BARD Technical Issues
By Alicia Waters | May 31, 2019
There have been technical issues which began yesterday, May 30 with the BARD program. It is presently running because of a temporary fix. NLS staff will continue to evaluate the issue and make adjustments when needed. BARD performance may be slightly compromised while they evaluate the service. Your patience is greatly appreciated.
Topics: Accessibility, Digital Update, News & Info | No Comments »
OSCIL Lunch and Learn Workshops 12 – 2 pm
By Alicia Waters | May 21, 2019
The Ocean State Center for Independent Living (OSCIL) will be hosting a series of workshops from May 29th through August 29th in Warwick and Pawtucket, RI. All workshops are between 12 noon and 2 pm. Note: Days and locations of each workshop offered.
1944 Warwick Avenue, Warwick or 175 Main Street, Pawtucket
Men’s Discussion Group: Wed., July 24 (Warwick) & Thurs., July 25 (Pawtucket)
This workshop will be an open and honest dialogue about what it means to live with a disability in today’s society.
Topics discussed may include finding employment, relationships, dating, mental health and much more! They ask that this be a group for men with disabilities only.
Medical Transportation Management (MTM): Wed., August 28 (Warwick) & Thurs., August 29 (Pawtucket)
Representatives from Medical Transportation Management will be there to share information about their services and answer your questions.
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U.S. Participates in Marrakesh Treaty
By Alicia Waters | May 8, 2019
May 8, marks the first day of the United States participation in the Marrakesh Treaty. “The National Library Service (NLS) is very pleased with this latest step toward making it easier for those with print disabilities in signatory nations to access printed works in accessible formats, such as braille and digital audio files.
NLS is working across the Library of Congress and throughout the Legislative Branch to bring existing U.S. laws in line with the treaty while developing new processes necessary for full implementation.” On the NLS main public website, you may find information to address questions you may have.
Please visit tinyurl.com/marrakesh2019
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Blind Man Runs Half Marathon with Guide Dog
By Alicia Waters | May 7, 2019
An inspirational story we just had to share with our members. Runner, Thomas Panek who lost his sight over 25 years ago, made history in March 2019 while running in the United Airlines New York City Half Marathon. Panek ran with his guide dogs from Guiding Eyes for the Blind, a non-profit organization that provides trained dogs to people who are blind and visually impaired. Thanks to 3 golden retrievers, Waffle, Westley and Gus who took turns running with Panek, he was able to finish the race in just over 2 hours and 20 minutes. Thomas Panek is the President and CEO of Guiding Eyes for the Blind. You can read the complete story or listen to the audio at https://tinyurl.com/y3paq6hq
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Computers for the Blind
By Alicia Waters | April 29, 2019
Computers for the Blind is a non-profit organization located in Richardson, TX which provides deeply discounted, refurbished computers with pre-loaded, assistive technology to individuals who are blind or have low vision, with free shipping in the US. There is no income limit, but students and individuals with low income or those who may be receiving SSI or SSDI benefits, will receive additional discounts. Contact them by email at info@computersfortheblind.org or call Customer Service at 214-340-6328, Monday – Friday from 9 am – 7 pm. Visit their website at https://www.computersfortheblind.org.
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Vision Rehabilitation Therapist Awareness Week Commemorates Anne Sullivan
By Alicia Waters | April 11, 2019
Vision Rehabilitation Therapist Awareness Week will be observed this year the week of April 14-20, 2019 to commemorate Anne Sullivan’s birthday, on April 14, 1866. Anne Sullivan, a pioneer of the vision rehabilitation profession, was the teacher who worked closely with Helen Keller, to develop the skills Keller would later use as an international lecturer and advocate for individuals with vision and hearing loss.
Sullivan, a graduate of the Perkins School for the Blind, began working with 7 year old Helen, in 1887, as a Home Teacher, the original occupational title for the profession now called Vision Rehabilitation Therapist (VRT). Just as in Sullivan’s career, today’s VRTs often travel to their client’s homes or workplaces for training.
Today’s VRT most often holds a Master’s level education, and additional national certification (CVRT) to meet established professional standards. For well over a century, as Home Teachers, Rehab Teachers, and now Vision Rehabilitation Therapists, VRTs provided the primary rehabilitation skills training for individuals experiencing blindness or vision loss. VRTs work with clients on:
- adapted daily living skills;
- communication (including braille when needed);
- low vision devices;
- using assistive technology (AT) such as computer and tablet screen readers or screen magnifiers;
- adapted leisure activities and sports.
Most often, clients are adults who have experienced an acquired vision loss through diseases such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetes, etc. Referrals may come from doctors, or clients may refer themselves through local state or nonprofit agencies. Often VRT services are provided at no out-of-pocket cost. To find a VRT near you try VisionAware’s Directory of Services http://www.visionaware.org/directory.aspx
Steven Kelley CRC, CVRT, CATIS
Topics: Accessibility, News & Info | No Comments »
Xavier Society for the Blind – Religious Materials Compatible with Talking Book Machines
By Alicia Waters | April 4, 2019
“Xavier Society for the Blind is pleased to announce that our conversion to digital talking book format is now complete and we have added some popular titles on cartridge to our library! These books can be played on the talking book machines provided by the National Library Service. With an existing catalog of over 1,500 braille and audio titles, Xavier Society for the Blind provides inspirational, spiritual and religious reading materials in braille and audio to the blind and visually impaired community of faithful free of charge. One of our primary objectives is to choose new titles which will appeal to a larger audience and we hope that the combination of more appealing titles and the digital talking book format will allow us to reach many more people. Adding titles in Spanish is a key objective as well. For more information, including how to register for our materials, please visit our website xaviersocietyfortheblind.org or call us at 800-637-9193. We look forward to serving many more patrons in new and innovative ways!” (Xavier Society for the Blind, 2019)
Topics: General, News & Info, Resources | No Comments »
Read Every Book by the Author, How About a Read-Alike?
By Alicia Waters | March 29, 2019
If you have read every book by a particular author and would like to read more of the same type of book, you may request a Read-Alike. Read-Alike authors can fill the gap when there aren’t any books left that you haven’t read by a particular author. You can ask the TBL staff to find you an author that writes in a similar style, about the same subject, same genre etc. We will work to find the best match, or you may discover a Read-Alike author on your own, by going to https://www.bookbrowse.com/read-alikes/.
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Audio Described DVDs
By Alicia Waters | March 27, 2019
In need of audio descriptive DVDs. The Audio Description Project / American Council for the Blind has an excellent listing of all audio described DVDs since 1997.
http://www.acb.org/adp/dvds.html [acb.org]
Topics: DVDs, General | No Comments »
No Need to Use Bookshelf Mode – Sequential Play
By Alicia Waters | March 12, 2019
Members may now download firmware which allows users to sequentially play multiple talking-book titles on a single cartridge without the need to enter Bookshelf mode—a capability that has long been requested by NLS patrons and network libraries. For cartridges containing more than one book or magazine, the new Sequential Play feature enables users to press the play/stop button to go to the next title when the player announces, “End of book.” Standard Bookshelf mode will still work as before, allowing users to play multiple books or magazines in any order they wish, but for those who want a simpler method, the new functionality makes it possible to move from one title to the next without having to use the bookshelf.
The updated firmware and instructions for installing this new program is available for download on the NLS public website at https://tinyurl.com/NoBookShelf and the BARD Help page at https://tinyurl.com/BARDFirmware.
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