Vol. 52, No. 4 Spring 2023

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NFB-NEWSLINE® USERS:
YOUR FEEDBACK IS NEEDED!

NFB-NEWSLINE® is a free audio and braille news service from the National Federation of the Blind for anyone who is blind, low-vision, deafblind, or otherwise print disabled. It is available to our readers through a partnership between the Arizona State Library, Archives & Public Records and the Arizona Department of Economic Security.

For our patrons who have already been using NFB-NEWSLINE® , we want to hear about your experience and your level of satisfaction with this service. Your opinions and insights will remain anonymous. Please email the library at [email protected] today!

If you have not yet signed up, we hope you will consider. NFB-NEWSLINE® offers access to more than 500 local, national, and international publications, job listings, and more. There are many ways to access, including a telephone or a personal device like an iPhone or Amazon Alexa. You can even read up on the day’s news with the library’s Braille eReader! Call the library at 602-255-5578 to sign up.

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INTRODUCING OUR NEW EMPLOYEE

Hi there, my name is Sara Zapotocky, a new addition to the Arizona Talking Book Library team! I will serve as a Reader Advisor for patrons whose last names fall within E-K. Additionally, I will be working on collection development for our local recording studio. This not only includes procuring new titles about Arizona and the Southwest, but also sharing conversations with featured authors and coordinating with librarians and volunteers on a national project to update ratings on unrated books.

Before joining the Arizona Talking Book Library, my most recent positions were at Desert Foothills Library in Cave Creek, and Scottsdale Public Library. My very first library job was a bit different: Scottsdale Culinary Institute (later called Le Cordon Bleu Scottsdale). When explaining that to friends and family there was usually two common responses: yes, they had a library and no, I wasn’t in a kitchen cooking! But I do love to bake. I’m not technically an Arizona native but I’ve lived in Phoenix since I was 7 so I would say I’m pretty close to being one. I do enjoy exploring the state when I can; one of my next goals is riding the canyon coaster in Williams. I like to relax by watching the Food Network (food plays a big role in my life, apparently), reading (I tend to read more nonfiction these days), and spending time with loved ones.

I’m excited to be part of such a great service!

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ALL TOGETHER NOW SUMMER READING 2023

From May 29th to July 31st, the Arizona Talking Book Library is working with the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled to offer amazing (and free) author talks and programming for all ages! Arizona will be running our regularly scheduled program, as well. Adults, finish your tic-tac-toe boards! Youth, read 20 minutes every day! Everyone return your completed forms by August 4th to be entered in the drawings. Thanks to the Arizona Friends of Talking Books, participants could enjoy a grocery gift card or an Amazon Fire tablet. Only one drawing per entry and one entry per person. There will also be craft kits and fun smaller prizes for completing the halfway point and more!

Registration form is included in this newsletter.

• Simply tear out this page and fill out the other side.
• Fold in half and secure with tape or a staple.
• Drop in the mail.
• You can always call us at 602-255-5578 to sign up over the phone.

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ARIZONA FRIENDS OF TALKING BOOKS
2023 WHINE-A-THON FUNDRAISER

It’s time for the 2023 Whine-A-Thon sponsored by the Arizona Friends of Talking Books. This event raises funds for programs and services for the Arizona Talking Book Library. You can participate in this biennial drawing from the comfort of your own home!

Like the highly successful Art of the Whine held last September, the Library receives 100% of the funds raised. This year, we are helping support the Library as they build a new training space. Staff are looking forward to offering in-person services, including classes on downloading books through BARD and programs for young readers.

We have many prizes to give away including two $250 Visa gift cards, two $100 Amazon gift cards, one pair each of sunglasses by Oakley and Maui Jim and the grand prize of an Apple iPad! There will be many, many other gift cards and certificates to local merchants and restaurants.

How does the drawing work? For each donation of $25.00, your name will be entered into the drawing. Donations of $100.00 will receive five entries. All entries must be received by June 1st to be eligible for the June 9th drawing date.

Who is eligible? All Library Patrons, your family, friends, neighbors – everyone! Patrons just fill out the enclosed envelope and send with your check or credit card information. Easy! If you talk your friends and family into playing, they can find additional information on our website at www.azfotb.org. There is a tab for Donations and a tab for Contact Us that has mailing information. Anyone not using the enclosed envelope should mark the donation “WAT” or “DRAWING” so we can issue their tickets.

All winners will be contacted personally and their names will be posted on our website shortly after the drawing.

Thank you for your continued support and Good Luck!!

Arizona Friends of Talking Books

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NEWS FROM THE
NATIONAL LIBRARY SERVICE (NLS)

Magazine News

These audio magazines have been added to the collection and will soon be available for download on BARD and on cartridge through the mail. Call the library to subscribe!

American Indian (Quarterly): Features Native American art and culture and includes diverse articles about the histories of American Indian nations and the contemporary challenges facing Native peoples across the Western hemisphere.

Baseball Digest (Bimonthly): Keeps subscribers up-to-date with current action while infusing the rich history of the game in each issue.

Bookmarks (Bimonthly): Summaries of hundreds of opinions from every major newspaper and magazine for a comprehensive look at 50 new fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books.

Consumer Reports: On Health (Monthly): Get expert reviews and ratings for health, fitness, and food products from Consumer Reports, and read the latest on drugs, hospital safety, and more.

Cooking Light (Quarterly): Find quick and healthy recipes, nutrition tips, entertaining menus, and fitness guides to help you make smart choices for a healthy lifestyle.

Dogster (Bimonthly): A print publication for dog lovers, known for its love, care, humor, and knowledge of all things canine.

Fiyah Literary magazine (Quarterly): Speculative fiction magazine that features stories by and about Black people of the African Diaspora.

Golf Digest (Monthly): How to play, what to play, and where to play golf.

Guideposts (Bimonthly): Inspirational magazine with personal, heartwarming stories and faith-affirming articles.

International Living Magazine (Monthly): Information about global travel, living, retiring, investigating, and real estate.

Jet (Frequency TBD): News, information and entertainment for Black culture of all ages.

Make (Quarterly): Publishes projects, skill-building tutorials, in-depth reviews and inspirational stories, accessible by all ages and skill ranges. Dozens of projects in every issue covering electronics, craft, fabrication, and more.

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BOOK CHAT

Did you know that the Library has a monthly book discussion group? Please call the Library at 602-255-5578 if you’re interested in joining us by phone or computer on the second Thursday of the month at 10:00 AM. We’ve enjoyed talking about some great books that you might like to try:

DB67516 Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron & Bret Witter
Spencer, Iowa, public library director Vicki Myron describes finding a kitten in the book drop in 1988. Named Dewey Readmore Books by library staff, the feline became an increasingly famous mascot over the next nineteen years. Myron also discusses her divorce, single parenthood, breast cancer scare, and love of librarianship. Bestseller. 2008.

DB97344 An Elephant in My Kitchen: What the Herd Taught Me about Love, Courage and Survival by Françoise Malby-Anthony & Katja Willemsen
Widow of the author of The Elephant Whisperer (DB 85906) shares what her life was like running the Thula Thula game reserve after his death. Discusses combating poachers, issues with employees, the elephant herd's matriarch who didn't like her, and the arrival of a lost baby elephant. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2018.

DB101440 A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson
Secrets haunt three generations of women. Fifteen-year-old Mosey Slocumb is shaken when a small grave is unearthed in the backyard, and determined to figure out why it's there. Liza, her stroke-ravaged mother, is haunted by choices she made when she was Mosey's age. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2011.

DBC17360 The Journal of Sedona Schnebly by Lisa Schnebly Heidinger
A production of Arizona Talking Book Library
1901. The great-granddaughter of Sedona Schnebly — after whom the town of Sedona, Arizona, is named — has woven historical research with family history to create a fictionalized journal of Sedona’s life as she travels from Goren, Missouri, with her husband T.C. to Oak Creek, in the territory of Arizona, to start a family and a new life in the West. Unrated.

DB93336 Virgil Wander by Leif Enger
After his car crashes in an icy Lake Superior, Virgil survives with damage to his language and memory. The people in the small Minnesota town where he owns a struggling movie house help Virgil piece back together his personal history. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2018.

This project is supported by the Arizona State Library, Archives & Public Records, a division of the Arizona Secretary of State, with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

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