Talking Books Library

NLS Suspending Inactive BARD Accounts

By Alicia Waters | July 3, 2023

Reminder: RHODE ISLAND MEMBERS

You must download at least 1 book during a 6 month period or NLS will automatically suspend your account after 6 months of inactivity.

If you find that you cannot login to your BARD account and you are a RHODE ISLAND MEMBER, please call the talking books staff at (401)574-9310 or email talking.books@olis.ri.gov so that we may reactivate the account or find out if there are other issues with your account.

Topics: Digital Update, News & Info | No Comments »

The Many Faces of BARD July 13

By Alicia Waters | June 28, 2023

The Patron Engagement Section offers The Many Faces of BARD online event the second Thursday of every month, at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. Each monthly event covers one aspect of BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download service) and is open to all.

The topic for the July 13, 2023, Many Faces of BARD program will a review of BARD using the Victor Stream. Login information for this event will be provided soon.

Previous Many Faces of BARD recordings.

Topics: Accessibility, Digital Update, Programs | No Comments »

NLS Patron Corner Programming July 26

By Alicia Waters | June 28, 2023

On Wednesday, July 26, at 7:00 p.m. EDT, the National Library Service for the Blind and Disabled (NLS) Patron Engagement Section will host the quarterly Patron Corner. This will be a special program to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and will feature a panel of speakers who will discuss their experiences before and after the passage of the ADA. Speakers include Annette Bay Pimentel, author of All the Way to the Top, and Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins, the subject of that book, who as an eight-year old with cerebral palsy crawled up the steps of the US Capitol to draw attention to the ADA. Other panelists include Scott Marshall, a retired designated Federal Officer of the FCC Advisory Committee, and Mark Richert, International Coordinator for Overbrook School tor the Blind in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The session will run for 90 minutes and promises to be a lively discussion!

Please join us at  https://loc.zoomgov.com/skype/1613486005 [loc.zoomgov.com].

Information for participants:

When you join this Zoom event, you will be in the waiting room until the program starts. When you enter the room, your phone or computer will be muted. Please stay on mute unless you are called on. If you want to ask a question, you may raise your hand by pressing Alt Y on your computer or Star 9 on your phone. Once you are called on, press Alt A on your computer or Star 6 on your phone to unmute yourself.

This meeting will be recorded. If you do not wish to be recorded, we ask that you avoid speaking during the call. Also, please note that since we are using Zoom.gov [zoom.gov] for these sessions, if you choose to dial in, you must use the Zoom.gov [zoom.gov] phone numbers provided. The regular Zoom phone numbers will not allow access to the Zoom.gov [zoom.gov] IDs.

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NLS Summer Reading Program 2023

By Alicia Waters | June 20, 2023

The very first NLS Summer Reading Program begins on Monday, June 26, with a kickoff event featuring the Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, who will welcome all participants and read a picture book for our young readers. The kickoff will be followed by weekly author talks and story times and music, starting on Thursday, June 29, with Shelby Van Pelt, author of the New York Times bestselling novel Remarkably Bright Creatures

Library patrons must register to attend each of these free summer reading events, which will be held virtually on Zoom.

Please note that most of these events will not be recorded or posted online and will not have an opportunity to view these events at a later date if they do not attend.

Here is the schedule:

https://loc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_DI61uTmpSDenX0PhZoxtPw [loc.zoomgov.com]

https://loc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_xfOncQcKTRWgOOSGPijSuA [loc.zoomgov.com]

https://loc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_zfjvqgRgTKWpU7ohLMYXOw [loc.zoomgov.com]

https://loc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_ApnS_cBnQrS6rJv7REXQSw [loc.zoomgov.com]

https://loc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_Uy-EeQyWQOOsBYcEi2aasQ [loc.zoomgov.com]

https://loc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_05YA1gXhQBWdi7f2sarZqQ [loc.zoomgov.com]

https://loc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_No7xzhyJQWGIdqeUbivLSw [loc.zoomgov.com]

. You can download a list of books in the NLS collection by our invited guests by clicking the following link: Books by NLS Summer Reading 2023 Authors [loc.gov].

Topics: Books to Read, News & Info, Programs | No Comments »

NLS Releases 2.0 BARD Mobile Android App

By Alicia Waters | June 20, 2023

NLS is releasing version 2.0 of the BARD Mobile Android app. This is a major release and includes in-app search capability as well as several other feature updates, increased app stability, and bug fixes. This is the first in a series of planned releases to allow robust in-app searching and to eliminate the need to exit the app to search on BARD website.

With this update, BARD Mobile no longer includes the embedded view of the BARD website. Instead, it gives patrons the ability to search within the app by keyword, author, title, or annotation and, from the search results listings, download the book directly to their Android devices. Other enhancements to search include:

The Android 2.0 release does not currently include non-English language collections, including music holdings, in the in-app search. Patrons can still find and access non-English books but must search for those books on the BARD website and save them to their Wish List to download to the app. Patrons can also sideload these books as they could before.

Users should be able to update supported Android devices by Friday, June 23. BARD Mobile users can confirm that they are running the latest version by checking the bottom of the app’s Settings screen.

Topics: Accessibility, Digital Update | No Comments »

SYNC Free Audiobooks for Teens

By Alicia Waters | June 8, 2023

AudiobookSYNC is a summer program of FREE audiobook for teens 13+.
Two audiobooks are available each week through the Sora reading app. April 27 – August 2, 2023

https://audiofilemagazine.com/sync/?utm_source=sync&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20230608-syncwk7&utm_content=heroimg

Week 7: June 8 – 14 Get your FREE audiobooks by June 14 (12 midnight)

SYNC is awash in a hurricane and high tides

Surviving disaster goes well beyond the immediacy of sheltering from the storm—sheltering from Hurricane Katrina in the overcrowded Superdome, sheltering after a shipwreck on a deserted island threatened by a sea monster. Single narrators create voices for a variety of the characters and keep the tension high.

Watch the video of narrator Jacob Norman talking about FRACTURED TIDE, one of this week’s free SYNC titles.

Topics: Books to Read, News & Info, Resources | No Comments »

Save the Date! Blind Health Expo 2023

By Alicia Waters | June 7, 2023

Friday, December 1 to Saturday, December 2

Save the date for Accessible Pharmacy’s 2nd Annual Blind Health Expo! The Blind Health Expo is a completely virtual event and will be held on Friday, December 1 to Saturday, December 2. The Blind Health Expo is the world’s largest virtual expo of healthcare information, products, services, and medication for individuals in the blind, low vision, and disability communities.

Click Here to Learn More About the 2023 Expo [r20.rs6.net]

What to Expect:

Click Here to Register as an Attendee for FREE!


What to Expect: FREE to attend

Click Here to Learn More About the 2023 Expo [r20.rs6.net]

Topics: News & Info, Programs, Resources | No Comments »

New Rhode Island Collection Book

By Alicia Waters | April 18, 2023

Hidden History of Rhode Island: Not-to-be-Forgotten Tales of the Ocean State by Glenn Laxton. DBC 27011

Robert the Hermit, who failed twice before finally escaping from bondage; a trio of Titanic survivors; a Smithfield girl’s Revolutionary War romance with a French viscount. These and the other true tales in this lively collection are just too good to be forgotten. Adult. Unrated. 4 hrs. 30 min. This books is available for loan via hardcopy and download through BARD.

Rhode Island Interest
General collections
History, United States
US – Northeastern United States
History of North America
Male narrator.

Topics: Books to Read | No Comments »

Many Faces of BARD May 11

By Alicia Waters | April 18, 2023

The topic for the May 11, 2023, Many Faces of BARD program will be BARD: Fire Tablets Do Work. The program will begin at 7:00 p.m. eastern time and last for one hour. This program will be recorded.

This session will include a discussion and demonstration of how to use BARD on an Amazon Fire tablet. After the presentation, we will answer questions about the presentation and general questions about BARD.

You can join the session by going to https://loc.zoomgov.com/j/1618195320?pwd=WlNEWW9qcCtrZi9ubjkzK0pJcWhNZz09 [loc.zoomgov.com].  The complete Zoom invitation is below.

Remember that the meeting is recorded. Do not speak if you do not wish to be on the recording. If you wish to speak, you may request to do so by raising your hand. On a PC, press Alt Y to toggle raising and lowering your hand; on a Mac, press Option Y; and if dialing in via telephone, press Star 9. To mute or unmute yourself on a PC, press Alt A; on a Mac, press Command-Shift A; and on a telephone, press Star 6. If you choose to dial in to the call, use the telephone numbers provided below. The Zoom.gov [zoom.gov] ID will not work with standard Zoom.us.

Previous Many Faces of BARD MP3 Recordings
On Thursday, August 11, 2022, the Patron Engagement Section offered the first The Many Faces of BARD online event. Did you miss this first introductory to the series? Here’s the August 2022 Many Faces of BARD [50 minutes/63MB].

Also enjoy others you might have missed:

September 2022 Many Faces of BARD [60 minutes/66MB] focusing on Searching on BARD

November 2022 Many Faces of BARD [61 minutes/154MB] on new features in BARD Mobile 2.0 for iOS

December 2022 Many Faces of BARD [52 minutes/63MB] on account settings, preferences, and the password reset feature.

January 2023 Many Faces of BARD [56 minutes/63MB] on BARD Technical Support

February 2023 Many Faces of BARD [59 minutes/80MB] on BARD Express

March 2023 Many Faces of BARD [56 minutes/79MB] on BARD on the Braille eReader

Topics: Accessibility, Digital Update, Programs | No Comments »

NFB, Accessibility Boutique Registration for March through July Programs

By Alicia Waters | March 15, 2023

Registration for all National Federation for the Blind (NFB) Accessibility Boutique sessions from March – July 2023

Schedule and Registration

Topics: Accessibility, Programs | No Comments »


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