Touch and Listen Newsletter

News You Can Use

Getting Help Downloading

Technology is wonderful when it works. However, when something goes wrong, sometimes it can seem as though it takes forever to get the right help.

Email NLSDownload@loc.gov for immediate help straight from the experts. Be sure to include the email address you use for BARD/BARD Express and specific details about what device you are using, and what error messages you are getting. In this instance, do not worry about sharing too much information!

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 OPAC 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.
• Screen reader users can press tab to browse the generated search result links. After each option in the list, press tab again to find a link to exclude that particular option from your search.
• Website users: If you wish to refine your search use INDEX menu. Select the kind of search you are doing, such as author, title, and 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 can’t find a certain book or a series, you can always call your reader advisor and they will help you find your favorites!

Breezing through BARD Express

Some of the advantages to using BARD Express as opposed to the regular BARD website are that the BARD Express application downloads, extracts, and places the titles right on your device or cartridge for you. A few tips if you are just getting into BARD Express and finding out how wonderful the features are:

• To start using BARD Express, sign in to the software using your existing BARD credentials, your email address and password. There is no need to log out (if you wish to log out, follow the directions under the Files menu in the menu bar). Simply close the software using the keyboard command Alt+F4 or select the X in the top right corner of the BARD Express window. BARD Express remembers your account credentials, so the next time you want to use BARD, just open BARD Express and it will log into your account; you won’t need to enter your email address and password.

Under View, and then Preferences:

• Cartridge Copy mode: You can select whether to limit one book per cartridge, or to allow multiple books on cartridges and devices.
• Display Mode: Select Standard: just one item at a time can be selected to work with. Select Advanced: checkboxes are displayed so that multiple items can be operated on at once.

From the Main Menu, select Browse by series:

• Put a main part of the series name in the Filter field. For example, typing “Potter” brings up three suggestions: Cottage tales of Beatrix Potter, Eugenia Potter mystery, and Harry Potter.
• You can then select each book in the series you want, and no need to worry about sorting them for playback- the numbering of the files in the NLS system ensures that the books will play in the correct order.

From the Main Menu, Most Popular Books or Recently Added Books:

• Using the Subject Filter after loading books in these categories, will streamline your results dramatically.

What we did this summer at the Library

CVI Summer Activity Program: Reading Takes You Everywhere!

For the second summer in a row, the Center for the Visually Impaired of Central Florida teamed up with the Florida Braille and Talking Book Library to present an activity program for children. Eleven participants ages 6-12 enjoyed making tabletop hovercrafts, Cheerio bird feeders, and playing word games. They learned how to draw their own floor plans from a local architect. Other activities included balloon rockets, water bottle bubble makers, and making their own storybooks.

Using the national 2018 iRead theme, Reading Takes You Everywhere, this program kept the traditional goal of encouraging reading during summer vacation, while also building a community among visually impaired children. This year’s program exposed the children to engineering, architecture, and physics in the reading materials and crafts.

Online Summer Reading Program Wrap Up

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Online Summer 2018 Reading Program! We had some great prizes this year, keychains, water bottles, and bags. I hope you had a lot of fun reading some great books and that you will do it again next summer! I enjoyed working with all of you, and I know that next summer we will have even more readers. So, spread the word. Remember, the library is here for you all year long -- and so am I. Write me at reading@dbs.fldoe.org for reading suggestions! Here are some for starting the school year right:

Just starting school

• Llama Llama misses Mama by Anna Dewdney DBC 02486
• Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes DB 37639

Elementary Classics

• Ramona the brave by Beverly Cleary DB 33519
• Tales of a fourth grade nothing by Judy Blume DB 39643

Study skills -- Juvenile literature

• How to sharpen your study skills by Sigmund Kalina. DB 10773 (BARD only)

High school / college

• Dean's list: ten strategies for college success by John Bader. BR 22196, DB 88725

Below are some wonderful book reviews by Emily, one of our summer readers. Be sure and check out more reviews on her page on our website at https://dbs.fldoe.org/Library/Reading/emily.html:

-Maureen, FL1A Librarian

Emily’s Book Reviews

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood was an amazing book. The author’s writing made it so hard to stop reading.  The story takes place in the United States after a group of people has taken over, and has limited the freedom of women all over the country. Offered, narrator and protagonist of the story, is one of the many Handmaids in her society. All handmaids are women used because they are fertile to have children. The author describes the society, Offred’s narration and storyline hooks readers to the book. The ending of the book is so good and annoying. The author’s ability to leave readers at such a cliffhanger makes the book so good to read. The book is definitely one I would recommend, it has many plot twists and many characters to dig into. I hated the ending but it was a great ending, but it will leave you mad and hooked for more. 

Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton was a good read. The book has a lot of plot twists and action, and that is what kept me reading. The protagonist, Kinsey Millhone, is faced with many conflicts as a private investigator. And throughout the whole book, there are two different stories being conveyed, one is directly involving Kinsey, and the other one is Kinsey Millhone’s future big investigation. With both stories there is a lot going on, and it makes the book interesting that way, there is never a boring part that makes you stop reading. You will want to keep reading until the end because it grabs your attention very quickly. I recommend this good read to you.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is so far my favorite book. The story is narrated by Starr, who has a lot going on in her life, beginning with the death of her childhood best friend. The death of Khalil brings a lot of problems for Starr and her family, mainly because there were a lot of rumors going around about Khalil and his death. There is a lot of crime and racial conflicts in this book and all of the things going on keep readers hooked. The author wrote the book in such a great way that it keeps readers interested in the characters and their roles in the conflicts. This is my favorite book and I recommend it to everyone!

More Book Suggestions

Need help finding a new fall read?  Here are some picks from staff:

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng DB 89018

The custody battle over an abandoned child and the cloak of mystery surrounding a new resident turns the perfect town of Shaker Heights upside down and nearly destroys the family whose members choose opposing sides.
-Jennifer, FL1C Librarian

In the Woods by Tana French DB 66071 Contains strong language.

This is the author’s debut novel and the first book in her Dublin Murder Squad series. It is a moody police procedural set in Ireland and populated with deeply flawed, yet compelling, characters. If you enjoy psychological mysteries that explore complex relationships and the haunting trauma of past events, I highly recommend this book!
- Erica, FL1M Librarian

The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks DB 75733

I have never had a lot of spare time to read, but I read this. It was a great escape, and captivated a non-reader’s attention.
-Joe, FL1A

The one-hundred-year-old man who climbed out the window and disappeared by Jonas Jonasson DB 75820. Some strong language.

This was really, really enjoyable. It’s a life story, like Forrest Gump, that flashes back on his life as he goes through even more adventures in the present. Anyone would like it! I inspect all the books as they come into the Library, and I can see the newest ones and look them up on BARD. I found another author with great books that way:

• Britt-Marie was here: a novel  DB 85014
• Beartown: a novel DB 88118 Some violence, some strong language, and some descriptions of sex.
• A Man Called Ove: a novel   DB 84392

All of these are by Fredrick Backman. With these, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry…I just really enjoyed all these books. Right now I am reading: The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson  DB91164 BARD Only, Unrated.
-Jill, FL1A

Be sure to go to our website https://dbs.fldoe.org/Library/Reading/index.html for the latest announcements and new features. Look for new reviews on Emily's Book Reviews page!

Fresh from the Recording Studio

New Books

Lay that trumpet in our hands by Susan Carol McCarthy. DBC 12745 Based on historical events, this novel tells the story of two families - one white, one black - who are impacted by the Ku Klux Klan in 1950's Florida.  Narrated by Gayle Sunderland. Reading time: 7 hours, 30 minutes. Strong language, violence.

Fifteen Florida Cemeteries: Strange Tales Unearthed by Lola Haskins. DBC 12757. Stories of some of the interesting people buried in Florida cemeteries. Includes local history about the cemeteries and the towns where they are located. Narrated by John Tarmey. Reading Time: 10 hours, 50 minutes.

Rush Revere and the American Revolution by Rush Limbaugh with Kathy Adams Limbaugh. DBC 12723 Be a part of Rush Revere's crew as they rush, rush, rush into a time when British rule had become a royal pain, and rebellion was in the air. They'll be on hand to see two lanterns hung in the Old North Church, prevent a British spy from capturing Paul Revere, and grapple with danger at the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. Narrated by Toni Blankenship. Reading time: 7 hours, 20 minutes.

Other Local Florida Book Suggestions

Through Slanted Windows: a journey into radio by Dave Archard. FDB 03701 The story is abundant with personal recollections of the waning Golden Age of Radio and the first decade of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Narrated by Dave Archard. Reading time: 8 hours, 5 minutes.

Cook it Like a Native Collected and edited by the Villagers, Inc. FDB 03680 The first cookbook produced in over 20 years by the Villagers, Inc., a historic preservation organization in Miami, Florida. Inside you will find a collection of over 200 Florida recipes. Narrated by Joan Koechler. Reading time: 8 hours.

Olivia Brophie and the Pearl of Tagelus by Christopher Tozier. FDB 03654 Young Olivia moves to the Florida scrub and finds much more than sand and scrawny oak trees. Caught in a battle for the fate of the universe, she slips down a tortoise burrow into the vast Floridian Aquifer where ancient animals thrive in a mysterious world. She learns the secret of a brilliant pearl and must use its power to discover her life's ultimate destiny. Grades 3-6. Narrated by Sue Christenson. Reading time: 7 hours, 10 minutes.

Friends of Library Access, Inc.

Where would we be without our Friends? They do so much to support the Braille and Talking Books Library, our volunteers and our patrons. They also underwrite and participate actively in advocacy and outreach activities which publicize the Library’s services and educate the public about disability-related issues.

What exactly do the Friends do for the Library?  Here are a few examples:

Volunteers:

• Host a Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon every April to recognize approximately one hundred volunteers who help serve Library patrons. Door prizes and special achievement awards are included at this gala event.
• Help finance various holiday lunches and potlucks held throughout the year to thank volunteers and local Board members for their work at our Library.
• Purchase supplies for the beverage station for Library volunteers to keep them supplied with fresh-brewed coffee, teas, cider, and hot chocolate.

Accessible Media

• Facilitate the purchase of blank cartridges for the recording of books, magazines, and for downloading digital books for Library patrons.
• Procure magazine subscriptions and books for recording by volunteers.
• Purchase of promotional, Friends of the Library Access, Inc.  license plates  to promote accessible media for patrons.

Equipment

• Purchase equipment for volunteer use including an icemaker and a Keurig coffee maker for volunteers.

Outreach

• Sponsor membership costs of organizations that are strategic to outreach.
• Provide promotional items to hand out at outreach activities.
• Participate directly in outreach events, including organizing activities, staffing exhibitor tables, fees, and participating in panel discussions.
• Network with local, regional, state, and national organizations to promote awareness of the Library’s services at conventions, and other meetings.

In addition to all the moral support and friendship they provide. For all this, on behalf of the Library, many, many thanks, to the Friends!

Want to join the Friends?  Contact them at tbfriends@earthlink.net, or go to their website at www.friendsoflibraryaccessinc.org.

Volunteers needed

Attention to detail a must! Shelvers: Must be able to stand, walk, bend and lift. Be able to match the number on the item label to their positions on the shelf. Inspectors: Be able to match the numbers and labels and sort incoming materials. Machine Services: Be able to clean talking book machines, with training. Production: Collating, organizing, folding, and labeling bulk printed flyers and booklets for shipping.

Call Kathy at 1-800-226-6075.

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.