Announcements and Notices

February 9: Many Faces of BARD

The topic for the February 9, 2023, Many Faces of BARD program will be BARD Express. The program will begin at 7:00 p.m. eastern time and last for one hour. This program will be recorded.

The session will begin with a discussion of new BARD Express features and a demo of the upcoming new version release. The remainder of the time will be spent answering questions about the presentation or other questions related to BARD usage.

The session can be joined by going to https://loc.zoomgov.com/j/1618927125?pwd=QUxvaG1hRnRQU2E3Y2MxK01zZUpjQT09. The complete Zoom invitation is below.

Remember that the meeting is recorded. Do not speak if you do not wish to be on the recording. If you wish to speak, you may request to do so by raising your hand. On a PC, press Alt Y to toggle raising and lowering your hand. On a Mac Press Option Y and on a landline, press star 9. To mute or unmute yourself on a PC, press Alt A; on a Mac, press Command-Shift A; and on a landline, press Star 6. If you choose to dial in to the call, use the telephone numbers provided below. The Zoom.gov ID will not work with standard Zoom.us.

Get NLS News in your Inbox!

Want to get the latest news and updates from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled? NLS’s Patron Engagement Section now hosts an announce-only listserv that will include announcements about NLS programs, services, and products that might be of interest to patrons. New announcements will be posted to the list few times a week. If you are interested in signing up for this listserv, please send your name and email address to the Patron Engagement Section at NLSPES@loc.gov. You will be able to unsubscribe yourself from the list at any time. So email NLSPES@loc.gov now!

NLS discontinuing large-print publications

Due to the ongoing worldwide paper shortage and significant increases in printing costs, NLS has made the difficult decision to cease production of all large-print serialized publications. These publications – Talking Book Topics (TBT), Braille Book Review (BBR), and Musical Mainstream (MM) – will continue to be available in all other forms in which they are currently produced.

TBT will remain available in HTML and PDF at www.loc.gov/nls/tbt and in audio from BARD, BARD Mobile, or by mail as a magazine on cartridge subscription and as a digital book. BBR will remain available in hardcopy braille, ebraille from BARD or BARD Mobile, and HTML at www.loc.gov/nls/bbr.

To subscribe to BBR in hardcopy braille, or to TBT on audio cartridge, please contact your reader advisor, at the library that services your account.

To view both new issues and back issues of BBR in HTML, please visit the NLS website at www.loc.gov/nls/bbr. To subscribe to BBR in ebraille, visit BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download service, or BARD Mobile. Back issues of BBR are also available through BARD.

MM will continue to be available in braille, ebraille, and in audio available to subscribers on cartridge and on BARD.

If you have not signed up already for a free BARD account, visit www.loc.gov/nls/bard for instructions on how to enroll.

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. You cannot give too much information!