NLS Operations/Delays
By Alicia Waters | July 7, 2020
Operations of several NLS vendors have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past few months, and patrons may still see delays or disruptions in shipments of products, including braille magazines, talking books, and braille books. We are hopeful that all NLS producers will be fully operational in the next few weeks. If you experience a delay in receiving your materials, we apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.
If you would like to speak with the Talking Books staff about any issue, or would like to leave your request for materials, please call 401-574-9310. Voicemail messages are checked daily. Staff will process your requests and/or return your calls.
Thank you!
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Books by John Bolton and Mary Trump
By Alicia Waters | June 25, 2020
Many of you have inquired about 2 new books that have been recently published. Neither of these titles are in our system yet. We will check with the National Library Service to see when they may be recorded and added into the collection. Please check back in a month or two if you are interested in these titles.
The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir by John Bolton
Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man by Mary Trump.
Thank you for your patience.
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Carroll Center f/t Blind Helping Today
By Alicia Waters | June 12, 2020
What We Are Doing to Help Today
The Carroll Center for the Blind and its dedicated staff are actively seeking to support consumers of all ages to remain connected to critical blindness services and essential resources. Our team of expert vision rehabilitation professionals continue to teach skills remotely, covering; travel, daily living, and the important use of technologies through Zoom and other remote methods. If you are in need of any type of individualized remote instruction, please reach out to us by phone at (617) 969-6200 or by email at info@carroll.org.
Carroll Center for the Blind
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Perkins to Open Monday, June 1st
By Alicia Waters | May 26, 2020
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Perkins Library Remains Closed
By Alicia Waters | May 18, 2020
Perkins Library remains closed until further notice. Governor Baker plans to reopen the library to some degree on May 26th, but this will depend on how things progress over the next few days. Please check back here and on our website at olis.ri.gov/tbl for updates.
RI Talking Books Library staff continue to work from home and will be checking calls to (401)574-9310 and emails to talking.books@olis.ri.gov daily. We are able to provide our members with audiobooks via the Utah Library.
Please leave your message for book requests, no more than 5 titles or DB numbers per member, per request.
You may return any materials received from Utah, but we ask that you continue to hold materials for return to Perkins until further notice.
Thank you for your patience.
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Talking Books and Perkins Library Information
By Alicia Waters | May 4, 2020
The Talking Books Library remains closed, but staff are able to send reading materials out to members via inter-library loan through Utah. You may send your request via email to talking.books@olis.ri.gov or call 401-574-9310. Please only 5 DB numbers or titles at a time per member. We will return your email and voicemail messages.
Perkins School for the Blind is planning to reopen on May 18 if all goes as planned. Please do not return any materials or equipment back to Perkins until further notice. We will update this information on May 15th to let you know when to begin returning materials to Perkins. Any materials borrowed from the Utah Library may be returned.
If you have an email address and would like a BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) account, please let us know via email or phone.
Please check our website at olis.ri.gov/tbl or this blog each week for updates.
We thank you for your patience and please be safe.
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Talking Books Services Updated April 16
By Alicia Waters | April 6, 2020
The Talking Books Library office is closed, but staff is able to send reading materials out to members via inter-library loan through Utah. You may send your request via email to talking.books@olis.ri.gov or call 401-574-9310. Please only 5 DB numbers or titles at a time per member.
We will return your email and voicemail messages.
We are still unable to send out machines or other equipment due to Perkins School for the Blind closure. Please do not return any materials or equipment back to Perkins until further notice. Any materials borrowed from the Utah Library may be returned.
If you have an email address and would like a BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) account, please let us know via email or phone.
Please check our website at olis.ri.gov/tbl or this blog each week for updates.
We thanks you for your patience and please be safe.
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Get BARD Now to Download Books
By Alicia Waters | March 27, 2020
If you are already a member of the Talking Books Library, you can easily sign up for a BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) account to download books from the internet. You can email the Talking Books Library at talking.books@olis.ri.gov to request a BARD account or you may apply online at NLS BARD. Your email address will be used to set up your account. Once we receive your request, we will process it right away and you will receive an email providing you with instructions as well as your login information.
During this crisis, when businesses are shutting down and many are working from home, BARD allows you to keep reading without interruption or the wait for mail. See BARD for more information.
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Perkins Library Closes Suspends All Deliveries
By Alicia Waters | March 24, 2020
As many of our members know, most of the materials from the RI Talking Books Library are mailed out from the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Mass. Mail from Perkins will not be possible until after April 7, but we may still request inter-library loan for some titles for our members through the Multi-state Center West in Utah. If you have a BARD account, you can continue to download books.
Please hold all materials and equipment for return until further notice. You may check back here for updates.
Please contact the RI Talking Books Library staff via email at talking.books@olis.ri.gov or call 401-574-9310 if you have questions or need assistance. We will do our best to answer all email and calls.
Please see the message below from Kim Charlson, Director of the Perkins Library.
Due to evolving Coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker issued an Executive Order requiring all non-essential businesses to close effective Tuesday, March 24, 2020. The Executive Order extends until April 7, 2020.
The Perkins Library falls into this category, so no Perkins Library mail will be sent out after March 24. Additionally, we ask borrowers to hold all Library materials until you are notified that we are able to receive them by return mail.
Since we aren’t shipping materials at this time, you may wish to consider signing up for our Braille and audio reading download, (BARD) Download Service. This would allow you to download titles to an android, kindle fire, or iOS device for easy playback. You can also download the books to a USB drive for use with our digital player. To get started, visit https://nlsbard.loc.gov/NLS/ApplicationInstructions.html [nlsbard.loc.gov].
We understand the hardship this situation may cause for you. We also feel the loss of not being able to serve you during these uncertain times. We will resume operations as soon as we can ensure the safety of all concerned.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Kim Charlson, Executive Director
Perkins Library
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COVID-19 and Maintaining Talking Books Library Services
By Alicia Waters | March 19, 2020
While the State of Rhode Island is addressing the Coronavirus emergency, many state workers are now working from home. To that end, I wish to let you know that the RI Talking Books Library will continue to provide services. TBL staff will answer your phone calls and emails to provide you with materials during this crisis. Please call 401-574-9310 or email talking.books@olis.ri.gov, and rest assured that your calls and emails will be returned. As changes come about, we will work to keep you informed. We are committed to providing our members the excellent service they have come to expect. Be safe and take care.
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