I N T E R C H A N G E
Newsletter of the Nebraska Library Commission
Talking Book and Braille Service
December 2000

Send a Friend a Braille Letter

If you want to send a Braille letter to someone but you don't know Braille, here is a website that can help: http://www.hotbraille.com/. Log onto this site in order to compose and address your letter. HotBraille will transcribe it into grade 2 Braille and send it to the addressee free of charge. You can even send it abroad or to someone whose preferred language is other than English, since HotBraille will process letters in 19 languages.

Letters may be no longer than two Braille pages--approximately 250 words or one page of print. Most of what HotBraille receives is processed the same day and sent the following day as "Free Matter." Recipients in other countries will receive letters in two to fifteen business days.

Associated Services for the Blind Considers Adding Three New Cassette Magazines

Recorded Periodicals, a division of Philadelphia's Associated Services for the Blind, is considering adding three new cassette magazines to its stable. Each subscription would cost $36.00 per year.


To subscribe, contact:

Recorded Periodicals
Associated Services for the Blind
919 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Call (215) 627-0600 or visit http://www.asb.org/

New Magazines Under Consideration

Talking Book and Braille Service might be offering two new magazines on cassette. The first magazine, Popular Mechanics, features articles on auto mechanics, woodworking, photography, and electronics. This monthly magazine is recorded by Associated Services for the Blind.

The second is Nebraska Life, a quarterly magazine to be recorded in our own studios. This magazine features different regions of Nebraska, with information concerning events, travel, and community profiles.

Both magazines would be sent to Talking Book and Braille Service borrowers on a free-loan basis. Please use the order form below to indicate your interest.

Volunteer Narrator Gayle Field Passes Away

We are saddened by the passing of volunteer narrator Gayle Field.

Gayle's voice will be familiar to longtime Capper's subscribers. From 1991 to 1999, she recorded Capper's and many other magazines and books in our studios. Gayle, age 70, passed away peacefully at home on November 10 after a long illness.

Many borrowers also have heard the voice of Gayle's husband, Brad, who has served in the studios as a narrator and monitor. Our heartfelt condolences go to the Field family.

New Nebraska Cassette Books
Non-Fiction

RC 822 Remember When . . . Memories of Lincoln
James L. McKee
2 cassettes

Over 100 of the first "Memories and Moments history and Lincoln anecdote columns from the Lincoln Journal Star have been reedited and collected into one volume. Vignettes stretch from the time when Lincoln was little more than a cluster of fewer than 30 settlers and fewer than 15 trees to the present city of over 200,000 citizens in the middle of a virtual forest. Narrated by Alice Timm.

RC 836 More Country Things; Selections From the Newspaper Series
by Bob Artley
1 cassette

The author takes us through the seasons of farm life. From multiple sap buckets of spring to the dusty barns of summer and the annual ice harvest of winter, 140 sketches of once familiar farm objects. Narrated by Frances Buell.

Fiction

RC 816 This Free Land
by Carri J. Mattan
2 cassettes

This is the fictionalized history of a Nebraska family, from their English forebear's initial crossing to America to the Space Age and beyond. Set against an historical background, fictionalized vignettes give the reader a strong sense of what America is all about-personal struggle, perseverance and, ultimately, achievement. Narrated by Jane Knox.

Volunteer Profile-Beth McNeil

A studio volunteer since January 1997, Beth McNeil has narrated dozens of magazines and an assortment of books, including poetry and essays, autobiographies, short stories and novels. The Assistant Dean of Libraries at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Beth finds the Talking Book and Braille Service downtown location to be convenient to her place of employment.

Before moving to Nebraska in 1996, Beth was a volunteer reader of newspapers for the Alliance Library System in Peoria, Illinois. She volunteers because she believes the talking book program is a great service.

Beth's favorite authors are Julia Alvarez, Barbara Kingsolver, Pablo Neruda, and Mary Wesley. Her favorite web site is that of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: http://iris.unl.edu/screens/iris.html.

Volunteer Profile-John Nellessen

Borrowers who regularly listen to Nebraskaland, NCompass, Country, Capper's, or Lifelines have heard John Nellessen's voice, even though he is one of our newest volunteer narrators. John has accepted a variety of narration assignments, and he approaches each task with dedication and enthusiasm.

John is manager of the computer support desk at Lincoln Benefit Life. In his spare moments, he enjoys spending time with his children, reading, weightlifting, yoga, and watching Nebraska or Chicago sports. His favorite website is http://www.chicagosports.com/.

John volunteers in order to give of himself and his talents. He feels that volunteering provides him a sense of connecting to others in Nebraska.

His favorite authors are John Grisham and Clive Cussler. His favorite movie is either Braveheart or Armageddon. His favorite food is currently lasagna.

Reminder . . .

If you wish to add or cancel a magazine, please contact your Readers Advisor.

Even for those magazines you receive directly from Florida, from the Comprehensive Mailing List Service, we must first correct your computer file here in Nebraska to initiate changes in that database.

Top 25 Circulated Titles

Have you ever wondered which book circulates the most from the Talking Book and Braille Service? During the past federal fiscal year, October 1, 1999, through September 30, 2000, Granny Dan, a romance by Danielle Steel, and Showdown at Julesburg Station, by Wayne C. Lee, tied for that honor-both circulating 59 times.

Four westerns tied for the next-most-circulating book, at 58 times each. They were Spirit at the Border, McQuaid's Gun, and Violent Man, all by Wayne C. Lee; and Spirit of the Border, by Zane Grey.

Among the top 25 most circulating titles, Nebraska author Wayne C. Lee is represented nine times. Romance author Danielle Steel is next, at four. Western authors Louis L'Amour and Zane Grey are each represented twice.

Here are the top 25 titles, along with the number of times they circulated in the past fiscal year:

Westerns

RC 135 Showdown at Julesburg Station, by Wayne C. Lee (59)
RC 124 Violent Man, by Wayne C. Lee (58)
RC 247 Spirit of the Border, by Zane Grey (58)
RC 131 McQuaid's Gun, by Wayne C. Lee (58)
RC 162 Trouble at the Flying H, by Wayne C. Lee (53)
RC 142 Showdown at Sunrise, by Wayne C. Lee (53)
RC 163 Sudden Guns, by Wayne C. Lee (52)
RC 187 Mountain Valley Way, by Louis L'Amour (51)
RC 125 Ghost of a Gunfighter, by Wayne C. Lee (51)
RC 43545 To the Far Blue Mountains, by Louis L'Amour
RC 33 Captives of the Desert, by Zane Grey (49)
RC 129 Petticoat Wagon Train, by Wayne C. Lee (48)
RC 128 Die-Hard, by Wayne C. Lee (47)

Romances

RC 48717 Granny Dan, by Danielle Steel (59)
RC 47254 Mirror Image, by Danielle Steel (57)
RC 45158 Ghost of a Gunfighter, by Danielle Steel (42)
RC 48137 Bittersweet, by Danielle Steel (49)

Pioneer/Frontier

RC 47432 Tender Years; A Prairie Legacy, by Janette Oke (53)
RC 122 Take All to Nebraska, by Sophus Keith Winther (53)
RC 194 Horse and Buggy Doctor, by Arthur Hertzler (49)
RC 104 American Cowboy in Life and Legend, by Bart McDowell (47)
RC 45369 Promise Me Tomorrow, by Lori Wick (46)

Mysteries

RC 46911 All Through the Night, by Mary Higgins Clark (54)
RC 47906 The Cat Who Saw Stars, by Lilian Jackson Braun (47)

Humor

RC 147 Prayer and Peanut Butter, by Shirley Lueth (58)

Holiday Schedule

With the ending of this year and the coming of the new, the Talking Book and Braille Service will be closed in observance of the holidays. We will be closed on the following days:

Thanksgiving Day and the day after Thanksgiving (November 23, 24)
Christmas Day (December 25)
New Years Day (January 1)
Martin Luther King Day (January 15)
Presidents' Day (February 19)

If you need to contact the library on those days, you may leave a message on our answering machine. We will respond to your message on the following workday.

May you and your loved ones have a blessed holiday season.

Order Form and Ordering Instructions

You may place your order by mailing or e-mailing it to the Talking Book and Braille Service, or by calling your Readers Advisor.

For mailing, please mark the books you wish to order and enclose this page in an envelope. Instead of using a stamp, you may put "Free Matter for the Blind or Handicapped" on the corner of your envelope. Send your request to the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service, 1200 N Street, Suite 120, Lincoln, NE 68508-2023. Be sure to include your name, address, city, state, zip code, and telephone number.

For e-mailing, send your order information to the Talking Book and Braille Service. Please include your name, address, city, state, zip code, and telephone number.

You may reach a Readers Advisor toll free by calling 1-800-742-7691. Be prepared to give your name, address, city, state, zip code, and telephone number.

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