Vol. 46, No. 3
Winter 2017

FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR

---

JANET FISHER

Are you taking advantage of the various services available through the Arizona Talking Book Library?

When people think of libraries of any type, they often think of them as places for checking out books. Some people think that description applies to the Arizona Talking Book Library too. In fact, the Talking Book Library offers books and more for those whose visual or physical disabilities prevent the reading of conventional print materials.

In this newsletter, I will describe the services that we provide.

In the next quarterly newsletter, the services we provide access to or are partners in will be covered.

PART I: Our Services

Audio books are a major part of our library collection, with over 20,000 titles in a collection of over 153,000 audio books. The Talking Book Library maintains this sizable collection on digital cartridges that have been designed to fit easily into the digital reading machines. Registered users of the library do not need computer access or any knowledge of technology to read these books – just push the ON button and the PLAY button and you can begin your adventure in reading. You can contact your reader advisor or set up an automatic profile to select the books you want to read. The cartridges are delivered to your mailbox free of charge by the U.S. Postal Service. Remember when you are done reading, just turn the mailing label over on the mailing container and return them free of charge through your postal carrier.

The Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) program has opened up a larger library of choices to us and to you. BARD, the system from the National Library Service includes tens of thousands of book and magazine titles in audio and braille that can be downloaded. Please contact the Arizona Talking Book Library if you haven’t signed up for BARD service.

Borrowing magazines from the Talking Book Library is easy. Call the library’s phone at 800-255-5578 (in Phoenix dial 602-255-5578) and ask your Reader Advisor to sign you up for this service. Whether you want to read the audio version of Humpty-Dumpty with a relative, or read the Saturday Evening Post, you can request that the audio magazines be sent to you.

The Arizona Talking Book Library has an active audio recording program. Volunteers work with our Studio Manager who trains them to be narrators, directors, editors, and reviewers of Arizona-related books and selected magazines. In 2016, Story Monster Ink was added to our local magazine recording. In 2017 we are adding LivAbility360, the magazine published by Ability360, to our recording schedule.

Our local volunteers enable us to have audio versions of Arizona-focused books and magazines. A big thank you to the volunteers for all of their work supporting the work in the recording studio and throughout the library!

Braille resources are available through us. We can borrow them from other talking book libraries or assist you in downloading them from BARD for your refreshable Braille machine.

I hope that you knew everything mentioned above. If not, please call your Reader Advisor at the Talking Book Library (800-255-5578) to take advantage of our services.

Janet

Back To Top

CREATURE FEATURE

---

 

We have added a new magazine to our collection called Story Monsters Ink which is a monthly family magazine. This magazine is full of news on the latest books and products, celebrity and independent author profiles, book reviews, recipes, activities, and more.

Story Monsters Ink instills a love of reading and writing in children and if you would like to sign up for it, please call us at the Talking Book Library and we’ll get you signed up.

Back To Top

HISTORIC SHIPPING DISASTERS

---

Two of the all-time greatest shipping disasters were the sinking of the RMS Lusitania by German U-boat U-20 on Friday May 7th 1915 and the sinking of the RMS Titanic when it struck an iceberg on the morning of April 15th 1912. All together 2,698 passengers and crew died when these two luxury liners sank with some of the wealthiest people in the world along with unfathomable treasures.

Theories of neglect and even war time conspiracy have lined the pages of both novels and non-fiction books for over a hundred years regarding these two tragedies. In fact, the commander of the Lusitania, Captain William Thomas Turner, testified at legal hearings in New York City on the neglect of the Titanic’s Captain Edward Smith. Not to be outdone, there is a conspiracy concept that the RMS Lusitania was deliberately put in harms-way by the British to draw the United States into World War I. All of this is bound to make for some exciting and controversial reading available in our collection!!!

 

The Midnight Watch: a novel of the Titanic and the Californian
By David Dyer
DB084734 (Available on BARD)
Narrated by Robert Fass (male narrator, 11 hours and 9 minutes.)
1912. Journalist John Steadman investigates the actions of the captain and crew of the SS Californian, which was stopped for the night only miles away from where the RMS Titanic sank. To answer his questions, Steadman must separate fact from fiction and good memories from bad. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2016

Voyagers of the Titanic: Passengers, Sailors, Shipbuilders,
Aristocrats, and the Worlds They Came From
By R.P.T. Davenport-Hines
DB074584 (Available on BARD)
Narrated by George Holmes (male narrator, 12 hours and 22 minutes.)
Chronicles the 1912 maiden voyage of the passenger ship the Titanic focusing on the experiences of all of the people on board, who ranged from plutocrats to immigrant strivers. Includes firsthand accounts of the event and discussions of the disaster’s consequences. 2012.

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
By Erik Larson
DB080936 (Available on BARD)
Narrated by Scott Brick (male narrator, 13 hours and 6 minutes.)
In 1915 the Lusitania, a luxury ocean liner, left New York for Liverpool. The captain assumed that the Germans would follow gentlemanly strictures of warfare, keeping civilian ships safe from attack. Larson recounts what happened when Germany violated that code and that choice’s wider repercussions. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2015.

Back To Top

BARD EXPRESS -- NEW SOFTWARE FOR
WINDOW-BASED PERSONAL COMPUTERS

---

NLS has designed a new software program aimed at helping BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) users who have personal computers running Windows operating systems (versions - XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.l, and 10) to download books.

The goal of the software is to simplify logging in, searching, browsing, downloading, and transferring audio reading material from the BARD website.

BARD Express is not to be used with mobile devices. It works with personal computers, and is not meant to be used with smartphones or tablets.

The software and additional BARD Express information is now available on the BARD main page under “additional links,” then BARD Express. https://nlsbardpractice.loc.gov/LOC_02/BARDExpress.html

NLS has also produced a set of tutorial videos called the BARD Express How to Series which are linked from the Frequently Asked Questions pages found in the BARD Express Documentation link (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=BARD+Express+How+to+Series+)

If you have other questions about BARD Express or BARD, in general, please contact our Machine Services Section at 602-255-5578 or [email protected].

Back To Top

BOOKS IN DEMAND

---

Here are two top 5 titles and the number of times each were circulated:

General Collection - DB

 

 

	Book ID / Title	Author	Total
	81741 -- Kickback	Ace Atkins	348
	81838 -- Naked Greed	Stuart Woods	317
	79103 -- Walking on Water	Richard Paul Evans	310
	80130 -- Killing Patton	Bill O’Reilly	306
	81236 -- Cold Betrayal	J. A. Jance	299

 

 

Arizona Collection - DAZ

 

 

	Book ID / Title	Author	Total
	5810 -- These is My Words	Nancy E. Turner	216
	3093 -- A More Perfect Union	J. A. Jance	166
	2913 -- Breach of Duty	J. A. Jance	165
	3520 -- Redemption	William & J. Johnstone	156
	3458 -- Queen of the Night	J. A. Jance	146

 

Back To Top

 

BARD WEBSITE AND BARD MOBILE CLASS

May 10, 2017 at 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

---

 

Location:

Arizona Braille and Talking Book Library 1030 North 32nd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85008

Call and register today -- Michael or Craig, 602-255-5578 or 800-255-5578

Or email [email protected]

Class starts at 10:30 am

BARD stands for Braille and Audio Reading Download

Come and learn how to navigate the world of books through the BARD website and BARD iPad, iPhone or iPod touch mobile app. Patrons and family members are encouraged to come and learn how to download from the BARD website.

Website
 

1. In this class we will teach you how to use either the BARD website or the mobile app to download books. We will even help you sign up for BARD.
2. How to unzip a file and transfer it to cartridge.
3. How to use BARD express.

 

BARD Mobile
 

1. How to install
2. How to navigate through the BARD app
3. How to delete a book.

 

Prerequisites: You will need to be a patron of the Arizona Talking Book Library or a family member of a patron of the library. If you are signing up for the BARD mobile class you will need to bring an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.

Back To Top

VOLUNTEER NEWS

---

TRAINING FOR VOLUNTEERS

Micha Espinosa, Associate Professor of Voice and Acting at Arizona State University, presented Narration Training to our recording volunteers in January. Micha (pronounced Mee’ ka) taught us great techniques to use when you are preparing to narrate. She presented an amazing workshop.

Micha focused on breath control and reading techniques. She provided a number of suggestions to help prepare for and encourage good narration results.

To start out, remember that warming up exercises such as yawning, help to stretch your mouth as well as your upper body. You can warm up using these tips while you are on your way to record.

•   make a sighing sound to warm up the voice,

•   hum a little tune to open those vocal folds, and

•   blow with your straw.

Warm-up exercises that will let every narrator prepare their vocal instrument and make sure it is ready for reading. She talked about hydration before you record and how coconut water would help with this. She spoke regarding steaming your voice just to keep those vocal folds hydrated. The recording volunteers should think of themselves as vocal athletes preparing for their recording sessions and being confident in their narration.

She told each narrator that their voice needs to be vibrant because it is an instrument that is flexible. She said that your breath is the fuel of your voice, so you should relax, sit up straight, breath in deeply, and then begin talking.

Micha pointed out it was important to wear comfortable clothes so you feel comfortable while you are narrating. Don’t inhibit your abdomen by wearing tight clothing. Always be comfortable and relaxed without constrictions, i.e. men please do not wear ties. Turtleneck sweaters can often make your throat feel tight so wear loose items around your neck.

Remembering to breathe and relax. Micha also suggested that you pre-read what you will be narrating. Read it to yourself and read it aloud to find the natural flow of the book. Once you are in the booth recording you will find you record with greater accuracy. [Please also remember that if you practice your reading at home, please record those hours in your volunteer hour report or on Volgistics because they are part of your donation of time to the library.]

Micha taught us that your voice will place itself in its optimal pitch when you sigh. That means that sighing can guide you to not speak too high or too low. Find your space on the inside and channel that sound.

Don’t rush the voice - relax and speak clearly. Just breathe comfortably so your voice can sound the clearest. Remember “Touch of Sound”, marrying your impulse to breathe with the impulse of sound.

With all of those suggestions and recommendations, the attendees were eager to test them out.

There was a good attendance for the two workshops, with many of the current narrators and some other recording volunteers attending. Let us hear from you if you thought the workshop was valuable, and if you would like more opportunities like that. We are always looking to help make the recording process a huge success.

Thanks also go to the Arizona Friends of Talking Books for funding this training.

---

VOLUNTEER LUNCHEON COMING IN APRIL

The 2017 Volunteer Luncheon
will be held on Saturday, April 29, from 12 noon – 2:00 p.m

The event will be held at the
Orange Tree Golf Resort
10601 N 56th Street in Scottsdale

 

 

 

Steve Welker, local author and Talking Book Library user, will be our featured speaker

 

 

 

The Talking Book Library staff is pleased to have such a dedicated group of volunteers. We also appreciate our Arizona Friends of Talking Books who make this annual event possible, and provide funding to support many of our volunteer efforts throughout the year.

Back To Top