News October-December 1995, Vol. 26, No. 4 ISSN 1046-1663 National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped The Library of Congress Study of audio-magazine format underway NLS has commissioned a study to help determine the future of the audio magazine program. The primary focus of the study is to consider converting recorded magazines from flexible disc to cassette format and to design a system of adoption if a cassette format seems reasonable. "Because of the scope of the audio magazine program, this project is much more complicated than it seems," says Michael Moodie, NLS research and development officer. NLS produces forty-four recorded magazines ranging in frequency from weekly to quarterly. There are 217,712 subscriptions, with an annual total of 3.3 million issues mailed to patrons. The analysis will consider such factors as patron and network library preferences, cost savings, audio-industry trends, production capacity of current and potential cassette-duplication contractors, packaging, destination of used cassettes, and impact on the supply of playback equipment. The study follows the recommendations of the program audit of NLS completed last year (see _News,_ Oct.-Dec. 1994). The audit report recommended converting magazines from flexible disc to cassette, starting with those magazines for which the conversion will reduce cost. If conversion is feasible, production of both books and magazines on cassette will eliminate the need for two playback machines. Currently, books are produced in cassette format and magazines are produced on flexible disc. In order to gauge the feasibility of the audit recommendation, NLS has contracted for a thorough study of the magazine program. NLS awarded the contract to ManTech Advanced Technology Systems in July after competitive bids were evaluated. The study is also being conducted in close consultation with an advisory committee made up of patron and network library representatives. The advisory committee's role is to inform the contractor about important factors to consider from the perspective of program users and librarians. The committee's guidelines will be an integral part of the development of any new production system. Initial procedures In the first phase of the project, ManTech visited audio producers to gather information on manufacturing techniques. The contractor observed work being performed at EvaTone Inc.; American Printing House for the Blind; Media International, Inc.; and Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic to learn about production of flexible-disc magazines, high-volume duplication of cassettes, and reusability of cassettes. The advisory committee met in August to discuss with ManTech many aspects of future system design. The committee pointed out the need for a package that will be easy to open, will easily fit into home or apartment mailboxes, and will be sturdy enough to withstand handling. Members also agreed that magazine cassettes should be easily distinguishable both visually and tactually from book cassettes. The issue of multiple-use versus single-use magazine cassettes occupied a considerable portion of the committee's deliberations; currently books on cassette are circulated on loan and must be returned to the library, while magazines on flexible disc do not need to be returned. Further dialog concentrated on the impact of a change to cassettes on playback machine supply and on wear of critical components in the players. These discussions will serve as ground rules for the contractor as the economic models and reports are prepared. Future steps After further research and analysis, the contractor will develop a draft report that includes a series of computer-spreadsheet economic models incorporating the key factors of a possible transition. These models will allow the contractor and NLS staff to plug in variables such as length of magazine, number of subscribers, number of issues, cost of materials, packaging costs, and reuse of cassettes in order to test various strategies. Based on the results, ManTech will recommend whether or not to make a transition from flexible disc to cassette. If recommending adoption of the cassette format, ManTech will develop a design for cassette magazine duplication, packaging, shipping, and disposal. This design will consider such factors as quality of cassette shells and tape, fixed or variable cassette load, packaging, labeling, single or multiple use of cassettes, duplication technology, and post-patron disposition of cassettes. The contractor will also propose a transition plan that focuses on moving from the existing system to a new one. The committee is scheduled to convene again in late November after the draft report is completed. At that time, members will consider the contractor's findings and evaluate the report's conclusions. The committee's recommendations will serve as a basis for preparation of a final report and for decisions made by NLS. ManTech's final analysis is due in early 1996. A separate study will also be underway soon to consider the specific magazines produced for the program and whether they provide a well-rounded spectrum of information available. Progress of this study will be reported in upcoming issues of _News._ (Advisory committee members Patrons: Marcia Nigro, American Council of the Blind; Ron Miller, Blinded Veterans Association; Seville Allen, National Federation of the Blind Librarians: Barbara Mates, Midlands Conference; Bridget Battaglini, Northern Conference; Michael Gunde, Southern Conference; Mamie Grady, subregional libraries; Donine Hedrick, Western Conference) (photo caption: Advisory committee members are (left to right, seated) Marcia Nigro, ACB; Mamie Grady, Chicago subregional library; Donine Hedrick, Northern California regional library; and (standing) Bridget Battaglini, Maryland regional library; Michael Gunde, Florida regional library; Barbara Mates, Cleveland, Ohio, regional library; and Seville Allen, NFB. Not pictured: Ron Miller, BVA. Photograph by Yusef El-Amin.) ### Miriam Pace retires as Network chief On August 31, NLS bid farewell to one of its most versatile and beloved administrators as Miriam Pace retired from her post as chief of the Network Division (ND). Pace began her career with the NLS network as the Alabama regional librarian in 1976. She came to NLS in 1981 as assistant chief of ND and served variously as assistant chief of the Material Development Division (MDD) and as acting chief of ND, sometimes holding both positions simultaneously. She became Network Division chief in 1990. Pace says her primary purpose in coming to NLS was to help build the network's confidence in the agency. "When I was in the network at the Alabama regional, there was not as much understanding or rapport as I could have wished between the network people and NLS." Pace says the influx of network people to the NLS staff and the constant involvement of network people on committees have brought a greater level of understanding between the two. "Now the network knows we'll listen and we'll understand," she says. Her most enjoyable experience in working with the network was planning the national conferences for libraries serving blind and physically handicapped readers. "It was a chance to work with the network. We asked them what kinds of programs they wanted and tried to respond to their suggestions." She also enjoyed traveling and making arrangements, but the high point was going to the conference and seeing all the network librarians at one time and getting to talk with them. There was one particular conference site that will always stay with the retiring administrator: the Prince George Hotel in New York City. She says it was "absolutely horrible. I went up and looked at it, and the lobby was old and rococo and really pleasant. And the rooms they showed me were nice. But those were not the rooms we got! You had your choice of a bed or an air conditioner; or a tub or running water. Beds fell down, and there was always the threat of fire." Then she adds in her soft southern drawl, "But the network people, bless their sweet hearts, just laughed as though it were funny, and it surely has been something to talk about since. But it wasn't funny to me." She says the Prince George eventually did burn down. Pace, who says she has a list of twenty-five things she wants to do during her retirement, plans to stay active in the NLS network. "I'm really proud of what the network has done so far," she says. "I know it's hard for them because they've lost staff, they've lost money, and the economy's got them going and coming. But somehow or other they keep surviving. They find volunteers to do work, and they cross train their own staff." A major concern of network libraries is space. Pace says this is one of the reasons she'd like to see the braille centralization effort succeed. "The idea of putting braille where it can be gotten to more easily is extremely worthwhile," she says, "as is the machine repair project. I think the repair project will pay off almost better than anything else we could be doing." She also notes that NLS is providing the best possible service, given its present budget restrictions. Pace will make her home in Burlington, North Carolina, and hopes to be able to assist the North Carolina regional library with serving its many nursing homes and hospitals. "Maybe I can be the person who passes out machines," she says, flashing her warm smile. She also plans to pursue her love of Latin. "I'm going to learn to read Latin--no one speaks it any more--and I'm going to keep antiquing." (photo caption: Smiling as usual, Miriam Pace enjoyed her retirement party. Seated behind her are staff members Jane Caulton and Jim Herndon. Photograph by Jim Higgins.) (photo caption: NLS staffers Lloyd Rasmussen (left), Debbie Brown, and Tom Bickford serenaded Pace with a song written especially for her. Photograph by Jim Higgins.) ### Advisory group considers collection When the National Advisory Group on Collection Building Activities met at NLS on September 20-22, the members were briefed on the subject of collection priorities by William Z. Schenck, Library of Congress collections program officer. He presented an informal talk, "What Do You Mean, You Don't Have Everything Ever Published: Collection Development in the Library of Congress." In a humorous and relaxed way, Schenck described the scope of the Library of Congress collection, its strengths for researchers, policies for selection, guidelines for level and intensity of development in various subject areas, and different acquisition methods. The audience of advisory group members and NLS staff heard of the sorts of limitations that impact the growth of the world's largest library. These factors include whether items are published or not, the nature of publication, the medium, availability through standard channels, research and reference value (including the Library of Congress definition of "scholarly"), currency of information, and, familiar to all present, budget. The audience also learned of certain book acquisition programs that are unique to the Library of Congress, including Cataloging-in-Publication submissions, copyright deposits, the Exchange and Gift program, and Library of Congress field offices that obtain local imprints in other countries. Collection recommendations After a day and a half of deliberations, the committee presented its recommendations for improving the NLS collection. Some of the requests concern development of specific subject areas, while other suggestions concern features of the braille and recorded books themselves or possible improvements to the structure of the committee. Highest among the priorities were rec-ommendations to include a recorded announcement in cassette books asking the reader to rewind the book; to use a lively and engaging narration style for children's books; and to recruit a patron representative with a reading disability to serve on the - committee. The next level of recommendations included the collection-related suggestions to assess the needs of reading disabled patrons; to establish interlibrary loan arrangements with Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic; to give priority to production of computer-related books in recorded format for children and young adults and in braille for all age levels, as well as short, introductory titles on cassette; to reissue two-track format books that are of enduring value or part of a series, as well as rigid-disc books for children; and to undertake a limited number of short books for adults in grade 1 braille and continue producing high-interest, low-vocabulary books on cassette. Other recommendations are the following: --- to enhance the collection in the areas of print/braille books for older children, disability-related materials, books particularly for boys and young men, children's book winners from a broader range of awards, humor of general appeal, emergency preparedness, and geography of South America; --- to be aware of the high level of books depicting dysfunctional families in the collection, and to withdraw books with out-of-date information, such as travel books; --- to improve patron book-selection tools by permitting patrons to order subject bibliographies in more than one format, by producing bibliographies in computer-diskette format, by reminding patrons more prominently than presently is done that each issue of _Talking Book Topics_ and _Braille Book Review_ is limited and not necessarily representative of the year's selection of titles or of the full range of the NLS collection, by creating a minibibliography on dogs, and by including information about major awards in book annotations. The committee commended NLS for continuing to identify and produce "clean" books and books that represent cultural - diversity. Recommendations will be considered by NLS staff and responses sent to committee members and network libraries. (National Advisory Group on Collection Building Activities Consumer organization representatives: Paul Edwards, American Council of the Blind; Sandra Halverson, National Federation of the Blind; Eddie Walker, Blinded Veterans Association Reader-at-large representatives: Midlands: Jana Schroeder, Dayton, Ohio; North: Kim Charlson, Watertown, Massachusetts; South: Norma Krajczar, Morehead City, North Carolina; West: Dean Martineau, Everett, Washington Library representatives: Midlands: Lissa Shanahan, Indianapolis, Indiana; North: Judy Walsh, Hyattsville, Maryland; South: John (Jack) Stein, Raleigh, North Carolina; West: Pat Meek, Anchorage, Alaska Children's and young adult advisor: Cassie Hamm, Albany, New York) (photo caption: Presiding over the advisory group meeting was Paul Edwards, ACB (right). Others attending included (far right) Jana Schroeder and Jack Stein; and (below, from left) Norma Krajczar, Kim Charlson, Cassie Hamm, and Eddie Walker. Photographs by Yusef El-Amin.) ### NLS strengthens machine-repair program In response to needs identified by machine-repair volunteers and machine-lending agencies and confirmed by a recent study conducted by NLS contractor ManTech, NLS has taken a series of steps to improve the quality of machine repairs and ensure a - continuing strong corps of volunteers. Work on the Volunteer Repair Project began in the fall of 1993, when then-acting chief of the NLS Materials Development Division (MDD) Lois Mandelberg developed a plan to gather recommendations from volunteers, machine-lending agencies, and NLS staff and incorporate them into a set of standards and requirements that would, for the first time, provide a national standard for what constitutes a repaired machine. In addition to instituting the repair standards, NLS has taken measures to improve training for volunteers, expand communication with volunteers groups, recruit new volunteers, and provide greater recognition for volunteer service. "We expect a great deal of success in this project," says NLS director Frank Kurt Cylke, "because repair volunteers usually make a long-term commitment and bring years of experience to the task." Initiating repair standards Working directly with representatives of the volunteer repair groups and with network librarians, NLS has developed a "check-off sheet" and acquired equipment that will enable volunteers to verify the performance of each machine going back into service. MDD staff provide special training to prepare volunteers to use the standards. "The volunteers have indicated for some time that standards were needed," says Al Lakomyj, equipment and materials maintenance coordinator. NLS has piloted the repair standards in five areas and plans, depending on the progress of the pilot, to begin general implementation in 1996. See the accompanying article for details on this program. Training volunteers Using a "train the trainer" approach, NLS will provide a series of twelve workshops throughout the country to prepare volunteers to train others not only in quality assurance, but also in the three most common repair problems: heads, drive kit/torque, and speed control. At the day-long sessions, participants will work in three-person teams--trainer, trainee, and observer--and the - trainers will receive feedback on their techniques. Structured lesson plans, standards for the common repairs, and equipment for performing repairs and tests will be provided so that participants leave equipped to begin training volunteers back home. Projected sites for 1996 training sessions are Daytona Beach, Florida; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Los Angeles, California; Columbus, Ohio; Trenton, New Jersey; Worcester, Massachusetts; Atlanta, Georgia; Denver, Colorado; St. Louis, Missouri; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Sacramento, California; and Phoenix, Arizona. Improving communications One requirement for better communications between NLS and machine-repair groups has always been information about the location--or even the existence--of all repair groups. In September 1994, NLS conducted a survey that identified almost three hundred repair sites across the United States. With information gleaned in the survey, NLS hopes to set up a mailing list and database for regular communication with the sites. NLS also plans to expand its visibility at Telephone Pioneer regional conferences and with other sponsoring organizations and to explore the use of teleconferences and public-access cable television--possibly interactive--to field questions and communicate information to machine-repair volunteers. Staff will also consider using automation to provide access to information databases and "fax on demand" responses to volunteers' questions. In addition, NLS plans to produce new, more detailed technical and instruction manuals, to mail informational articles to repair groups, and to start a repair section in _Update,_ the NLS quarterly newsletter for volunteers. Assisting with recruitment NLS will seek to work directly with Telephone Pioneer chapters and regions and with Elfuns and other sponsoring groups to help recruit their members as machine-repair volunteers. Staff will also explore the use of infomercials to recruit from the general public. Recruitment efforts will emphasize diversity among repair volunteers--including young adult members--and will address support personnel as well as technicians. NLS is encouraging receptions for Telephone Pioneers (which may be tied to the training sessions) and will seek to increase media coverage of machine-repair volunteers' activities. NLS will also provide awards, including plaques and baseball hats. Work on this five-part project is expected to intensify during 1996. The Materials Development Division and the Research and Development Office are planning the program and working with the standards. The equipment and materials maintenance coordinator, the assistant coordinator, and members of the Quality Assurance Section will conduct the workshops. ### NLS pilots machine-repair standards NLS staff are completing workshops in five areas this fall to pilot newly developed machine-repair standards, according to Brad Kormann, chief of the Materials Development Division (MDD), who is now in charge of the project. "We hope to find out how well the standards work," says Robert Kost, head of NLS's Quality Assurance Section. "We will formalize the standards after we find out what works in the pilots." Kost, NLS Equipment and Materials Maintenance Coordinator Al Lakomyj, and other members of the Materials Development Division (MDD) held workshops in Pittsburgh in July; San Antonio in August; Charleston, West Virginia, in September; Wichita in October; and Denver in November. The standards were compiled by MDD staff using recommendations gathered from repair volunteers, regional libraries, and NLS staff. "We wanted the machine repair standards to be written by the people who repair machines, not just by people in Washington," said Lois Mandelberg, then acting head of MDD. Three Telephone Pioneer representatives and one Elfun volunteered to help develop the standards, and MDD staff assembled the standards into a draft checklist. The draft was circulated to repair volunteers and network librarians, who sent responses and suggestions that were incorporated into subsequent drafts. The current standard is the sixth such draft, and it will be further refined based on the findings in the pilot workshops. The draft standards are presented in a check-off list that verifies nearly fifty aspects of machine performance. These - aspects range from a clean case and no missing parts to correct speed of play and good sound quality. The check-off list requires the initials of the technician and the inspector. "Ideally, each group will have one person who does the check-off, and that will not be the person who did the repairs," says Kost. "That way checks will be uniform for that group, and repair volunteers will be able to improve their work by receiving feedback from the quality checker." In addition to commenting on the standards, many volunteers voiced their needs for equipment. NLS responded by developing a kit for performing the quality checks. The kit includes meters, torque cassettes, visual aids and a tape for measuring frequency response and head alignment, and a strobe disc that can be used to check the speed on a cassette machine. In the pilot workshops, NLS technical staff show participants how to use the standards and perform the quality checks. Participants begin implementing the quality checks, and NLS technical staff then examine the machines approved by volunteer quality checkers to determine how well the procedure works. NLS staff also observe how the process affects the repair operation. Kost expects progress to be slow at first, as repair groups learn to use the standards and as they take more time repairing machines to meet the standards. "We have to caution libraries not to put pressure on the volunteers to speed up their repairs while they are implementing the quality standards," says Lakomyj. Libraries can expect to save time in the longer run, he adds, because they will not have to return machines for additional repairs. Approximately twenty volunteers attended each pilot presentation. "The standards were well received everywhere," - Lakomyj says. Although current plans call for extending the use of the standards in 1996, general implementation will depend on the outcome of the pilots. (photo caption: Bob Kost (seated), head of the NLS Quality Assurance Section, demonstrates procedures to a Pioneers group at the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, regional library. Photograph by Al Lakomyj.) (photo caption: Pittsburgh Pioneer Bob Henderson studies the draft standards. Photograph by Al Lakomyj.) ### IFLA conference meets in Turkey The sixty-first general conference of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) was held August 20-26 in Istanbul, Turkey. Some three thousand people, representing more than one hundred organizations worldwide, attended the conference, the theme of which was Libraries of the Future. Lois Mandelberg, head of NLS's Production Control Section, represented NLS. In addition to sharing information and attending to organizational matters, the group received papers on a range of topics, some detailing service in individual countries, some offering advice on organizing service or producing materials, and some projecting modes of service for the future. Representatives of libraries for blind readers as well as those representing other types of libraries--both specialized and general--focused on the potential of electronics in both production of materials and their delivery. Members of the Section of Libraries for the Blind focused on the future of the talking book and on the adaptive technology that might be used. Members discussed experiments already underway and developed a plan that projects a year-long study followed by adoption of standards. Steven King of the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) was named to head the study committee, which plans to present draft recommendations at next year's conference. Beatrice Christensen of the Swedish Library of Talking Books and Braille was elected to a two-year term as chair of Libraries for the Blind. The next IFLA conference will be held in Beijing, China, in August 1996. Its theme will be National Strategies for Libraries. ### NLS exhibit program 1995-1996 NLS will exhibit at twenty-seven conferences in fiscal year 1996 as part of its public outreach effort. Exhibits are operated by NLS staff and local network affiliates. Conferences on the 1995-1996 schedule are listed below in order of their occurrence. National Association for Music Therapy Houston, Texas November 16-21, 1995 National Association for the Education of Young Children Washington, D.C. November 29-December 2, 1995 American Academy of Optometry New Orleans, Louisiana December 5-10, 1995 American Optometric Student Association Portland, Oregon January 10-13, 1996 Music Library Association Seattle, Washington February 14-17, 1996 Abilities Expo Southwest Anaheim, California March 8-10, 1996 American Society on Aging Anaheim, California March 16-19, 1996 Public Library Association Portland, Oregon March 26-30, 1996 Vision Expo New York, New York March 29-31, 1996 Abilities Expo South Tampa, Florida April (to be announced), 1996 National Council on the Aging Washington, D.C. April 24-28, 1996 President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities Detroit, Michigan May 22-24, 1996 American Association of Retired Persons Denver, Colorado May 21-23, 1996 American Nurses Association Washington, D.C. June 15-19, 1996 Abilities Expo East Edison, New Jersey June (to be announced), 1996 American Diabetes Association San Francisco, California June 6-11, 1996 National PTA Washington, D.C. June 22-25, 1996 National Education Association Washington, D.C. June 30-July 5, 1996 American Council of the Blind Tulsa, Oklahoma June 30-July 7, 1996 National Federation of the Blind Anaheim, California July 1-7, 1996 Association on Higher Education and Disability New Orleans, Louisiana July 17-20, 1996 Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired St. Louis, Missouri July 20-23, 1996 The Foundation Fighting Blindness Washington, D.C. August (to be announced), 1996 Blinded Veterans Association New Orleans, Louisiana August 12-17, 1996 World Blind Union Fourth General Assembly Toronto, Ontario, Canada August 22-31, 1996 American Legion National Convention Salt Lake City, Utah August 30-September 5, 1996 National Rehabilitation Association Norfolk, Virginia September (to be announced), 1996 ### BVA welcomed on 50th anniversary The Blinded Veterans Association was honored on its fiftieth anniversary at a reception held August 23 at NLS headquarters. More than four hundred BVA members, family, and guests were greeted by the NLS staff during the two-hour festivities. Featured were the U.S. Air Force "Goodman Combo Band," playing songs from the 1940s and the Benny Goodman era, and a strolling accordion player who serenaded guests throughout the building. The BVA represents a significant segment of the NLS user community and a group given preference for service in Public Law 89-522 that authorizes the NLS program. BVA representatives often serve on NLS advisory committees. NLS director Frank Kurt Cylke was joined by Donald C. Curran, associate librarian for constituent services, and Deputy Librarian of Congress Hiram Davis in welcoming the BVA to the Library of Congress. (photo caption: Guests of all ages enjoyed the occasion.) (photo caption: NLS director Frank Kurt Cylke greets BVA guests. Several NLS staff members who are veterans were also on hand to meet the nine buses.) (photo caption: At the reception BVA members, family, and guests mingled with NLS staff and enjoyed refreshments and musical entertainment. Clockwise from above: Tom Miller (right), BVA president, with other members; Peter McKenna and companion enjoy the food; Eddie Walker (right) chats with NLS staffers; Ron Miller (left) and Deputy Librarian of Congress Hiram Davis; U.S. Air Force musicians play the "old songs." Photographs by Yusef El-Amin.) ### Charles H. Fox retires from North Carolina regional After thirty years of government service, Charles H. Fox retired effective October 1 from the dual posts of chief of Special Ser- vices at the North Carolina State Library and regional librarian for the North Carolina Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, positions he first assumed in 1974. Fox started his library career in 1965 at the Randolph County Public Library and joined the State Library in 1970 as the first field consultant for library services to state institutions. He recently served for two years as chair of the Southern Conference, which in May hosted a joint meeting of the Midlands and Southern regions in Richmond, Virginia. The fall issue of the library's _Volunteller_ newsletter salutes Fox, under a "Hail to the Chief" headline, "for the foresight and leadership he brought...along with his wit and wisdom. During his tenure...circulation and the collection have increased tremendously. Staff has grown, and technology and computer automation have changed the library service dramatically. Charlie has met the challenge and guided the library through all these changes." Fox is a native of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and holds a BA in history from Duke University and an MLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has studied at Syracuse University and the Goethe Institute in Passau, Germany. He served in the U.S. Air Force's Security Service as a Russian voice-intercept specialist. After retirement, Fox plans to travel to England and then to join his daughter, Alexandra, who is studying in Spain for a year. He also has a son, Norman, in Seattle, Washington. Fox is a history buff and a wine and beer connoisseur, avocations he expects to continue. He promises to bring his well-known sense of humor to future NLS conferences, where he will appear with a large "retired" marked on his name tag. Replacing Fox will be David Bevan, who has been head of the State Library's Information Services for many years. (Material for this article was provided by Patti Gamin of the North Carolina regional library.) (photo caption: Charles Fox.) ### Network exchange New York City. On May 20, 1995, one hundred patrons of the Andrew Heiskell Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped helped celebrate the New York Public Library's 100th anniversary. As a part of the Centennial Day commemoration, regional librarian Louis Berkel welcomed visitors, narrators performed readings, patrons toured the regional library, and participants enjoyed refreshments at an open house reception. Later in the week, more than one hundred teenagers gathered at the library for a centennial program and reception. Janet Bode, an author of popular young adult books, spoke to the teenagers, who had visited the library during the school year with their classes. An exhibit mounted in the library's street-front and first floor interior windows honors braille and talking-book service with photographs and historical notes printed in large type. The full text of the exhibit, along with additional captions describing the visual material, is available in braille and on cassette. The year-long centennial will feature readings, performances, exhibitions, concerts, and public programs throughout New York City. To begin its second century of service, the public library system also has introduced a new logo, which is a graphic interpretation of the word "library." Each letter represents a different aspect of the library's collection and services. The first letter "r" is displayed as a series of dots meant to evoke the embossings of books printed in braille. Alabama (Montgomery). The regional library has used the NLS poster _A Library at My Door,_ which shows a letter carrier delivering books to a blind reader standing on his front porch, to communicate their appreciation for their own Postal Service workers--several different drivers hauling large bags of books in and out twice a day. When the library's customized posters arrived last spring, staff members put one in each person's mail truck. Posters were marked "Thanks for all the good works" and signed by the whole staff, even including the names of the two guide dogs. "It was just one of those whims, and we had a good time with it," says Fara Zaleski, regional librarian. "But the drivers really enjoyed the attention, and it made them realize what an integral part of the service they are." Zaleski also presented one of the posters to the staff at the main post office. "It took two or three weeks for them to get permission, but then they put the poster on their bulletin board, and it's been there ever since." She believes this is the first time they have displayed an item not issued by the Postal Service. Florida (Brevard County). The Brevard County subregional library in Cocoa, Florida, recently held two special events for patrons, both designed for enrichment and to promote independent living and both deemed highly successful by participants. The first was a CPR class conducted by the American Red Cross at the instigation of Kay Briley, subregional librarian. Investigation showed that there was no program for teaching this lifesaving course to visually handicapped people. Therefore the course had to be developed as it was given, and the class was spread over two days with five patron volunteers receiving instruction. All five passed the oral examination that concluded the course. The instructor has submitted a grant proposal to the national Red Cross for funding to make course materials and procedures available nationwide. The second event was a premiere to introduce Brevard's new descriptive video service. After obtaining permission from the - Motion Picture Licensing Corporation, the movie _Sister Act_ was shown to an audience of approximately ninety patrons and guests. The occasion featured all the atmosphere of a movie theater including ushers, concessionaires with refreshments and cold drinks, and a popcorn machine. Several local merchants and organizations as well as county agencies contributed materials and services for the event and also made possible the purchase of ten descriptive videos, each of which will have a bookplate honoring the contributing group. California (Los Angeles). Solve a Mystery--Read a Book describes the focus of the Braille Institute Library Services' 1995 summer reading program. More than 220 young patrons in Southern California checked out books and prepared book reports as they participated in the reading club. By the end of the six-week period, 4,236 books had been requested, and club members wrote or phoned in 618 book reports. To assist readers, the library prepared two subject bibliographies: _Whodunit: Mysteries for Young Readers_ for children younger than age eleven, and _Get a Clue! Mysteries for Teens_ for young adults. The library sent each young patron a letter explaining the program and a sign-up form that included a shoe print for the patron to decorate. By summer's end, the library's display case was filled with mysterious shoe tracks leading toward a collection of braille and recorded books. Every Friday, the library mailed each member a card and a sticker for each book read and reported on that week. Readers who wrote at least one report also received a certificate of participation and a recorded book to keep. Those who read ten or more books received a treasure box, and top cassette and braille readers according to age groups were awarded fast-food coupons. Washington (Seattle). The Washington Talking Book and Braille Library in Seattle recently launched a braille literacy program featuring braille and cassette combination publications. The innovative dual-format titles are short, high-vocabulary selections from books and magazines specifically chosen to be of interest to adults learning braille. The braille editions range in length from four to thirty braille pages and are packaged with corresponding four-track cassettes that are fifteen to forty-five minutes long. This size is designed to give new braille users a comfortable reading length and to reduce the level of frustration in learning braille. Braille learners either play the cassette as they read the braille text or use the cassette to check their reading. The grade 2 braille is bound in a notebook-type binder that has a pouch to hold the accompanying cassette. The library has produced about ten titles so far, including an excerpt from David McCullough's _Brave Companion: Portraits in History,_ articles from _Teaching Tolerance_ magazine, and a short mystery by Tony Hillerman. The program was developed as a part of a focus on literacy by the Seattle Public Library, the regional library's parent organization. The library also provided an exciting learning experience for young students who participated in its summer reading program through an opportunity to go behind the scenes of the Seattle Children's Theatre (SCT) on August 26 for a day of accessible, interactive workshops. Forty-six readers and their family members gathered from all over the state to experience a "Day Backstage," touring the facility and then getting hands-on exposure to sets, costumes, props, and makeup. Readers were introduced to the new process of audio description, experiencing a scene first without and then with this enhancement. Sennheiser headsets were loaned by local theaters for this portion of the day. The director of SCT's drama school, along with faculty and interns, led the students through workshops in movement and voice, while parents and siblings enjoyed improvisation in the lobby. The climax of the day was a "staged moment" (loose plot, improvised script, and sound effects) by the summer readers for a most receptive audience. Lunches were donated for summer reader families and staffs of SCT and the library, while seven local hotels donated two nights' lodging and parking for families coming from a distance. (Jan Ames of the Washington regional library provided information and photos for this article.) (photo caption: Left, Don Fleming, SCT's drama school director, helps summer reader Elliott Souza adjust his headset to receive audio description of the day's performance. Right, in a movement workshop led by theatre staff, Caleb Edson and Fawn Grendahl learn to drop, turn, and "freeze" in response to sound cues.) ### International briefs Great Britain. The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of talking-book service at the end of June with a special Talking Book Week that included a visit to the talking-book headquarters in Wembley by RNIB's president, the duke of Westminster, and Richard Wilson, popular star of TV's _One Foot in the Grave._ According to the RNIB publication _new beacon,_ talking-book service began in 1935 using long-playing records with a speed of 24 rpm. Tape was introduced in 1968, using a special British-made player that held up to twelve hours of material. The first titles recorded in 1935 included two of the Gospels, selections from Shakespeare and Shaw, and works by other classic authors. A sixty-title "top of the pops" list of books requested in 1995 contains four titles by Agatha Christie, who also appeared in the 1935 list; a complete recording of the New Testament produced in 1994 after three years of research and recording; and thirty-four titles by Catherine Cookson, including the top nine books. Talking books is now the largest of RNIB's sixty services, with more than 60,000 members. Up to 600 new, unabridged titles are recorded annually in the service's eight studios by professional actors and broadcasters, with up to 300 copies duplicated for circulation. More than 10,000 titles are now available, and more than 12,000 cassettes are daily dispatched to readers. Canada. On July 1, 1995, the Crane Memorial Library, a branch of the University of British Columbia (UBC) libraries since 1969, became the Crane Resource Centre, joining UBC's Student Services as a functional unit of the Disability Resource Centre. Its new publication, _Crane Resource Centre News,_ reflects the change in its Vol. 1, No. 1 issue for September 1995, which is announced as a sequel to the _Crane Library News._ According to the newsletter, the move to Student Services and the direct link with the Disability Resource Centre "make good sense" considering their mutual roles to provide service for persons with disabilities and the need for more direct service. Crane will continue to provide a multitude of current services: --- to transcribe materials on demand for students; --- to transcribe materials on a cost-recovery basis for "distance" users; --- to build and maintain a collection of current and topical materials in alternate formats; --- to share materials via lending or sales with other institutions; --- to provide local users with technologies for independent access to information; --- to provide advisory services on academic and career planning and sources of financial aid; --- to facilitate liaison with university departments and instructors; and --- to offer training on adapted workstations and specialized equipment. Paul Thiele's title has changed from Librarian and Head to Director, Crane Resource Centre. Also, a scholarship is being offered for the first time this fall in memory of Judith C. Thiele, co-founder and Reference and Collections Librarian of Crane from 1968 until her death in 1993. Crane's first digitally recorded book, _The Enjoyment of Music, 6th Edition_ by Joseph Machlis will be available shortly. The project was funded by UBC's Teaching and Learning Fund, which provided for a $25,000 digital recording and mixing facility that records directly onto the hard drive of a PC and permits cutting and pasting of materials. The transcription incorporates narration of the printed text interspersed with playing of musical scores, sung libretti, and passages from commercial recordings. For further information contact Crane Resource Centre, 1874 East Mall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z1. Phone (604) 822-6111. Fax (604)-822-6113. ### Brother Eagle, Sister Sky completed; 10,000th NLS braille book NLS and the National Braille Press (NBP) in Boston celebrated the production of the 10,000th NLS numbered braille book with a news conference on October 11. _Brother Eagle, Sister Sky: A Message from Chief Seattle_ was produced in print/braille format, which uses the print book with transparent overlays for the braille text. NBP, a nonprofit printer/publisher founded in 1927, is the current NLS producer for books in this format. See _News,_ January-March 1995. Says Bill Raeder, executive director of NBP, "We use the print/braille format in most of our children's books. I'm very pleased that the Library of Congress's 10,000th braille book happens to be a children's book, because this format enables blind children to share the magic of reading with their sighted parents, grandparents, and friends." Present for the occasion were Judy Dixon, NLS consumer relations officer; Kim Charlson, assistant director of the NLS regional library at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts; Patricia D. Jehlen, Massachusetts state representative who has led efforts for a Massachusetts braille bill; and several young braille readers. (photo caption: Karl Belanger reads _Brother Eagle, Sister Sky_ to his sisters Erika and Britt. Listening in are Bill Raeder, executive director of NBP, and Judy Dixon, consumer relations officer at NLS.) ### The Program The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress publishes books and magazines in braille and in recorded form on discs and cassettes for readers who cannot hold, handle, or see well enough to read conventional print because of a temporary or permanent visual or physical handicap. Through a national network of state and local libraries, the materials are loaned free to eligible readers in the United States and to U.S. citizens living abroad. Materials are sent to readers and returned by postage-free mail. Books and Magazines Readers may borrow all types of popular-interest books including bestsellers, classics, mysteries, westerns, poetry, history, biographies, religious literature, children's books, and foreign-language materials. Readers may also subscribe to more than seventy popular magazines in braille and recorded formats. Special Equipment Special equipment needed to play the discs and cassettes, which are recorded at slower than conventional speeds, is loaned indefinitely to readers. An amplifier with headphone is available for blind and physically handicapped readers who are also certified as hearing impaired. Other devices are provided to aid readers with mobility impairments in using playback machines. Eligibility You are eligible for the Library of Congress program if: --- You are legally blind--your vision in the better eye is 20/200 or less with correcting glasses, or your widest diameter of visual field is no greater than 20 degrees; --- You cannot see well enough or focus long enough to read standard print, although you wear glasses to correct your vision; --- You are unable to handle print books or turn pages because of a physical handicap; --- Or, you are certified by a medical doctor as having a reading disability, due to an organic dysfunction, which is of sufficient severity to prevent reading in a normal manner. How to Apply You may request an application by writing NLS or calling toll-free 1-800-424-9100, and your name will be referred to your cooperating library. _News_ is published quarterly by: National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped Library of Congress Washington, DC 20542 All correspondence should be addressed to the attention of Publications and Media Section. Editor: Vicki Fitzpatrick Writers: Jane Caulton, Margaret Cytron, Robert Fistick, Ruth Nieland, and George Thuronyi *** 11/22/95 (gft) *** Comments to: lcmarvel@loc.gov