Touch and Listen Newsletter

News You Can Use

Hurricane Season Disaster Supply Kit

A disaster supply kit should have the basic emergency supply items you and your family would probably need during and after a disaster. Consider the following items when making your disaster supply kit:

• Water – at least one gallon of water per day per person for 3 to 7 days for drinking and sanitation.
• Food – 3 to 7 days of non-perishable, packaged or canned foods. Include foods and beverages for infants, elders, and those on special diets.
• Non-electric can opener, paper plates, plastic cups, plastic utensils, garbage bags with plastic ties, kitchen accessories and cooking utensils
• Portable, battery-powered radio or hand-crank radio, and extra batteries, so you can receive important news, weather reports and instructions from local authorities.
• First aid kit
• Special needs items such as prescription medications, etc.

A Special Note for Service Animals

If you have a guide dog or other service animal, please think about them during the emergency too. Packing food, water, and even toys for your service animal will help them “weather the storm” better. As mentioned above, it may help to inform your planned evacuation shelter that you have a service animal. These animals are in-tune with you and your feelings and chances are you are also very close to them as well. Planning will help you both stay calm, knowing you are prepared should a hurricane or other natural disaster situation arises.

Additional Hurricane Preparedness Resources

The Ready.gov government website suggests preparing your home as well and we would recommend you review their information for how to secure your property. For some more information on how to prepare for emergencies, please review the information on the following websites:

• Ready.gov found at https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes
• Hurricane Safety Tips for the Blind found at https://brailleworks.com/hurricane-safety-tips-for-the-blind/

Notes from Your Reader Advisors

Everyone has a reader advisor, available by telephone and email, who is here to help ensure you are receiving the books you would like, when you would like them, at a good pace. If you have questions, call 1-800-226-6075 or email OPAC_librarian@dbs.fldoe.org and your message will be routed right to the person who handles your account.

We have a few tips to help make contact and continued service as successful as possible:

• When leaving a voice message, please leave your full name with spelling of your last name to make sure we find your account right away. Include the city you live in and the phone number as well. If you do not need a return phone call, let us know.
• Going on vacation?  Give us a call to put your books on hold until you return.
• Listened to all the books by your favorite author?  Give your Reader Advisor a call for suggestions on new authors similar to the ones you like.
• Remember your Talking Books have a 45-day loan period, if you need more time call and we can extend the deadline. Multiple Book Cartridges have a loan period of 90 days.
• Want to download books you wish to listen to instantly on your own device?  Give us a call and we will explain BARD, our download service.
• Before you move give us a call to change your address and update your records so Talking Books will easily make it to your new home.
• There may be days when you call when we may need up to 24 hours to get back in touch with you.  We strive to contact you sooner and we thank you for your patience.
• Hurricane season is upon us again.  Keep your player charged up in the event you must evacuate to a shelter or the power goes out so you may listen to your books.

Online Children and Teen Summer Reading Program

Join the Summer 2018 reading program from now through July 31st and read the absolute best books selected by other kids and teens! Our reading lists combine many exciting topics and the 2018-2019 Sunshine State and Florida Teens Read lists! This program is entirely online! Friends of Library Access, Inc. will provide prizes based upon the number of books read.

Go to our website at https://dbs.fldoe.org, go to the Braille and Talking Book Library page, and select the Summer Reading Program link. You can sign up and contact the librarian Maureen right from that page. For your convenience, here is the address: summer.reading@dbs.fldoe.org

Perfecting Your Catalog Search

When searching the catalog on our website, you sometimes get a lot more results than you bargain for. However, we have a few tips to make it easier to find what you are looking for:

Start on the WebOPAC website at https://webopac.klas.com/fl1aopac/.

• Click on the SEARCH button. Then type what you are looking for in the QUERY box. This can be an author's name, a title, a subject, or a keyword. In most cases this will bring up what you want. Make certain to spell everything correctly. The catalog cannot retrieve words or names it does not recognize.
• If you wish to refine your search use INDEX menu. Select the kind of search you are doing, such as author, title, subject. The Author (sounds like) is helpful if you are not certain of the spelling of an author's name, for example Carlisle or Carlyle or Carlile.
• Use the RELEVANCE button to continue to refine your search.
• Once your SEARCH RESULTS are listed, use the menu along the left side of the page to narrow your results. Clicking on the BLUE CIRCLE beside each subject will REMOVE those subjects from your list.
• You can request or put a reserve (Rush) on books listed as IN PROCESS. These will be added to your waiting list and will be sent to you as soon as they are available.

Finding Multiple Book Cartridges: Start from the beginning, use quick query and simply enter “MBC”.

Finally, if you cannot find a series or a book in a series, you can call your reader advisor and they will help you find your favorite series! They can also help you get started with a password if you have not searched the catalog before.

Fresh from the Recording Studio

New Books

All of these books are easily found in BARD, downloadable immediately. Call your reader advisor to find out how to get your account started, and be able to get books on all of your devices!

Bot Wars (DBC12730) by J.V. Kade. 7hrs. 30 mins. Narrator: Dave Archard. A boy searches for his missing military father in a futuristic world where a war wages between humans and robots. A Sunshine State Young Readers Award Winner. Bot Wars series, Book 1.

Shadow of a Spout (DBC12725) by Amanda Cooper. 11 hrs. 20 mins. Narrator: Margaret Tedrick. Sophie Taylor's grandmother Rose is suspected of murder when her prized antique teapot is declared fake and the appraiser is found dead. To save Rose, Sophie must find the real killer. Teapot Collector Mystery, Book 2.

Framed!: a T.O.A.S.T. mystery (DBC12732) by James Ponti. 5 hrs 20 mins. Narrator: Pam Masters. Florian has just moved to Washington, D.C. He's learning his way around using T.O.A.S.T., which stands for the Theory of All Small Things, a technique he invented to solve life's little mysteries. But when he teaches it to his new friend, Margaret, they uncover a mystery that isn't little. Not little at all, but part of a much bigger picture! A Sunshine State Young Readers Award Winner. T.O.A.S.T Mystery series, Book 1.

The Council of Mirrors (DBC12739) by Michael Buckley. 8 hrs. Narrator: Kathy Taylor. Hoping to save their family and the citizens of Ferryport Landing from the evil plans of Mirror, Sabrina and Daphne Grimm seek counsel from the other magic mirrors, who advise them to join forces with the Scarlet Hand. Sisters Grimm, Book 9.

Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America's National Parks (DBC12749) by Mark Woods. 12 hrs. 5 mins. Narrator: Tom Hart. As a kid, Mark Woods' parents would take him and his siblings to national parks. On the eve of his fiftieth birthday, he decides to take a yearlong trip through national parks, one a month, inviting his mom and family to some of the stops. A few months into the year Woods finds out his mother has been diagnosed with cancer and only has months to live. A Florida Book Award winner.

Recently Placed on BARD

These books were originally issued on cartridge only, and now are available on BARD! Please enjoy the DAFFODILS series (Divorced and Finally Free of Deceitful, Insensitive, Licentious Scum) - about Southern belles with attitudes and a knack for getting into trouble, set in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Also, catch up on the eapot Collector mystery series, as we now have the first book in BARD.

The Turtle Mound Murder (DBC12760) by Mary Clay. 6 hrs. 50 mins. Narrator: Abbie Jansen. Rebecca Leigh Stratton is divorced, depressed, and thoroughly disgusted. Thanks to her two-timing, asset-hiding, lawyer husband, Leigh faces the prospect of starting over at forty-six. Fortunately, her sassy, Southern sorority sisters, Penny Sue Parker and Ruthie Nichols, are old hands at divorce. The three single-again ladies take off for New Smyrna Beach, their college-days haunt. What they don't bargain for are old flames, fist fights, and gunfire. DAFFODILS mystery, Book 1.

Bike Week Blues (DBC12761) by Mary Clay. 7 hrs. Narrator: Abbie Jansen. Leigh is building a new, single life at the beach. Ruthie's in town for a spiritual seminar.  Flamboyant Penny Sue, hot on the trail of her latest soul mate, buys a Harley and follows him to Bike Week.  Bullets are flying, a body is found, and all clues point to Rich, Penny Sue's new love. Unfortunately, Rich has disappeared into the hubbub of a half million bikers, beer bashes, and coleslaw wrestling. DAFFODILS mystery, Book 2.

Murder is the Pits (DBC12762) by Mary Clay. 10 hrs. Narrator: Kathleen Ragan. The daffodils are back and so are the dead bodies, taser guns, mob bosses, and quirky lovers! Amidst unrelenting hurricanes, Ruthie, Leigh, and Penny Sue fight hot flashes, hot metal, cold stiffs, friendly spirits, and gun toting senior citizens.. DAFFODILS mystery, Book 3.

Murder in the Stacks (DBC12763) by Mary Clay. 8 hrs. 30 mins. Narrator: Kathleen Ragan. Whenever these three middle-aged sorority sisters get together, chaos is sure to descend on the quaint seaside town of New Smyrna Beach. With real estate/tourism money at stake and bets flying, you have the frenzy of a horse race and the ingredients for murder. DAFFODILS mystery, Book 4.

Tempest in a Teapot (DBC12724) by Amanda Cooper. 13 hrs. 5 mins. Narrator: Margaret Tedrick. When her fashionable Manhattan restaurant goes under, Sophie Taylor retreats to her grandmother's cozy tea shop. When a murder occurs on the eve of her friend Cissy’s bridal shower, Sophie must find the killer before more of the guest list becomes a hit list. Teapot Collector Mystery, Book 1.

Publication Information

Bureau of Braille and Talking Book Library Services
421 Platt St.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114

Important Newsletter Update: Touch and Listen is now published bi-annually in large print in the spring and fall. It is published quarterly in audio; Spanish; English; Braille; Word document; and ASCII text version for adaptive technology screen reading programs. Go to https://dbs.fldoe.org/Library/index.html and click “Touch and Listen Newsletter.”

The Bureau of Braille and Talking Books Library Services is part of the Division of Blind Services, Florida Department of Education. Visit our website at https://dbs.fldoe.org/ or www.fldoe.org.