Talking Book and Braille Service is gearing up for a routine audit of playback equipment by the federal government. To prepare for this audit, we need your assistance. Federal regulations allow each active borrower to have no more than one Library of Congress cassette player and one record player. If you have more than one machine of the same type, please send the extra machine back to us. Call us if you have any questions. Toll free: (800) 742-7691. Local: 471-4038.

Have you ever been called upon to make a speech to a civic or service organization? Have you ever wanted to discuss the Talking Book and Braille Service but didn't know what to say? If so, here is a helpful resource.

The Nebraska Library Commission has just published Talking Book and Braille Service Outreach Handbook in order to provide information about the Talking Book and Braille Service to Nebraska librarians, educators, rehabilitation counselors, advocates, and care providers. This handbook discusses what qualifies an individual for free services and what services are available. The handbook presents information in a sequence that accommodates someone making a presentation in behalf of the Talking Book and Braille Service.

A variety of handouts, including pamphlets and brochures, braille alphabet cards, and reference circulars are available to presenters. Users of this handbook are encouraged to contact the Talking Book and Braille Service whenever clarification or additional information is desired.

The handbook is available free of charge to any person who needs to provide information to the public. It is offered in large type or in braille and also online at nlc.nebraska.gov/tbbs/outreachbook.html.

Braille readers can now read their books on the Internet, thanks to a historic technological breakthrough called Web-Braille. Readers have access to more than 3,000 electronic braille books recently placed on the Internet for use by eligible braille readers by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. About 40 new titles per month are released in braille and immediately made available online to users.

The Library of Congress also produces braille versions of approximately 28 national magazines and is exploring the feasibility of adding these to Web-Braille. Children's print/braille books and grade one braille are not included in the Web-Braille collection.

As a result of new computer technology, braille readers may now access Web-Braille digital braille book files with a computer and a refreshable braille display or a braille embosser. A refreshable braille display is an electronic device that raises or lowers an array of pins to create a line of braille characters. These 3,000 plus braille books are available on the Internet for download or online use by eligible individuals, libraries, and schools with a computer and a braille output device. Web-Braille allows searching by author, title or book number.

Both a user ID and password are required to use Web-Braille. To obtain an ID and password, Nebraska braille readers must contact the Talking Book and Braille Service.

A seventeen-year veteran of our recording studios, Tami Works, a narrator of hundreds of magazines and dozens of books, has a voice that is now familiar to many of Nebraska's talking book borrowers. She became a volunteer narrator because her own grandmother was blind, she experiences inner satisfaction from helping others, and she wants to use her free time constructively.

A former high school teacher, Tami enjoys reading, walking, theatre and travel. Her favorite author is Barbara Kingsolver, though her favorite book of all time is David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars. Tami's favorite movie is "Shane," and her favorite foods are donuts and bagels.

While cruising the Internet, Tami enjoys sites concerning health issues and book reviews, such as Amazon.com and Barnes&Nobel.com.

Pat became a volunteer within the Talking Book and Braille Service because she wanted something to do. Pat has been busy providing valuable assistance in Tape Duplication for the past eighteen years. This makes Pat one of our longest-standing volunteers. Even now, she says volunteerism gives her satisfaction and pleasure.

Pat's major volunteer duties are to unbox incoming magazines and to perform quality check on outgoing magazines.

A ten-year employee of Pizza Hut, Pat has plenty to keep her busy. When she isn't working or volunteering, she enjoys bowling and spending time with her friends. She especially enjoys a good fish dinner.

Pat also likes to read. She is currently reading Nora Roberts' The MacGregor Grooms.

A magazine for younger readers who love Nebraska's nature and outdoors is now being recorded in the studios of the Talking Book and Braille Service. Published quarterly by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and Nebraskaland Magazine, Trail Tales is used in schools throughout the state. To sign up for your free subscription, see the order information below or talk with your Readers Advisor.

RC 1559 Books by Nebraska Authors; Westerns and Pioneer
by the Nebraska Library Commission
2 cassettes

Two separate catalogs of holdings are to be found in the Nebraska cassette book collection. One has books written by authors who live or have lived in Nebraska. The other has books about cowboys, pioneers, frontiersmen, settlers, emigrants and Native Americans.
Narrated by Mark Janda, Bill Ainsley, Julie Cole and Beth McNeil.

RC 710 Leaving Your Mark: The Political Career of Nebraska State Senator Jerome Warner
by Charlyne Berens
2 cassettes

From the testimony of friends, colleagues and political observers, the biography of Nebraska State Senator Jerome Warner focuses on the major contributions the senator made to the State of Nebraska during his lifetime.
Narrated by Jim Hewitt.

RC 753 Swallow Summer
by Charles R. Brown
3 cassettes

Each May for fifteen consecutive years, the author has trekked to Cedar Point Biological Station in western Nebraska to learn more about the behavior of colonial cliff swallows. A blend of humorous anecdotes and insightful scientific observations, this book is about a passion for birds.
Narrated by Alice Timm.

RC 802 Boy Howdy!! Was I Lucky!!
by Ross E. Boyer
2 cassettes

Cattle rancher and auctioneer Ross Boyer tells of his childhood and early manhood in and near Alliance, Nebraska. This collection of memories recounts a lifestyle in the author's beloved Sandhills that few enjoy today.
Narrated by Dennis Lorance.

RC 803 Aurora; A Wartime Love Story
by Marie Kramer
1 cassette

The true saga of Aurora and Alfreds unfolds as the Russians invade peaceful Latvia at the dawn of World War II. Aurora, a courageous woman, struggles to overcome the wartime savagery that shatters the young couple's dreams.
Narrated by Julie Cole.

RC 807 Making Do in a New Millennium
by V. Marie White
2 cassettes

This books offers hints and recipes from the past adapted for the present. Written by a great-grandmother whose "Making Do" column was published for fourteen years in the North Platte Telegraph, this is a source book of ways to stockpile food by canning, drying or freezing. It tells how to make your own fast food at less cost, with no preservatives. It includes how to make your own cleaning supplies for pennies. There are hints on living, parenting, and more.
Narrated by Jane Knox.

RC 809 Satterfield on the loose; being a compendium of essays and observations from the author's Journal Star columns and comprised of the truth, mainly.
by Leon Satterfield
1 cassette

Satterfield's short humorous essays are a wry mix of Mark Twain and H.L. Mencken. Self-effacing and satirical, these observations about religion, politics and social issues first appeared as columns in The Lincoln Star and later in The Lincoln Journal-Star. Narrated by the author.

RC 817 Buffalo Bill; Myth & Reality
by Eric Sorg
1 cassette

More dime novels were written about William Cody than any other western character, and he mythologized himself as hero of his Wild West Show. This book attempts to give some needed insight into the personal life and character of William Cody as well as to trace how his larger-than-life myth was created.
Narrated by Dennis Lorance.

Fiction

Three books by Jacqueline Susann

RC 812 The Love Machine
by the National Library Service
7 cassettes recorded on two-track

Robin Stone, a ruthless television titan, is loved by three women: Amanda, the beautiful but doomed model; Maggie, the ambitious young actress; and Judith, the rich, married aristocrat desperate for love. Robin is The Love Machine. Strong language, explicit descriptions of sex.
Narrated by Laura Stuart.

RC 813 Once is Not Enough
by the National Library Service
3 cassettes

A young girl is in love with her theatrical producer-father. At 20, she enters his world only to find it one of strange and unpleasant standards. She moves among the jet set, searching for herself and fulfillment of her love. Explicit descriptions of sex.
Narrated by Mary Louise Piday.

RC 814 Jacqueline Susann's Dolores
by National Library Service
1 cassette recorded on four track

Relates the tragedy of Dolores Ryan, the lovely, chic young widow of an assassinated American President, who finds herself unable to support her extravagant tastes and unwilling to live without men.
Narrated by Laura Stuart.

Purdue University offers TAEVIS Online, a new internet service for students with visual impairment who are studying math and science. An electronic library contains over 2500 tactile diagrams, available in both braille and low vision editions. To access this collection, students need to purchase a subscription to TAEVIS Online and download the selected files. Braille materials are ready for use with tactile image paper and a thermal enhancer. The materials consist of charts, diagrams, and formulas in large print or braille.

Subscriptions to this service began at $78.00. Subscribers purchase a variety of point values, and the points are counted down each time a diagram is downloaded. Visit www.taevisonline.purdue.edu for more information.

The Children's Braille Browsing Collection grows steadily within the Talking Book and Braille Service. The library has recently added new braille board books, with more on the way. Board books are published on heavy-duty stock for pre-school through second grade. Similar to twin/vision, these books offer simple text in braille as well as print. Illustrations appear with the text but are not described.

Board books by Debbie Bailey include:

Clothes (NBR 319)
Grandpa (NBR 712)
My Mom (NBR 1322)
Sisters (NBR 1924)
Toys (NBR 2018)

A new board book by Michael Bond is Paddington Bear All Day (NBR 1614).

Other recent braille acquisitions for children include:

How Tall, How Short, How Faraway by David A. Adler. (BR 12045)
Good Enough to Eat: A Kid's Guide to Food and Nutrition by Lizzy Rockwell. (BR 12047)
A Child's Calendar, poems by John Updike. (BR 12048)
Hercules by Robert Burleigh. (BR 12049)

The above are for readers in Kindergarten through Grade 3.

Twenty six of R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series, intended for Grades 4-7, are among the 900 titles in the Children's Braille Browsing Collection. These books can be mailed anywhere in the state as free matter. To learn more about what is available, contact your Readers Advisor.

Nebraska's talking book readers who enjoy history will soon have one more magazine from which to choose. Recorded Recreational Reading for the Blind of Peoria, Arizona, will provide us with a cassette edition of American History. This popular, entertaining title is described as "a magazine of cultural, social, political and military history for the general audience." It is one that adults, as well as some younger readers, are likely to enjoy. To sign up for American History, please return the order form on below to us or call your Readers Advisor.

Many Nebraska public libraries freely circulate music on tape or compact disc.

In addition, Recordings for Recovery, a non-profit organization, has a library of music tapes for individuals with disabilities, who may be in a care facility or homebound. There is a $10 membership fee for individual home use; $25 for facilities and organizations.

Selections include religious, classical, folk, ballad, jazz, easy listening, and more. Each order may consist of up to eight tapes and can be kept for 60 days. Materials may be returned through the mail as free matter.

For more information, contact:

Recordings for Recovery
5103 Eastman Place, Suite 101
Midland, MI 48640-6723
Phone: 1-800-798-1192
www.r4r.org

Please choose the books you wish to order and determine if you wish to subscribe to either Trail Tales Magazine or American History Magazine or both. You may place your order by e-mailing it, calling it in, or mailing it.

• Trail Tales Magazine
• American History Magazine
• RC 159
• RC 753
• RC 802
• RC 803
• RC 807
• RC 809
• RC 812
• RC 813
• RC 814
• RC 817
• NBR 319
• NBR 712
• NBR 1322
• NBR 1614
• NBR 1924
• NBR 2018
• BR 12045
• BR 12047
• BR 12048
• BR 12049

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