is amazed at the level of his commitment: "He
is really concerned that many people don't know about the
program, and he is thrilled about this whole thing."
(photo caption: Wallace H. Knowlton Jr. strives to share the good
news about talking books.)


Worcester subregional celebrates braille literacy

January 4 marked the 189th anniversary of the birth of Louis
Braille. To mark the occasion and to publicize the importance of
and need for braille instruction, the Talking Book Library (TBL),
with a proclamation from Mayor Raymond Mariano, celebrated its
second annual Braille Literacy Awareness Day on January 24 at the
Worcester (Massachusetts) Public Library from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
     TBL Consumer Advisory Council members Sharon Latka Davis,
George McDermott, Elizabeth Soderholm, and Sharon Strazlkowski
staffed the braille-awareness exhibit set up in the lobby, where
they answered questions about braille and talked about its
importance in the daily activities of people who are blind,
deaf-blind, or visually impaired.
     There were also demonstrations of various kinds of braille
equipment, such as a Perkins Brailler, a Braille 'n' Speak
device, and a slate and stylus. Conventional assistive items such
as braille watches and timers, braille playing cards, braille
Scrabble (tm), and braille clothing-color identification tags
were also displayed, along with TBL's adapted computer, which
produces braille documents.


Audio advisors review digital technology, recruitment, and
consumer concerns 

A review of major 1998 NLS digital talking-book projects, led by
John Cookson, head of the NLS Engineering Section, highlighted
the National Audio Equipment Advisory Committee meeting at NLS on
March 18 20. The fourteen-member group representing consumers,
librarians, and volunteer repair personnel made a total of
thirty-eight recommendations for all aspects of machines,
including consumer concerns that any future digital talking-book
machine be small, light, sturdy, and easy to use. 
     The committee's librarians also urged NLS to develop and
implement a plan to find alternative sources for machine repair
and to report on plans at the National Conference of Librarians
Serving Blind and Physically Handicapped Individuals in
Burlington, Vermont.
     Brad Kormann, chief of the NLS Materials Development
Division, explained that NLS planned to address this concern at a
breakfast session on May 4 at the national conference. "NLS will
solicit further ideas on how it can work with the Telephone
Pioneers, Elfuns, Lions Club, and others to increase recruitment
of repair volunteers," Mr. Kormann said.

Projects outlined
Mr. Cookson updated committee members on the progress of the NLS
initiative to develop a digital talking-book standard under the
auspices of a National Information Standards Organization (NISO)
initiative. He briefed the committee on current activity and on
the timing and steps needed to implement digital technology into
the NLS program.
     Bob Fistick, head of the NLS Publications and Media Section,
announced that NLS will be issuing a major paper, "Digital
Talking Books: Planning for the Future," to be released in July
1998. The paper outlines the NLS digital planning effort and
provides a complete overview of how the digital talking-book
project will evolve. "It is anticipated that this paper will
answer many of the questions about the NLS efforts to date and
into the future," Mr. Fistick said.
     Mr. Cookson also discussed two significant NLS studies
involving current talking-book-machine technology. One study
found that while inexpensive over-the-counter commercial cassette
players are attractive for use in the program, "to date, NLS has
not found any commercial products that provide the reliability
and cost-effectiveness of our NLS program cassette players." 

Committee recommendations
Committee members presented a large number of recommendations for
consideration by NLS staff. "These all have to be evaluated for
feasibility of implementation," says Cookson. "But they are all
important in showing the direction of the committee's thinking."
     Consumer representatives felt that the new digital
talking-book machine should be small, light, sturdy, and easy to
use. The group recommended that the study of digital talking-book
technology be completed and that a prototype player be produced
in the next two to three years. They also requested that the
committee receive, prior to its meetings, the names and access
information for other committee members, the NISO committee, the
National Advisory Group on Collection Building Activities, and
pertinent NLS staff.
     Volunteer repair representatives recommended that NLS
increase funding for replacement parts for cassette-book
machines; that NLS fund and continue the "Train the Trainer"
program as well as the volunteer recognition and recruitment
efforts; and that NLS investigate technical concerns including
development and field testing of NLS and commercial
battery-charging systems, the amplifier-board recovery and repair
effort, elimination of frozen head-adjustment screws, and
problems with electrolytic capacitors in the C-1 frequency
compensation circuit. They also recommended NLS "review, revise,
and publish the traditional `rules of thumb' for repair
procedures and guidelines for head replacement, rubber
replacement, limits on maximum repair time, preinspection of
machines, and the like." Finally, they asked NLS to reword the
volunteer repair standard torque requirement.
     Librarian representatives made eighteen recommendations and
encouraged NLS's efforts in studying digital talking-book
technology and developing standards. They urged that NLS hold a
preconference with machine-lending agencies at the year 2000
national conference. In addition, librarian committee members
said NLS should make repair of the "easy" (E-1) cassette machine
a high priority and take action to resolve the parts shortage
problems in the field. 
     They suggested that NLS supply repair centers with
lubrication charts and specifications used by manufacturers; that
NLS look into covering the slide area with cloth or other
material to alleviate the problem of dust and other contamination
in the controls; and that the C-1 cassette player service manual
be updated to include changes in the machine, new amplifier
board, different parts, and the lubrication chart.


Braille Institute hosts activity directors

Living with Limited Vision was the theme of the workshop
sponsored by Braille Institute Library, February 5, which drew
150 activity directors from the southern California area. The
directors were greeted by Braille Institute president Leslie E.
Stocker and library director Henry C. Chang.
     More than one hundred health care and residential facilities
were represented at the daylong session that included a
discussion of multiple loss by Counselor Susan Benjaminsen and a
panel presentation, led by Information Resources librarian Julie
Uyeno, on "Reading in a Group Setting" and "Book Selection."
     Innovative trends in caring for and helping visually
impaired people were discussed by Fortune Zuckerman, associate
director of Independence Programs. Fekade Tadesse, Machine
Lending Agency head, provided information about playback
equipment. At the conclusion of the workshop, Barry N. Kaye, vice
president of operations, presented each participant with a
certificate of attendance.


National Audio Equipment Advisory Committee Members

Consumer representatives: Alice Jackson, American Council of the
Blind; Corrinne Blank, Blinded Veterans Association; Bonnie
Peterson, National Federation of the Blind; John Farina, Northern
Region; Fred Mansfield, Western Region
Network library representatives: Robert Watson, Midlands Region;
Richard Riddell, Northern Region; Rebecca Sherrill, Southern
Region; David Whittall, Western Region
Telephone Pioneer representatives: Jerry Adamson, Midlands
Region; Carl Gingrich, Northern Region; J. Walter Alfred,
Southern Region; Richard Iversen, Western Region
Elfun representative: Robert A. Smith


Volunteers serenade volunteers in Florida

The Florida Bureau of Braille and Talking Book Library Services
honored their volunteers with buffets of snacks, fruit, pastries,
and other sweets on each of the first four days of Volunteer
Week. Volunteers were also serenaded each day by a different
barbershop quartet, the Intra-Coastal Connection, the Sandpipers,
the Gadabouts, and the High Tides.
     On Friday, the fifth day, more than two hundred volunteers
were honored with a luncheon at the Daytona Beach Hilton. Guest
speaker was Mr. Randy Touchton, director, Division of Blind
Services, Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security.
Music was provided by the Daytona Beach Community Dixieland Jazz
Band, led by John Dodd.
     After the concert, outstanding volunteers were recognized
for their service to the Bureau. Robert Ross and Albert Saker,
machine repair volunteers who have driven over seventy miles to
the Bureau for seventeen years, were named Volunteers of the
Year.
     Members of the barbershop quartets are part of a nonprofit
organization, the Surfside Chorus, and call themselves the Barber
Shop Singers. Each man in the Barber Shop Singers is also a
member of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of
Barbershop Quartet Singing in America. The Daytona Beach
Community Dixieland Jazz Band is part of the Daytona Beach
Community Band and is a completely volunteer organization that
performs to benefit the community.
(photo caption: Sumptuous treats were provided daily for
volunteers. Photo by Dorothy Minor.)


Braille student-instructor dialog

The Braille Development Section receives numerous questions
concerning a variety of problems in braille transcribing. This
article addresses some of them. The question-and-answer format is
intended to give clarity.

Student: In the sentence, "He dropped by to disconnect the
phone," should both the contraction for by and the contraction
for to be used?
Instructor: Yes. Both the contraction for by and the contraction
for to should be used, and they should both be joined to the word
disconnect. (See Section 41A of the official code, English
Braille, American Edition, 1994.)
Student: I assume that the dis contraction should also be used in
disconnect. Correct?
Instructor: Absolutely. (See Section 43 of the official code.)
Student: I am aware that the and contraction is used in the word
granddad. However, in the book that I am transcribing, granddad
is spelled grandad (without the double d). Should the and
contraction be used in this instance?
Instructor: Yes. The author of your book has probably chosen to
use an alternative spelling of the word granddad. However, the
use of the and contraction does not violate Section 37 of the
official code. 
Student: When a credit line or attribution is printed on the same
line as the end of the credited material, should the format be
followed in braille?
Instructor: Absolutely. Also remember that a dash should not be
inserted before a credit line or attribution unless one appears
in print. (See Section 16.4 of the Instruction Manual for Braille
Transcribing, 1984.)
Student: Should a credit line or attribution be preceded and
followed by a blank line?
Instructor: Credit lines or attributions should not be preceded
by a blank line. However, a blank line should be left between the
credit line and the text that follows.
Student: When a credit line accompanies a title or other centered
heading in the print text, how is this handled in braille?
Instructor: Good question. When a credit line is shown
accompanying a title or other centered heading in the print text,
it should be placed on the line immediately below the title or
heading, starting in cell 7 with runovers also starting in cell
7. All other credit lines and their runovers should be blocked,
starting four cells to the right of the beginning of the
preceding braille line. For example, they should start in cell 5
when the text on the preceding line begins at the margin, in cell
7 when the preceding text begins in cell 3, and so on.


Volunteers master new skills

During the months of January, February, and March 1998,
certificates in braille transcribing were awarded to thirty-five
persons. Thirty-three of those were awarded in literary braille
transcribing, one in literary braille proofreading, and one in
mathematics braille transcribing.

LITERARY BRAILLE TRANSCRIBERS

Alabama
Michelle Williams, Talladega

Arkansas
Michael Britt Hodges, Wrightsville
Danny H. Reid, Wrightsville

California
Ellen E. Frith, Walnut Creek
Kevin Darnell Hollins, Los Angeles
Lisa Waters, Concord

Connecticut
Ruperto Vicente, Cheshire

Florida
Lynn G. Brushwood, Orlando
Judy deButts, Jacksonville
Catherine Sandra Etterlee, Orlando
Nancy J. Parker, Fort Myers

Hawaii
Cynthia T. Soneda, Honolulu

Illinois
Babette M. Richman, Evanston

Iowa
Martha Driscoll, Dubuque
Cathy Pargo, Mitchellville

Kansas
Carol C. Clark, Kansas City

Minnesota
Jean L. Comstock, St. Paul

Nebraska
Brian Fritzke, Lincoln
Burdine C. Haas, Eagle

Nevada
Ron Shipley, Las Vegas
Peter Zuruzolo, Las Vegas

New York
Randy S. Eskenazi, Napanoch

Ohio
Nancy Kolpien, Westlake
Donald Morrow, Grafton
P. Christopher Namestnik, Grafton
Pedro A. Rios, Grafton

South Dakota
Steven Eutzy, Yankton
Christopher Rose, Yankton

Tennessee
Kenneth Lloyd Hill, Nashville
Cord Wilkerson, Nashville

Texas
Michael G. Anderson, San Antonio
Lisa Kamps, San Antonio
Shirley Diane Spence, Houston

LITERARY BRAILLE PROOFREADER
Rhanda Hasley, Dallas, Texas

MATHEMATICS BRAILLE TRANSCRIBER
Kathryn D. Seifer, Portland, Oregon


Meetings

National Braille Association (NBA)
Fall Regional Meeting and Workshops, Holiday Inn City Line,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Friday, October 30-Saturday, October
31, 1998
     Twenty-fifth National Conference, Antlers Doubletree Hotel,
Colorado Springs, Colorado; Thursday, April 29-Saturday, May 1,
1999
     For more information about these meetings, contact National
Braille Association, Three Townline Circle, Rochester, NY
14623-2513; (716) 427-8260.

California Transcribers and Educators of the Visually Handicapped
(CTEVH)
CTEVH XL Annual Conference, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Sacramento,
California; Thursday, March 25-Saturday, March 27, 1999
     For more information about this meeting, contact CTEVH, 741
North Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90029-3594; (213) 666-2211;
Web site: http://edtech.sdcs.k12.ca.us/epd/ctevhhome.html


Governor honors New Hampshire Pioneers

December 1, 1997, was a dark and stormy night, treacherous under
foot and under wheel, but the Equipment Repair Group of the New
Hampshire Council of the Bell Atlantic Telephone Pioneers of
America was to be honored as the statewide Volunteer Group of the
Year at the New Hampshire Governor's Volunteer Recognition Awards
and Reception. 
     The Pioneers had been nominated by the State Library's
Talking Book Service in recognition of their years of work
maintaining the "talking-book machines" from the days of the
tube-powered record players through the transistor, and
battery-powered cassette players of today. During 1997 alone,
their repair service was worth more than $51,000 to the library.
     Because of the inclement weather, Leonard E. Nystedt of
Concord was the only one from the Pioneer Equipment Repair Group
present for the occasion at the Capitol Art Center. The other
members of the Pioneer repair group to be recognized were William
Beers, Arthur Briggs, Orrin Chase, Bernard Colgan, Gerald Faneuf,
Richard Jones, Donald Lower, Richard Sibley, Robert Stevens, and
John Ton. James Dimick and Mary Lefebvre, officers representing
the Tristate and New Hampshire Telephone Pioneers of America,
respectively, were also present. 
     During the evening Governor Jeanne Shaheen presented the
awards to all the recipients in the various categories and
expressed her appreciation for their volunteer service and
enthusiasm. 
     The history of Pioneer repair service for talking-book
equipment in New Hampshire predates the opening of the New
Hampshire regional library by many years. Before the New
Hampshire talking-book library opened, blind and physically
handicapped residents received their books from the Massachusetts
regional library, while playback equipment was managed by the New
Hampshire Bureau of Blind Services. Although the New Hampshire
regional library opened in early 1970, it was nearly a decade
later that the library was able to take on machine-lending
functions. In 1990 the library made work and storage space
available to the Pioneers living in the Concord area. Pioneers
living in other parts of the state still repair machines in their
homes.
(photo caption: Leonard E. Nystedt, chair of the Concord Talking
Book Equipment Repair Group, Telephone Pioneers of America.)


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

Coordinating editor: Freddie Peaco
Publication editor: Jane Caulton
Braille student-instructor dialog: John Wilkinson
Audio art: Ray Hagen