Arm Chair Travelling
By Alicia Waters | December 21, 2011
Nancy Boucher, Reader Advisor at the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center created the “Arm Chair Travelling When It is COLD Outside” reading list. These books are available through the Rhode Island Talking Books Plus library. This list was made available through the Library Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped Reader Advisors (lbphra) listserv moderated by Patrice Johnson.
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RC Titles Withdrawal Schedule
By Alicia Waters | December 19, 2011
The National Library Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) of which Talking Books Plus in Rhode Island is affiliated as a network library announced that “2012 marks the begining of the withdrawal of the RC collections from network libraries. NLS is working toward a reduction and eventual withdrawal of the RC collections from network libraries by mid-2015.” The digital talking books collection will continue to grow and remain available for loan by download or through the mail throughout this process. Eligibile individuals have free loan of the digital player.
The free blank cartridge and cable are given to Talking Books Plus members who sign up for download service. The download service called BARD is 24/7 . Downloadable digital talking books in the collection are always available. Members are never put on a waiting list. Download is as fast as the computer and server used.
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Youth Holiday Talking Books
By Alicia Waters | December 15, 2011
The 2011 Winter Holiday Bibliography is posted on the Talking Books Plus webpage. This booklist was compiled by Wolfner Library Youth Services. Wolfner Library is the National Library Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped network library in Missouri. Talking Books Plus is the network library in Rhode Island. Happy Holiday reading!
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Inspirational Dog Stories
By Alicia Waters | December 12, 2011
I discovered links to these titles at the end of Robin Kall’s article about Caleb’s Crossing in Go Local Prov Lifestyle. Robin is also Co- chair of the May 5, 2012 breakfast that is celebrating the 2012 Reading Across RI book, Caleb’s Crossing.
The following title is in the Talking Books Plus collection –
A Good Dog – The Story of Orson Who Changed My Life by Jon Katz DB63830
The other titles are not in the Talking Books Plus collection. However, audio versions are available.
Following Atticus – Forty Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship by Tom Ryan. I’ve heard that the audio version is worth listenting to as the author is the narrator. Amazon gave this book 5 stars.
All 5 books are listed in Related Articles, Well-Read: 5 Great Books for Dog Lovers.
Topics: Books to Read, General, News & Info | No Comments »
E READERS FOR ALL AGES
By Alicia Waters | December 9, 2011
Gloria Stuart, Assistive Technology Consultant at TechACCESS of RI did a spectacular job of explaining various nuances of popular E Readers at the 2011 Assistive Technology Conference held November 30, 2011 in Warwick, RI. If you missed the conference, it is usually held annually. Most likely, you’ll get a chance to experience it next year. Talking Books Plus exhibits at the conference so you can meet our staff there, too. In Gloria’s presentation she said that larger screens handle PDFs better and that E Ink looks like print paper offering less glare. Overall, Gloria covered content type, Digital Rights Management (DRM) content, screen technology, screen text size, E reader navigation, storage and or memory, battery life, study tools, audio support and keyboards. The E readers that Gloria had on hand and discussed in detail were the Kindle Keyboard, Kindle Fire, Nook, Sony Reader, iPad, and Galaxy Tab. She’s a great resource.
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Rhode Island Materials Access Center
By Alicia Waters | December 9, 2011
The RI Materials Access Center (RIMAC) provides accessible instructional materials for students with print disabilities. RIMAC works with districts to request texts from the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC). NIMAC downloads NIMAS (National Instructional Materials Access Center)-conformant files and converts them to the required student ready format. Visit the Rhode Island Materials Access Center website @ Northern RI Collaborative or call 401-495-2033 for more information. Specialized formats include braille, large print, audio and digital text.
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November 2011 Bestseller List
By Alicia Waters | December 2, 2011
The November 2011 Bestseller List has been posted.
The bestseller report compiled monthly by National Library Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) combines information taken from the bestseller lists of the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. Bestsellers are included in the report when they appear on one of the above bestseller lists for a month or more. Once a title appears in the report with an NLS number, it will not appear on future reports.
The acronyms used for newspapers and book clubs in the NLS bestseller report are:
Code Source
LAT Los Angeles Times
NYT New York Times
WP Washington Post
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Assistive Technology Conference
By Alicia Waters | November 23, 2011
Come visit the Talking Books Plus table at the ATAP Annual Assistive Technology Conference on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, Rhode Island. We will be demonstrating our latest digital equipment and digital talking book cartridges from our collection. Meet the staff who answer the phone fielding your questions and pick up information at the table. The exhibit hall will be open for free to the public from 1:00 – 3:30 pm. Be sure not to miss “Rhode Island’s only conference dedicated to technology, people with disabilities, families and professionals.”
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Digital Player Upgrade
By Alicia Waters | November 22, 2011
The Digital Talking Book Machine software revision is being added to digital book cartridges in December 2011. When a book with the new software is inserted into a player that has not yet been upgraded, it will announce, “Updating your player’s software; please do not power off your player or remove the cartridge from the player.” There will be a series of beeps while the machine is updating. When the update is complete, the machine announces, “Software upgrade completed; stand by while your player is restarted.”
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Best Books 2011
By Alicia Waters | November 22, 2011
Barbara Hoffert, Editor of Library Journal’s PrepubAlert finished her coverage of the National Book Awards the same day Library Journal launched Best Books 2011. She says that “the real value of the best-book phenomenon is the conversation it starts. Books are simply too complex to allow for a reductive everyone-will-love-this approach, but they are meant to prompt talk, something that awards do in a really big way.” These books are the “good stuff” that made the “standards of excellence” agreed upon by “intelligent though vastly different editors.”
Below are titles I gleaned from the Library Journal Best Books 2011 categories of mystery, romance, and historical fiction. For those titles In Process keep an eye out for their availability in the future.
Romance.
Silk is for Seduction by Loretta Chase. In Process.
When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James. DB73044.
Mystery.
Drawing Conclusions by Donna Leon. In Process.
Historical Fiction.
Before Versailles: A Novel of Louis XIV by Karleen Koen. In Process.
Topics: Books to Read, News & Info | No Comments »
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