Art Beyond Sight Awareness Month: October 2006
Celebrating Art for All Senses

Organized by Art Education for the Blind (AEB), Art Beyond Sight Awareness Month is an annual international initiative to focus public attention on the benefits of making art and culture a part of life for children and adults with sight loss.

During Awareness Month, museums, libraries, schools, cultural centers, and service agencies for visually impaired people celebrate how to use our five senses to explore and enjoy art and visual culture. Participating organizations work together with sighted and blind people to increase programs that make art education, art making, and visual culture available to all.

Education is a critical part of Art Beyond Sight Awareness Month. An annual all-day Conference Call Crash Course provides information on making art and culture accessible to all.

Scheduled for Monday, October 30, its hourly sessions are useful for educators as well as families and friends of children and adults with visual impairments. The 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) course is free. To participate, dial the conference call number: 1-641-985-8500, then press the conference access code AEB-2006 (i.e., 232-2006) and the # sign or key. The full course schedule is posted online at: http://www.artbeyondsight.org/change/aw-crashcourse.shtml.

October is also Disability Employment Awareness Month. The National Disability Rights Network has a variety of resources for celebrating: http://www.ndrn.org/.

The National Federation of the Blind of New Hampshire will hold its State Convention "50th Anniversary Gala Celebration" on November 17-18-19, 2006 at the Holiday Inn, 172 North Main Street, Concord, NH. The Mayor of Concord, NH has proclaimed November 18 as National Federation of the Blind of NH Day in the City of Concord in celebration of the NFB of NH 50 years of service to the NH blind community. NH’s Governor Lynch has also proclaimed November 18 as National Federation of the Blind of NH Day in the State of NH.

An excellent article about the importance of Braille and the literacy crisis still facing blind Americans first appeared in the Arizona Republic on June 1, 2006. “Proponents Say the Decline in Braille Instruction Is Leading to Illiteracy” by John Faherty can be found in the October 2006 issue of Braille Monitor, Vol.49, No. 9. Search under Publications at the NFB website: http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Default.asp.

Associated Press news feeds are available on NFB-NEWSLINE®! The AP feed is updated hourly and lets you track breaking news stories throughout the day. Just log onto NFB-NEWSLINE® and you’ll find the New Hampshire AP feed under option 3 from the main menu, and a national feed under option 5. With the AP now on NFB-NEWSLINE®, you don’t need your own teletype machine to hear about tomorrow’s headlines today. In addition to the AP feed, NFB-NEWSLINE® now offers over 220 publications from around the country, including the Manchester Union Leader, Nashua Telegraph, AARP The Magazine, and our newest magazine, Diabetes Self-Management. Point your web browser to http://www.nfb.org/newsline1.htm to learn more about NFB-NEWSLINE®. To become an NFB-NEWSLINE® subscriber, call (866) 504-7300.

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), in partnership with Ray Kurzweil has created the first portable reading machine for the blind and visually impaired: the Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader. The Reader uses character recognition software combined with text-to-speech conversion technology. Weighing less than one pound, The Reader fits in the palm of your hand. The user holds the Reader over a piece of paper and simply pushes a button to take a picture. The machine takes about thirty seconds to process the image and then begins reading the contents of the page to the user. The Reader can be used to read your mail, a menu, a receipt, a newsletter, or just about any printed item. Tasks that previously required a human reader can now be accomplished independently. For further information call the NFB at (877) 708-1724.

50th Anniversary of Sarah Josepha Hale Award

Author and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, Ellen Goodman, is the recipient of the 2006 Sarah Josepha Hale Award. The award is presented each year at the Richards Free Library in Newport, NH. Titles in our collection by Ellen Goodman are:

At Large RC 17936

Goodman sifts through the events, causes, and trends of the late 1970s and early 1980s in these reprints from her column. Her subjects include feminism, children, politics, and social ethics.

Making Sense RC 31698

Collection of newspaper pieces in which she attempts to "make sense" of the many and rapid changes taking place in society. She views daily events from the point of view of mother, daughter, wife, middle-aged woman, and twenty-five-year veteran journalist. These short pieces address such subjects as the generation gap, the custody fights over fertile human eggs, and a mother's role in the workplace.

Talking Book Club?

There are popular selections to choose from in Historical Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Biography, Science Fiction, and Current Affairs for a group of visually impaired individuals to discuss a monthly selected book. If you are interested in meeting one Saturday morning of every month in Concord at the NH State Library, contact John Barrett at 1-800-491-4200, or send an e-mail message to jbarrett@library.state.nh.us.

Seventy-four additional audio book titles have been added to the Unabridged collection. These include books from such popular authors such as John Grisham, Nora Roberts, Walter Dean Myers, Erik Larson, and Danielle Steel. For registered users these new books are available for checkout and downloading from the Unabridged Collection website at: http://unabridged.lib.overdrive.com/.

An HTML list of new titles is available at: http://www.unabridged.info/unabridgednewbooks20061017.htm.

The Unabridged collection now contains 1,661 titles and over 1,887 copies. To suggest other authors and titles, please contact Tom Peters, the Unabridged Coordinator, at the following email address: tpeters@tapinformation.com.

On October 11, 2006 OverDrive released version 2.1 of their OverDrive Media Console. The most exciting aspect of this new release is what they are calling their Transfer Wizard, which will obviate the need to use Windows Media Player to transfer Unabridged audio books to portable playback devices or burn them to a set of CDs. The prospect of not having to use Windows Media Player is wonderful. Unabridged users are encouraged to put version 2.1 of the OverDrive Media Console through some rigorous accessibility and general usability testing.

Helpful Tips

Please be sure to rewind the cassettes before you return them by placing them Braille-side up and pressing the black rewind key that is second from the left on the standard C1 cassette machine. The tape will stop on its own when done.

Please do not hesitate to call us for any of the following:

• Whenever your name, address, telephone number, e-mail changes
  
• If you want to change the types of books you get, or the number of books you receive
  
• When you have problems with books or machines
  
• To temporarily stop service

Thank You for Your Cooperation!

The National Library Service has updated their web site to include the September 2006 document, "Current Strategic Business Plan for the Implementation of Digital Systems". The address for it is: http://www.loc.gov/nls/businessplan/businessplan2006.html.

New Descriptive Videos

DVC 00341
Your Genes, Your Future….Not Rated
Addresses the role of genetics in modern medicine.

DVC 00342
Turmoil in the 20th Century…..Not Rated
5 separate stories

1) How the horrors of World War ll changed the lives of Jews in Poland
2) How the Berlin Wall divided Germany post World War ll
3) Final hours of the Titanic
4) Aftermath of Chernobyl
5) Deadly war in Kosovo, Clearing the landmines

DVC 00343
The Producers……PG-13……Musical Comedy
After putting together another Broadway flop, down on his luck producer (Nathan Lane) teams up with a timid accountant (Matthew Broderick) in a get rich quick scheme to put on the world’s worst show.

DVC 00344
Fantastic 4……PG-13…….Sci-Fi / Fantasy
A group of astronauts gain super powers after cosmic radiation exposure and, of course, must save the world from evil.

DVC 00345
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory…..PG….Family, Fantasy
5 young children win a tour through Willie Wonka's (Johnny Depp) most amazing chocolate factory. Unusual events befall them all.

DVC 00346
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire…..PG….Family, Fantasy
Now fourteen Harry finds himself selected as an underage competitor in the dangerous Tri-Wizard Tournament in his 4th year at Hogwart's.

New Books Available on Recorded Cassette

RC 61415 Thud! A Novel of Discworld by Terry Pratchett
Commander Sam Vines of the Ankh-Morpork Watch contends with a crew of dwarfs, trolls, werewolves, golems, humans, and a vampire. Science Fiction, Fantasy

RC 61489 A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve
Widowed Berkshires innkeeper Nora hosts six of her longtime school friends for a wedding. Bestseller

RC 61544 A Fountain Filled with Blood: A Reverend Clare Fergusson Mystery by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Episcopal priest Clare Fergusson investigates a series of gay bashings after Police chief Russ Van Alstyne decides not to publicize the attacks. Mystery, Suspense, Romance

RC 61652 Hitch by Jeanette Ingold
During the Great Depression a young man joins the Civilian Conservation Corps to earn money for his family back home and learns to be leader. Historical Fiction

RC 61694 Posse from Hell by Clair Huffaker
U.S. Marshal organizes small posse to hunt down a gang of criminals who have kidnapped a female hostage. Western

RC 61715 Miracle by John L’Heureux
A liberal priest reassigned to a small NH Parish questions his faith after witnessing a miracle and committing mortal sin.
Christian Fiction

RC 61948 No End in Sight: My Life as a Blind Iditarod Racer by Rachael Scdoris. Author discusses her childhood, her experience with low vision and her determination to become a professional sled dog racer. Biography

RC 61961 The Battle for Social Security: From FDR’s Vision to Bush’s Gamble by Nancy J. Altman.
Author outlines the history of the Social Security Administration and offers suggestions to strengthen the program as it currently exists. Current Affairs

Teen News

The Flume Committee is accepting nominations from students in grades 9-12 for The Flume: NH Teen Readers' Choice Award 2008.  Suggestions of fiction and nonfiction books that appeal to teens in grades 9-12 are needed, with publication dates from 2004-2006. If the book is part of a series, it must be able to stand alone, meaning a reader doesn't have to read the other books in the series to understand what's going on. Please submit your nominations by December 31, 2006. Teens can nominate their favorite title anytime online at http://www.nashualibrary.org/YALS/FlumeNominationForm.htm.

Librarians from YALS (the Young Adult Librarians of NH) have recently compiled a list of teen programs that NH librarians have successfully developed for their communities. Check out their great ideas at the YALS website: http://www.nashualibrary.org/YALS/TeenPrograms.htm.

The Technology Committee of the Young Adult Library Services Association has put together two great resources for back to school. The first document is a compilation of resources to help teachers and librarians work with teens to help them build critical information literacy skills when using the Internet. The second document is a tip sheet for teens to help them become safe and savvy web surfers. You can access them from here:
www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/yalsamemonly/savvysurfers.pdf
www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/yalsamemonly/findgoodsites.pdf

Our Sincere Thanks!

We are fortunate to receive many generous donations from our readers, their families and friends. These kind gifts are used to supplement our reader services. We have used donated funds to purchase descriptive videos, upgrade special program software and other necessities not covered under our general operating budget. These wonderful contributions help us maintain a higher level of service. We wish to express our gratitude to the following people for their generosity.

Edwin James
Shelley Lochhead
Joyce Simmers
Dora H. Bergeron
Helen B. Lindstrom
Louise Shaw
Marguerite Gigas

We welcome monetary donations to enhance and improve our library service. Please indicate the names and the addresses of those to be notified for donations in honor of a special occasion or person, or in memory of a loved one.

Mail to: Regional Librarian, New Hampshire State Library Talking Book Services, 117 Pleasant St., Concord, NH 03301.
Please make checks payable to: NHSL Talking Book Services