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

May 2006 Vol. 30 No. 3ISSN 0884-9684
Advisory Committee Welcomes New Members

Three new members were recently appointed to the Advisory Committee of the Talking Book and Braille Service, and three were reappointed for an additional two-year term. New on the committee are Sandra Kelsey, of Fremont; Shirley Schmidt, of Columbus; and Mike Steinmeyer, of Hebron. Reappointed for an additional term are Carolyn Bennett, of Beatrice; Ryan Osentowski, of Lincoln; and Avis Wiest, of Ogallala. Other members include Nancy Oltman, of Hastings; and Bob Deaton and Kay Paulsen, both of Lincoln.
Movies at Home for Talking Book Borrowers

A descriptive video is a regular home video that has been formatted to include an additional audio track. On this track, a narrator describes the visual elements of the program - the action, characters, locations, costumes and sets - without interfering with the program's dialogue or sound effects. No special feature or device is needed to hear this audio description. All you need is a standard VHS video cassette recorder (VCR) and a television. Anyone who uses the Talking Book and Braille Service is eligible to borrow descriptive videos. Borrowers must sign and return a Descriptive Video Borrower Registration Form, available from your Readers Advisor upon request.
We now have 355 titles in our descriptive video collection. Here are some of the most recent additions:

Magazines for Nebraska's Good Life

Here are some cassette magazines which focus on the good life we enjoy here in our state.

Nebraska Farmer, published monthly, offers crop reports, articles on farm life, and new agricultural methods and technology. Published ten times a year by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Nebraskaland showcases Nebraska's beautiful state parks and other outdoor recreational opportunities. Also published by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Trail Tales is a quarterly magazine for younger readers who love Nebraska's outdoors and nature.

Nebraska Life, published bimonthly, features events, travel and community profiles. A bimonthly magazine that includes Nebraska, Midwest Living covers places to visit, recipes, gardens, hobbies, restaurants, editorials, and more-all about Midwest states.

Published ten times a year, with an emphasis on Husker football, the Big Red Report covers the wide range of sports that are part of the University of Nebraska's athletic program.

To request any of these magazines, please print and use the order form on below, or contact your Readers Advisor.
New Cassette Books

Fiction

Edge of the Wilderness
RC 977

 by Stephanie Grace Whitson

read by Frances Buell

2 cassettes

Having survived the Dakota Sioux uprising of 1862, Genevieve LaCroix is caregiver for the widowed minister's children as well as for an orphaned baby. Though the minister proposes marriage to her, Gen is bereaved upon hearing that Daniel Two Stars has died. Trying to reconcile the Sioux and the whites and to cope with her own pain, Gen joins with the minister in missionary work with the captive Sioux who are suffering and starving at the notorious Camp McClellan. Dakota Moons Series #2.

The Phantom Limbs of the Rollow Sisters
RC 980

by Timothy Schaffert

read by Tami Works

2 cassettes

Two sisters, on the brink of adulthood, are left alone by their grandmother to run a junk store in rural Nebraska. This act of neglect opens old wounds sustained with their father's suicide and their mother's subsequent abandonment. The sisters bond with each other in their effort to make sense of their confused lives. Contains strong language.

Non-fiction

Big Red: The Three-Month Voyage of a Trident Nuclear Submarine
RC 945

by Douglas C. Waller

read by Brad Meurrens

3 cassettes

A military journalist chronicles a three-month patrol under the Atlantic Ocean, abroad the U.S.S. Nebraska. This 18,750 ton Trident submarine is the most complex war machine the United States Navy has ever produced. The book captures the daily lives of the submariners, who have made personal sacrifices in order to serve their country. Contains strong language.

Operation Recognition II: Honoring Nebraska War Veterans
RC 954

by Ivan Schoone

read by Carolin Roehr

3 cassettes

This second volume, preceded by RC 823, was compiled as a tribute to Nebraska war veterans. It features the first-hand experiences of men and women who fought in defense of our freedom.

Heavenly Hoots: Bringing Back that "Old Time Religion" with Hearty Laughter
RC 968

by Ken Alley

read by Bill Ainsley

1 cassette

A collection of funny anecdotes related to church.

Bertie and Me and Miles Too: Growing Up on a Sandhills Ranch in the Early 1900s
RC 998

by Billie Lee Snyder Thornburg

read by Dennis Lorance

1 cassette

The sister of Nebraska author Nellie Snyder Yost describes the joys and sorrows of growing up on the Ten-Bar Ranch, twelve miles west of Tyron, in the heart of the Nebraska Sandhills. She captures the adventures of ranch life in the early 1900s, the home remedies, Model Ts, roundups, and other routines that were part of the wonderment of daily ranch life.

The Car, the Sled, and the Butch Wax
RC 1005

edited by Marc Maurer

read by Judy Hanefeldt

1 cassette

Blind Americans write about their everyday lives. They describe crucial experiences which shape the way they look at themselves and which help to describe what blindness is and what it isn't. In one short story, a blind woman, while on a Caribbean vacation, learns to scuba dive.

C is for Cornhusker; a Nebraska Alphabet
RC 1015

by Rajean Luebs Shepherd

read by Frances Buell

1 cassette

This alphabet book uses rhymes and informative text to explore Nebraska. From the state's eastern Missouri border to its western geologic landmarks, this book celebrates Nebraska's pioneer and Native American spirit. For grades 2 to 4.

If I Only Had a Horn: Young Louis Armstrong
RC 1017

by Roxane Orgill

read by Scotty Drake

1 cassette

A poor boy in New Orleans, young Louis Armstrong got his first horn after an incident with the police landed him in a boy's home, where he eventually joined their legendary band. For grades 4-7. Recorded by Louisiana Voices for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
Cassette Books Celebrate Spring's Arrival

May in Nebraska means winter is now over and summer is peeking around the corner. Here are some books that deal with that beautiful season called springtime:

RC 922 Flower Gardening in the Hot Midwest: USDA Zone 5 and Lower Zone 4, by Linda Hillegass

This handbook covers the basics for growing flowers where temperature extremes involve bitterly cold winters as well as hot summers. A veteran gardener shares strategies for gardening success in a region that extends from South Dakota and Nebraska east to Indiana. Advice includes choosing plants, preparing the soil, watering, pruning, and combating pests.

RC 46577 In a Desert Garden: Love and Death Among the Insects, by John Alcock

A biologist recounts the experiences and the results of converting his Tempe, Arizona, yard into a desert ecosystem. Describes the fascination of observing the march of milkweed bugs, fighting earwigs, pollinating zucchini bees, and copulating cannibalism of mantises.

RC 47065 Seedfolks, by Paul Fleischman

A Vietnamese girl plants lima beans and begins the transformation of a trash-filled vacant lot into a community garden. People of many nationalities join in and friendships develop among the gardeners. For grades 5-8.

RC 47334 On Good Land; the Autobiography of an Urban Farm, by Michael Ableman

The author describes the twelve-acre farm called Fairview Gardens, where he has worked for seventeen years. Once a farm among many, Fairview (now surrounded by California suburbia) is a national model for successful urban agriculture and farmland preservation.

RC 50062 My Garden, by Jamaica Kincaid

A series of meditations and reminiscences on the art of gardening, with a little history thrown in. Kincaid, whose attachment to gardening began when her husband gave her some tools and seeds for Mother's Day, discusses the continual creation of her garden, and why it will never be the garden in her mind's eye.

RC 50355 Desperate Journey, by Cliff Farrell, edited by R. E. Briney

Thirteen western stories by a career newspaperman, first published in magazines during the 1940s and 1950s. Locales range from the Ohio frontier of the early 1800s to the Wyoming range, and characters include teenagers, sheltered brides, gamblers, cowboys, and con artists. Some violence.

RC 52241 Accessible Gardening for People with Physical Disabilities: a Guide to Methods, Tools, and Plants, by Janeen R. Adil

An avid gardener provides tips and techniques for adapting garden format and methods for people with limited mobility. Explains advantages of containers, raised beds, and vertical gardens. Chapters discuss appropriate tools; choosing vegetables, herbs, flowers, vines, and ornamentals; and starting children in gardening.

RC 55124 Chaff in the Wind, by Edna Walker Chandler

In the spring of 1887, Swedish immigrants Ingrid and John Halgren worry about their wheat crop in the Kansas drought. Farming and raising a family in the new world demands all the stamina, perseverance, and faith they can muster.

RC 55960 The Houseplant Encyclopedia, by Maggie Stuckey

Explains how to grow over eighty kinds of indoor plants, and includes techniques for watering, repotting, and cultivating. Offers tips for each location in the house and suggests ideas for terrariums and dish gardens.

RC 57460 Death at the Spring Plant Sale, by Ann Ripley

At her friend Emily Holley's insistence, PBS television gardener and amateur Louise Eldridge attends the spring plant sale of a Washington, D.C., area garden club. Louise had hoped to film some beautiful floral footage, but instead ends up investigating the murder of the club's president. Some violence.

Golden Oldies

Here are more wonderful books recorded in our own studios in past years. To order, please check the box next to the RC number and return this page to Talking Book and Braille Service, or contact your Readers Advisor.

Interchange is published bimonthly by the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service, 1200 N St., Suite 120, Lincoln, NE 68508-2023. Phone 402-471-4038 or 800-742-7691 (in Nebraska only). E-mail Talking Book and Braille Service. Preparation of this newsletter was supported in part by funds allocated through the Library Services and Technology Act administered by the United States Institute of Museum and Library Services.
 Editor: David Oertli

Layout: Jacqueline Crocker

 Design: Valerie Dayton
 ISSN: 0884-9644 Home page:  /tbbs

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 magazines and 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 at 402-471-4038 or 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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