Winter 2019

Vol. 48, No. 3
Winter 2018/2019
- From the Administrator
- The Wait is Over! Arizona Talking Book Library's Latest Reader Advisor Has Arrived
- Getting Music Books
- Arizona Friends of Talking Books
- Bringing in the New Year With a Cold Mystery
- BARD Security Update
- Check For Overdue Magazines
- Did You Know?
- The Library of Congress Wants to Hear from You
- Save the Date -- April 6, 2019 Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon
FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR

JANET FISHER
Welcome to the new year!
There is always so much to look forward to with each new year. What are you looking forward to?
Perhaps you are anticipating the longer days (earlier sunrise and later sunset times started December 22), interacting with more of Arizona’s winter visitors before they leave in April, and engaging in new activities as the year moves forward. We hope you will find plenty of time to use our library and its many resources – audio and braille books and magazines, audio newspapers, and audio-described movies.
At the Arizona Talking Book Library we were thrilled to welcome a new reader advisor, Elizabeth Thompson, to our staff. One of Elizabeth’s responsibilities is to organize the Summer Reading Program activities for children and for adults (June – July 2019). Look for information about her in this newsletter.
With comings and goings in late December we saw Kim French, our Volunteer Coordinator, leave her position at the Arizona Talking Book Library. She is now developing a new business with her family. We will miss her deeply but wish her great success in this venture. We also look forward to Kim working with us as a volunteer.
All of us at the library are planning ahead to make this a great year with opportunities to bring our interests and passions into the work we do with and for you.
THE WAIT IS OVER!!! ARIZONA TALKING BOOK LIBRARY'S LATEST READER ADVISOR HAS ARRIVED

ELIZABETH THOMPSON
My name is Elizabeth Thompson. I am the newest librarian at Arizona Talking Book Library. My main responsibility is as a Reader Advisor for patrons with the last names that begin with the letters A – D.
I am a 3rd generation Phoenician and was a Youth Services Librarian at Phoenix Public Library for many years. I am passionate about the links between language, literacy and brain development in young children.
I am also leading the 2019 Summer Reading Program for adults and children. A Universe of Stories is the theme this year and I will have all sorts of spacey, otherworldly, amazing fiction and nonfiction titles for suggested reading.
GETTING MUSIC BOOKS
Did you know that the National Library Service offers musical materials to patrons? You can borrow music scores, instruction, and music appreciation in audio, large print, and braille directly from NLS. To learn more contact 1-800-424-8567 or [email protected] (This does not include music recordings.)
ARIZONA FRIENDS OF TALKING BOOKS

http://www.azfotb.org
The Arizona Friends of Talking Books is a 501(c)(3)non-profit organization that assists with development, advocacy, and outreach in support of the Arizona Talking Book Library. (Tax ID: 86-1008453)
BRINGING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH A COLD MYSTERY
Some would say that Arizonians have no idea of what cold weather is! There are even transplants from Southern California, as this writer, who think anything below 70 degrees Fahrenheit is nearly freezing. If we want to get clinical, the Dictionary Definition says that cold weather is an atmospheric condition that leads to freeze and frost. Yet as noted in Wikipedia, “Cold is a subjective perception.”
So whatever your personal definition is, here are some Cold Mysteries to bring in the New Year:
HELSINKI NOIR
By James Thompson
DB080558 (Available on BARD)
Narrated by P.J. Ochlan
(male narrator, 9 hours and 16 minutes)
Helsinki’s endless fjords, bays and islands offer plenty of places to dump a body and with less than six hours of winter daylight—hiding in dark corners is easy. These fourteen stories include “Snowy Sarcophagus,” in which two women’s bodies are discovered preserved in life-size snowmen. Translated from the Finnish. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2014.
WINTERKILL
By C.J. Box
DB058323 (Available on BARD)
Narrated by David Hartley-Margolin (male narrator, 11 hours and 29 minutes)
A sudden winter storm doesn’t stop a madman stalking federal employees in Wyoming’s Twelve Sleep National Forest. Game warden Joe Pickett finds a brutally murdered supervisor and then an injured manager whom someone left to die. Then Joe’s foster daughter April is kidnapped. Some Violence and some Strong Language 2003
BARD SECURITY UPDATE
The National Library Service recently made a change to BARD to make it more secure.
The BARD system now checks all accounts daily and any account that has not been used in more than a year is placed in an inactive/suspended status.
If you are unable to log into BARD, it is likely that your account has been suspended. To have your account reactivated, call the Arizona Talking Book Library at 602-255-5578 or 800-255-5578.
The temporary password you receive will need to be used within 24 hours. Upon logging into BARD, it will prompt you to enter a permanent password. Once that is done, please download a book. Otherwise, the system will automatically suspend you again the next day.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact us.
BOOKS IN DEMAND

Here are two top 10 lists that present the number of times each title was circulated:
High Demand Titles 2018
General Collection - DB
Book ID | Title | Author | Total |
1. 87698 | 16th Seduction | James Patterson | 343 |
2. 87697 | Golden Prey | John Sandford | 332 |
3. 87562 | Fix | David Baldacci | 325 |
4. 87696 | Fast and Loose | Stuart Woods | 322 |
5. 87478 | French Twist | James Patterson | 321 |
6. 87852 | Vicious Circle | C.J. Box | 319 |
7. 86691 | Shot in the Back | William W. Johnstone | 317 |
8. 86630 | Mistletoe Secret | Richard Paul Evans | 313 |
9. 87728 | Cutthroat | Clive Cussler | 310 |
10. 87546 | If Not For You | Debbie Macomber | 293 |
Arizona Collection – DAZ/DBC
Book ID | Title | Author | Total |
1. DAZ2954 | The Lost Bird | Margaret Coel | 172 |
2. DAZ3520 | Redemption | William & J. Johnstone | 166 |
3. DAZ2922 | Name Withheld | J. A. Jance | 147 |
4. DBC12822 | Appetite for America | Stephen Fried | 146 |
5. DAZ2629 | Concrete Desert | Jon Talton | 142 |
6. DBC00540 | Until Proven Guilty | J. A. Jance | 138 |
7. DAZ2913 | Breach of Duty | J. A. Jance | 135 |
8. DAZ2947 | Spirit Woman | Margaret Coel | 126 |
9. DBC00505 | Dismissed w/ Prejudice | J. A. Jance | 121 |
10. DAZ3399 | Homeplace | Gilbert Morris | 115 |
PLEASE CHECK FOR OVERDUE MAGAZINES
We’ve had an upsurge in delinquent magazines so please check around the house for any you’ve had more than two weeks and take care that each cartridge gets returned in the proper container. If you find cartridges of any kind missing a container, please call and we can send you an empty container so it can be returned to the correct location and taken off your record. Remember, if you go on vacation, please call so we can put a hold on your magazines.
DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that trees can communicate with each other, and that octopuses are smart, charming, and affectionate? That a man lived in the Maine woods by himself for nearly 30 years, and that a blind man kayaked the Grand Canyon? That your gut and brain health are linked, and that you may reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s by changing your diet?
Listen to these topics by checking out the following titles:
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries from A Secret World
By Peter Wohlleben
Read by Jon Pinnow
DB086697 (Available on BARD, 2016)
Forester shares his observations as well as research by others into the networked nature of trees and forests. Discusses communication by trees, the life cycle of an organic forest versus one planted, and the interaction of trees with their greater environment. Translated from the original 2015 German edition. Bestseller.
No Barriers: A Blind Man’s Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon
By Erik Weihenmayer
Read by Holter Graham
DB087291 (Available on BARD, 2017)
The author of Touch the Top of the World (DB 51505) lost his sight as a teen but still seeks adventure around the world. He shares his experience kayaking the Colorado River and his efforts to help other blind people, especially children, learn to live adventurous lives. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
The Soul of an Octopus:
A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness
By Sy Montgomery
Narrated by Kimberly Schraf
DB082438 (Available on BARD, 2015)
Naturalist and documentary writer explores the world, intelligence, and consciousness of octopuses. Describes her interactions with captive giant Pacific octopuses named Athena, Octavia, Kali, and Karma at the New England Aquarium in Boston, and her field investigations in French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico.
The End of Alzheimer’s:
The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline
By Dale E. Bredesen
Narrated by Marc Cashman
DB089010 (Available on BARD, 2017)
Explaining that Alzheimer’s Disease is not one condition, as it is currently treated, but three, a doctor outlines thirty-six metabolic factors (micronutrients, hormone levels, sleep) that can trigger “downsizing” in the brain. Recommends rebalancing these factors using lifestyle modifications such as taking B12, eliminating gluten, or improving oral hygiene. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
Brain Maker:
The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain—For Life
By David Perlmutter
Read by Peter Ganim
DB081615 (Available on BARD, 2015)
Neurologist author of Grain Brain (DB 78601) explains the potent interplay between intestinal microbes and the brain. He describes how the microbiome develops from birth and evolves based on lifestyle choices. Includes dietary recommendations and a six-step program to improve gut ecology and brain health potential. Commercial audiobook.
The Stranger in the Woods:
The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit
By Michael Finkel
Read by Mark Bramhall
DB087555 (Available on BARD, 2017)
In 1986, twenty-year-old Christopher Knight drove to Maine and disappeared into the forest. He did not speak to another human being until he was arrested for stealing food nearly thirty years later. Discusses his survival in the wilderness in the intervening decades. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Beginning in early March, a sample of 10,000 readers/patrons across the country who currently use services provided by the Library of Congress’s National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped–also known as NLS–will be invited to participate in a nationwide survey.
The information collected from this survey will guide NLS as they move forward on a variety of projects to enhance and expand the braille and talking-book program. As a part of NLS’s cooperating network of libraries, the Arizona Talking Book Library encourages invited patrons to respond to the survey at their earliest convenience. Insights gathered from this survey will help us better understand the needs of all of our patrons.
You may receive an invitation by mail, email, or phone. In order to ensure ease of use, readers selected for the survey will be given the option of responding in a number of ways to their invitation. Once you have received your invitation, if you have questions, please feel free to contact Gallup Support at [email protected] or call 1-888-297-8999.
SAVE THE DATE -- APRIL 6, 2019
VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION LUNCHEON
Volunteers - Please mark your calendars and save the date of April 6, 2019, 12 noon - 2pm, for the annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon, sponsored by the Arizona Friends of Talking Books.
The luncheon will be held, once again, at the Orange Tree Golf Resort at 10601 North 56th Street, Phoenix.
Please make sure that all your volunteer hours are in our Volgistics check-in system. If you have any questions or want to verify that your hours are being counted, please contact the library.
The keynote speaker for this year’s luncheon will be Ms. Cindy Garfio who is one of our library patrons and has used our library since the age of 11. She has trained as an Outreach Volunteer for our library to participate in presentations to English and Spanish language audiences. Cindy has experienced the range of services offered by the library in the last 18 years, moving from analog to digital with us.
We hope to see all of our volunteers there on this special day when we honor you and the impact you have on our library and its services.
Look for your invitations in the mail in the coming weeks.
Thank you for all you do!