New Patron Information:
About Your Braille and Talking Book Library Service

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About Your Braille and Talking Book Library Service

Account Number

You have been given a unique number in our computer which begins with the numbers 999. This number appears on every mailing card we use to send you your library materials and identifies you and your account.

Cost

The Braille and Talking Book Library Service is totally free for the patron as it is funded by your state and federal tax dollars.

Books

The materials we loan are books on digital cartridge or in Braille. They are not abridged or changed in any way from the titles you would find in a public library or bookstore.

NLS

The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled is a division of the Library of Congress. NLS provides the equipment and most of the magazines and books that we loan.

Regional and Subregional Libraries

The Bureau of Braille and Talking Book Library in Daytona Beach is the regional library for the state of Florida. Additionally, there are subregional libraries serving many of the larger metropolitan areas in the state.

Contact Information

The following are the subregional libraries:

Talking Book Players

Please save the box and all packing materials when your new player arrives. If your talking book player breaks or no longer works well, please call the Library that services your account or the Regional Library at 1-800-226-6075 and request a replacement. If your machine is still working, please keep it until the replacement arrives.

Equipment Accessories

Equipment accessories are available to customers who need them to use their talking books. If you need any of these accessories for your machine, please call the Library that services your account or the Regional Library at 1-800-226-6075.

Books: How to Order

Each title in our collection has a unique number. These numbers are listed in our catalogs with the title and a brief descriptive paragraph about the book. Book numbers begin with two letters: DB or BR. DB stands for Digital Books. These books are on digital cartridges and come in the small blue boxes. BR indicates a book in the Braille format. If you prefer to receive only books you select, we encourage you to keep a long list so that you can receive books on a regular basis.

There are many ways to order your books:

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS ARE ON YOUR ORDER.

Reader Advisors

When you call the Library, you can talk to a Reader Advisor who will assist you with a number of things such as ordering books or replacing equipment.

Auto-Select

This is a computer program which automatically selects digital books for you based on your preferences. When you start this program, you discuss these preferences with a reader advisor. You can change your preferences at any time. Your preferences can be favorite authors, subjects, book series, a favorite narrator or language. We can also make a preference of content you do not like, as well, that will be excluded from your profile.

Talking Book Topics (TBT)

TBT is available online in HTML and PDF at www.loc.gov/nls/tbt. It is available in audio from BARD, BARD Mobile, or by mail as a magazine on cartridge subscription and as a digital book. Please contact your Reader Advisor for help to order books as part of your orientation to Talking Books.

BARD

Braille and Audio Reading Download – You may apply to download books directly from the Internet to read using your Digital Talking Book Player, a third-party device like a Victor Reader Stream, or BrailleNote. You can download audio books to an iPhone, iPad, iPod or Android devices using the BARD Mobile App. To obtain a BARD account to download books to your device, you must first create an account by completing an application. Go to this website to do so:
https://nlsbard.loc.gov/nlsbardprod/account_request  

Choose the Link to BARD application for individuals. You are with library FL1A—Daytona Beach Florida. Complete the application and we will approve it. Then you will download the free BARD app to your device.

Once approved for BARD you will receive an email with a temporary password. You will go to the BARD website using a browser the first time and not the BARD App.

Go to https://nlsbard.loc.gov/nlsbardprod/index.html and enter your email address as your username and the temporary password you were provided via email. Once in you will be asked to create a password you like. Then you can start downloading to your device such as a phone, tablet, Victor Reader or computer using the BARD app.

Please save the above website on your favorites so you can easily go to it in the future.

Internet Services

The Library is available on the Internet at flopac.klas.com. If you would like to order your books via the online catalog, please call the library and we will set you up with a username and password. You can also correspond with the library via e-mail at opac_librarian@dbs.fldoe.org.

Magazines

Many different titles are available in both Braille and audio formats. All audio magazines must be promptly returned to continue receiving future issues.

Please note that it may take six to eight weeks to start or cancel a magazine subscription.

Braille Book Review (BBR)

This is a bimonthly catalog of new Braille titles added to our collection. It is available electronically, and in hard copy braille. Contact your reader advisor to subscribe to the hard copy version. 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. PLEASE NOTE that the order forms that come with the Braille editions do not have your name and address printed on them. The easiest way to mark them is to use a label with your name and address printed on it such as a return address sticker.

How Many Books?

We can customize the number of books that will be sent to you on a weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly basis. Each patron has a maximum number of items that can be checked out at one time. Once you reach this number, you will not receive any more books until some are returned. We will lower this number at our discretion if you have trouble returning items by the due date.

Loan Period

We ask that you read and return books and magazines within 45 days of receiving them. Even though we do not charge overdue fines, keeping too many books out can impact your receiving new materials in a timely manner. Equipment is loaned to you for as long as you are enrolled in the service and can be replaced when it no longer functions properly.

Returns

Audio and Braille items and equipment that you receive from the Library NLS catalog must be returned. Simply turn the mailing card over. The library’s address is on the reverse side of the mailing card. The statement, “Free Matter for the Blind and Physically Handicapped” in the position where the stamp would be placed allows you to mail the item without cost to you. Postal carriers are required to deliver the materials to you, but they are not required to pick them up from your house. You may need to take your return items to the post office or place them in a US Postal Service drop box. If you encounter problems, please call the library and talk with one of our reader advisors.

Address Changes

If you move, please call the Library and let us know so you can continue receiving your library materials. We also need to know changes in your telephone number.

Vacation

If you will be gone for a short time, please call the Library and ask a Reader Advisor to place a temporary “stop” on your service. If you will be gone for several months, we can change your address temporarily so your books will be sent to you at your temporary address. When you return from vacation, please be sure to call the Library to restart your service or change your address back to your permanent address.

Damaged Books

In order to identify a book that is defective, please put a string or rubber band around the cartridge and replace it in the book container. If you would like to receive another copy, call the Library that services your account and request a replacement.

Refused Mail

If you refuse mail from the Library, we will inactivate your library services if we cannot verify your address. We will make three (3) attempts to contact you to verify your information before your account will be suspended. If you want to make changes in your service, stop your service, or have questions or problems, please call your Reader Advisor.

Cancelling Service

If you want to stop your library service, please call us. If you have the original shipping box and mailing card, pack the machine back in the box. Turn the mailing card so that the Library’s address shows, and tape the card in the plastic window so that it won’t fall out. If you don’t have the original box, any box of appropriate size will do. We can send you a postage-paid label so that you can return the equipment at no cost to you. Please, also return any books you may have out at the same time.

Friends of Library Access

Friends of Library Access is a non-profit corporation that was established to assist the Braille and Talking Book Library, and a network of cooperating libraries, by purchasing and donating supplies and equipment for various projects. They also help with public education and outreach efforts. You can join the Friends of Library Access for $10.00 per year for an individual annual membership, $50.00 per year for a supporting membership, or $200.00 for a lifetime membership. Contact them at tbfriends@earthlink.net or go to their website at www.friendsoflibraryaccessinc.org.

Touch and Listen Newsletter

Touch and Listen is now distributed in large print and braille bi-annually in the Spring and Fall. Contact your Reader Advisor and let them know if you would like to receive a copy in the mail. It is published quarterly on our website in both English and Spanish in audio, text, and Braille formats.

Outreach

If you are part of a group or organization who does not know about the services of the Braille and Talking Book Library, please call 1-800-226-6075 and we would be happy to set something up to come talk about our services at a meeting.

Volunteers

Volunteers make a difference for readers who are unable to read conventional print. We are always looking for new volunteers. This volunteer effort ensures that people who have reading disabilities have access to Braille or talking books.

Contact the Volunteer Services Coordinator to volunteer or get more information. Phone number: 386-239-6043.

More Information

If after reading this information you have questions, please call the Library that services your account or the Regional Library at 1-800-226-6075 and speak to a Reader Advisor. We are here to help you get the most from your library services.

Sincerely,
The Customer Services Section

Our mailing address is:

Florida Braille & Talking Book Library
421 Platt Street
Daytona Beach, FL 32114

Email:

OPAC_librarian@dbs.fldoe.org 

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DISCLAIMER: Links on the Florida Division of Blind Services (DBS) website that are directed toward websites outside the DBS, provide additional information that may be useful or interesting and are being provided consistent with the intended purpose of the DBS website. DBS cannot attest to the accuracy of information provided by non-DBS websites. Further, providing links to a non-DBS website does not constitute an endorsement by DBS, the Florida Department of Education or any of its employees, of the sponsors of the non-DBS website or of the information or products presented on the non-DBS website.