Several European countries, along with Canada, Japan and RFB&D, have been exploring the possibilities of full-text books recorded on CD. The development consortium, named DAISY, has been working with equipment design people in Canada and Japan and soon expects to have equipment commercially available.

CDs have a number of advantages over cassettes; there are no tapes to bind or tangle, fewer moving parts can mean less to go wrong, they can be easier to handle than cassettes and even more portable. But they hold less recording (74 minutes vs 6 hours) unless the recordings are elaborately "layered", and players must have very sophisticated electronics to handle such CDs and still allow the functions Talking Book readers have come to expect, like fast forward, rewind, and an automatic bookmark.

The US is not a formal member of the DAISY consortium, although it sits in on all meetings and is firmly committed to digital recording. Our nation has by far the largest collection of books on tape, plus a substantial investment in cassette playback machines. Since the early 1970s, when books on cassette were first introduced to readers of the program, NLS has grown from producing 500 new titles each year to producing 2000+ new titles. Adding a new format would mean a huge cost. Our nation's political and economic outlook has changed dramatically from what it was in the '70s, and it is most unlikely that Congress would be willing to appropriate the funds needed to develop and produce books and players for the CD format right now.

The US has long led the world in library services to print-handicapped people; now, because of our huge holdings, it is other nations that are first to experiment with a newer technology. The sound industry is changing so quickly, however, that even CD technology may soon be "old hat." NLS engineers are looking ahead to be prepared for the inevitable "next step" in recording technology.

NFB-NH Seeks Scholarship Applicants

Each October, the National Federation of the Blind of New Hampshire makes available two scholarship awards to students who are visually impaired, legally blind, or totally blind.

the Floyd Callward Scholarship ($1000.) is awarded to a student in college or about to attend college, regardless of the student's age.

The Theresa Herron Scholarship ($500.) is awarded to a high-school student or incoming student.

To obtain an application or more information, contact -

Computer Users - ASSISTance is here!

The learning curve for many computer programs is fairly steep - and for many handicapped people, it's even steeper. Project ASSIST With Windows is coming to the rescue!

Created by the Iowa Department for the Blind using a Federal grant, ASSIST has been developing tutorials for combinations of operating systems and assistive technology programs. These can be reviewed and downloaded from a web site, or borrowed on cassette. Iowa has agreed to make single copies of each tutorial available free to us as well as to other Talking Book libraries that might be interested.

Tutorials are available for

Windows 95 with:

JAWS for windows 2.0
Window-Eyes 2.1
Window Bridge 2.3
WinVision 97

Windows 3.1 with:

JAWS for Windows 2.0
Window Bridge 2.3
WinVision Solo

WordPerfect 7 with:

JAWS for Windows 2.0029
WinVision 97

Word 6 with:

JAWS for Windows 2.0
Window Bridge 2.3

Netscape 4.03 with:

JAWS for Windows 3.0
Window Bridge 2.41

To download tutorials, go to www.blind.state.ia.us and for a cassette copy, call us at 1-800-491-4200.

Pam's Picks

Here's a sampling of books that have been very popular in libraries and bookstores, but have not gotten much attention in recorded form. Perhaps they were released at the same time as some "blockbusters" and were overlooked - who knows?

RC 42046 WEATHERMAN by Steve Thayer
Women are being murdered; one each season, just before a major weather disturbance. A TV weatherman becomes the lead suspect.

RC 36862 WHERE IS JOE MERCHANT? by Jimmy Buffett
A bush pilot, his heiress sister and a psychic cookie baker have wild adventures while searching for a supposedly-dead rocker. Funny and fast-paced.

RC 39888 PAULA by Isabel Allende
As Paula lies in mystery coma, mother Isabel tries to communicate by recounting complex family history. Sad, inspiring, true.

RC 39622 COUPLEHOOD by Paul Reiser
TV star takes a humorous look at the joys and stresses of marriage.

RC 37499 SMILLA'S SENSE OF SNOW by Peter Hoeg
A 6 year old Inuit boy falls to his death, and a part-Inuit scientist believes it to be murder. She investigates by herself. Suspenseful and unusual.

RC 36256 LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE by Laura Esquivel
The old-Mexico travails of Tita, her family and her unrequited love for Pedro are told in monthly installments mixing "magical realism" with recipes and home remedies. Bizarre and charming; a bestseller and then a movie.

GSILF offers new PHONE LINK Service

Using a telephone shouldn't be the most frustrating thing you do in a day. "Phone Link" offers free telecommunications equipment (such as TTYs, amplifiers, or hands-free telephones) to low-income people with disabilities.

For more information, contact Liz Fetela at 1-800-826-3700 (voice or TTY).

Housing Finance Authority offers
HOMEKEEPER Program

Many senior homeowners find that property taxes take a bigger and bigger bite from their fixed incomes every year. Adding costs for insurance, repairs and unexpected illness expenses have caused many to give up their homes. With this situation in mind, the NH Housing Finance Authority is now offering the Home Keeper reverse mortgage program, allowing an older homeowner to receive income based on his equity in his home.

Home Keeper borrowers can receive a lump sum of money, a monthly check, or a combination of the two. Repayment of the borrowed amount is deferred until the user no longer resides in the home.

If you are at least 62 years old, have little or no mortgage, and want to consider a loan against your primary residence, call the Housing Finance Authority for more information: 1-800-649-0470.

"Talking Caller ID" Available

Full Life Products is producing a Talking Caller ID system especially designed for users with disabilities. Easily configured, the 9500CW ($119.95) announces the caller's number or name from a log you establish, "beeps" to announce messages left on your voice mail, identifies callers on "call waiting", and can leave selective outgoing messages for calls you expect. Other models range in price from $59.99 to $129.99 plus shipping & handling charges.

For information, contact Full Life Products at P.O. Box 490, Mirror Lake NH 03853 or phone them at 1-800-400-1540. They have a website: www.superproducts.com.

Reading via the Web

If you have a 28.8K modem on your computer, you can access the wide selection of short stories available for your listening pleasure at www.assistivemedia.org/am.html. You'll also need the RealAudio software, but that's available right on line for a free download. Assistive Media is a volunteer organization running on gifts right now, but hoping to expand in the future through grants.

Many sites offer full-text material on special topics, like the works of Jack London at sunsite.berkeley.edu/London, and William Shakespeare at daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/, but AM's site is unique in that it offers sound only - no print.

Considering a Home Computer?

Sometimes it seems that all the world's on-line, with only me and thee left out. Perhaps you've been asking yourself why someone 60 years old (or 70 or 80) should ever bother buying a new electronic box with all those annoying wires and connections, plus the effort of learning how to deal with it (some of us are still stumped by VCRs) - it's all just too much, right?

Would today's newspaper interest you? There are seventeen New Hampshire newspapers on line right now, with today's news today - from the Manchester Union Leader to the Intertown Record of North Sutton. For a broader view, you can call up the Boston Globe, the New York Times, or the Washington Post.

Do you want to know how others see us? Links can take you to newspapers around the globe, or to the great national and international newsgathering services like the Associated Press, Reuters, and Bloomberg.

If books are your interest, The Gutenberg Project is the biggest single source of full-text books online, and has as its goal putting every word of every book ever published in English up on the World Wide Web for everyone to read (or hear). They do not have current, copyrighted material but their collection of classic works is amazing.

Would you like to read more about the Internet, the carrier of all this information (and more)? May we suggest -

RC 31483 Complete Handbook of Personal Computer
Communications A good, basic introduction to the hardware & software needed and the costs involved.

RC 39665 The Internet Complete Reference
After a general introduction, the first few chapters cover the basics and give some technical detail. Read the other chapters as needed.