WLBPD @ AADL NEWS
VOLUME 2, NUMBER 2  SUMMER 2012
Washtenaw Library 
for the Blind and Physically Disabled @ AADL
(734) 327 - 4224  WLBPD@AADL.ORG

The National Library Service: BARD & Beyond!

This year we were fortunate to have Neil Bernstein, Research and Development Officer at the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, as a guest presenter at the vendor fair VISIONS 2012: WhatÕs New in Technology and Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired. NeilÕs presentation included an update on the transition in leadership at the NLS, with Karen Keninger appointed as the new Director, effective March 26.

Karen Keninger is a highly respected administrator and a leader in the NLS library network. As director of the Iowa Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped for eight years (2000Ð08), Keninger managed the statewide library program, the machine-lending agency, instructional materials center, Braille production, and audio-production units. She served on the Digital Long-Term Planning Group established by NLS in 2001 to guide planning for the now successfully completed digital talking book transition, and on the successor Digital Transition Advisory Committee. She led the transition in Iowa from analog to digital talking books and players and was successful in securing funds for the digital conversion of locally produced talking books. She is a daily user of the full range of information technologies for the blind and visually impaired, including Web-Braille, digital talking book machines and books, and online download services. [NLS Operations Alert No. 12-10, February 15, 2012.]

Neil also gave an update on a number of upgrades and additions to the NLS BARD website that have been in development and are expected to launch this year and beyond. BARD is the Braille and Audio Reading Download, NLSÕs online source for accessing digital books for download. If you are interested in downloading books to listen to on your NLS digital talking book machine (DTBM), you may apply for a BARD account by going to https://nlsbard.loc.gov. 

Currently, nearly 26,000 digital books (DB) and 51 magazines are available for download, with more titles being added every week!

Other highlights from Neil:
Phasing out of Web-Braille as BARD begins incorporating Braille materials
A new detail page for each item
A wish-list, for items to be downloaded at a later date
A way to access your download history (and re-download anything from there)
A way to find other books in the same series
Multiple subject headings per book
New links within entries on the subject and the authorÕs and narratorÕs names
New materials from the music collection, locally produced materials, and foreign language materials

NLS is also working hard on infrastructural changes that will support future projects such as mobile applications, vastly improved BARD and catalog searching capabilities, and (someday!) taking the DTBM itself online to receive materials directly. These things are enabled by the digital transition, itself nearly complete, with digital magazines coming later this year.

BARD: Most Popular Books In the Last 90 Days

The Hunger Games, Book 1 (DB68384)
Suzanne Collins; Read by Erin Jones
Fiction: Young Adult 

Zero Day (DB73933)
David Baldacci; Read by Jim Zeiger
Fiction: Suspense 

Catching Fire: Hunger Games, Book 2 (DB69689)
Suzanne Collins; Read by Erin Jones
Fiction: Young Adult 

Lethal (DB73782)
Sandra Brown; Read by Martha 
Harmon Pardee
Fiction: Suspense 

The Litigators (DB73804)
John Grisham; Read by Jim Zeiger 
Fiction: Legal 

Now You See Her (DB73624)
James Patterson; Read by Catherine Byers
Fiction: Suspense 

Betrayal of Trust (DB73810)
J.A. Jance; Read by Jim Zeiger
Fiction: Mystery and Detective   

The Egg and I (DB37151)
Betty MacDonald; Read by Pam Ward 
Non-Fiction: Humor 

Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever (DB73850)
Bill OÕReilly; Read by Mike Stefanelli
Non-Fiction: U.S. History 

SeriouslyÉ IÕm Kidding (DB73788)
Ellen DeGeneres; Read by Mare Trevathan
Non-Fiction: Humor 

Thirty-three Men: Inside the Miraculous Survival and Dramatic Rescue of the Chilean Miners (DB73380)
Jonathan Franklin; Read by Peter Johnson 
Non-Fiction: Biography

A Stolen Life: A Memoir (DB73692)
Jaycee Dugard; Read by Mare Trevathan
Non-Fiction: Crime   

Sites Unseen: Traveling the World without Sight (DB73854)
Wendy S. David; Read by Kerry Dukin
Non-Fiction: Travel 

Blind Vision: The Neuroscience of Visual Impairment (DB73465)
Zaira Cattaneo; Read by Kerry Dukin
Non-Fiction: Blindness and Physical Handicaps

More Books to be Announced in Talking Book Topics (TBT)

Beginning with the JulyÐAugust 2012 issue, Talking Book Topics will announce up to five hundred titles per issue to eliminate a backlog of unannounced digital talking books. These titles will be listed as one-line annotations with their subject categories and tags for violence, strong language, or explicit descriptions of sex, and will continue until the backlog is reduced. Here are two examples:

Fiction:
Breathless
DB/RC 70081 8 hours 15 minutes
by Dean Koontz
read by Jeffrey Cummings
Mysterious animals capture the governmentÕs interest. Suspense. Violence and some strong language. Bestseller. Commercial audiobook. 2009.

Non-fiction:
Cheever: A Life
DB 69273 30 hours 51 minutes
by Blake Bailey
read by Roy Avers
Literary biography of Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Literature. Some strong language. 2009.

Hundreds Attend VISIONS 2012

More than 400 people attended the VISIONS Vendor Fair. Held May 9 at Washtenaw Community College (WCC), the event was sponsored by the Ann Arbor District Library (which also serves as the Washtenaw Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled) and cosponsored by the Michigan Commission for the Blind and WCC.

Attendees mingled with thirty-seven vendors and organizations and learned of new technologies and services for the blind and visually impaired. The event featured many hands-on demonstrations; sighted assistants were available and snacks and beverages were sold by the Michigan Commission for the Blind Business Enterprise Program.

Presentations covered such topics as the National Library Service for the Blind; teaching/learning material for the blind in developing countries; how technology can help students with visual impairments; and whatÕs new in assistive technology. The next VISIONS will be held at WCC in May 2014.

AADL SUMMER GAME 2012
JUNE 15 - AUGUST 31

Registration for the Summer Game begins June 15! 
Register in one of the following ways to begin earning points redeemable for great prizes at the Summer Game Shop at aadl.org:
Call (734) 327-4224, or stop by any AADL location and request a Game Card 
Use or create an AADL login to register online at play.aadl.org
Text NEW PLAYER to 4AADL

SUMMER GAME FOR ADULTS:
Visit play.aadl.org or call (734) 327-4224 for an Adult Game Card. Read/listen to five books by Friday, August 31, and get your choice of coupon: Great Harvest Bread Co. or AADL Zoom Lends DVD Rental/Fine Forgiveness. Play the Summer Game online at play.aadl.org and earn points to trade in for prizes at the Summer Game Shop on aadl.org!

SUMMER GAME FOR TEENS:
The Teen Game offers a variety of ways to participate in the 
Summer Game, from reading/listening to books and listening to 
podcasts, to tagging items on aadl.org and attending Library events. For a list of activities, visit play.aadl.org or call (734) 327-4224 for a Teen Game Card. Choose and complete ten activities by Friday, August 31, and we will duplicate one book of your choice from the 	WLBPD/BARD collection and mail it to you to keep as a Summer Game prize. You will also receive a coupon for AADL Zoom Lends DVD Rental/Fine Forgiveness. Play the Summer Game online at play.aadl.org and 	earn 	points to trade in for prizes at the Summer Game Shop on aadl.org!

SUMMER GAME FOR YOUTH:
Children entering the 6th grade can choose between playing the Youth Game or the Teen Game. Get a Youth Game Card at any AADL location or print a Teen Game Card from play.aadl.org beginning June 15. Read/listen to at least ten books by Friday, August 31, and we will duplicate one book of your choice from the WLBPD/BARD collection and mail it to you to keep as a Summer Game prize. Get stickers at the Library for your reading log after reading or 	listening to three, six and eight books! The Summer Game is funded in part by the Friends of AADL.

Washtenaw Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled @ AADL
343 South Fifth Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

LIBRARY LOCATIONS
Downtown
343 S. Fifth Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Malletts Creek Branch
3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway
Ann Arbor, MI 48108

Pittsfield Branch
2359 Oak Valley Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI 48103

Traverwood Branch
3333 Traverwood Dr. 
Ann Arbor, MI 48105

West Branch
2503 Jackson Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48103

The Library is open:
Mon. 	10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Tues.-Fri.  9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Sat. 		 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sun.    12:00 PM - 6:00 PM

CONTACT US:
Phone: 	   (734) 327 - 4224
Email: 	   wlbpd@aadl.org 
Website:   wlbpd.aadl.org