Bright Future
Newsletter of the Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped
A publication of the Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped, Visual Services Division, Oklahoma Department of
Rehabilitation Services
Vol. 29, No. 3 Summer 2014
300 N.E. 18th St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405-521-3514
Toll Free 1-800-523-0288
Fax 405-521-4582
TTY/TDD 405-521-4672
E-mail: olbph@okdrs.gov
Website: www.library.state.ok.us
Bright Future is available in braille, digital cartridge and on our
website.
Cassette Books and Cassette Players
January 1, 2015 marks the end of cassette book service.
After that date only digital books will be mailed to you. If you
have a yellow player and cassette books in green plastic boxes,
like those in the above picture, please return them to the
Oklahoma Library for the Blind starting January 1, 2015.
The end of cassette service will not affect patrons’ digital
talking book service. Digital talking books will continue to
circulate as before. If you have any questions, please call us and
ask to speak with a librarian.
--Erin Byrne, Librarian
Digital Talking Books and Digital Players
Most of you already have a digital player and are receiving
digital talking books in blue and gray plastic boxes, as pictured
above. This wonderful service will continue, as always. Are you
not getting the books you would like? Would you like more or
fewer books? If you have any questions about your service or
would like to tweak it in any way, do not hesitate to call us at the
library and ask for a librarian. We would be happy to help you!
--Andrew Shockley, Librarian
BARD Mobile App for iPhone and iPad!
Are you interested in the BARD mobile app for iPhone and
iPad? The app is available for free download from the iTunes
store and it’s very easy to use! This app enables library patrons
with a BARD account to download audiobooks, Braille books, and
magazines directly to their iPhone and iPad. Of course, in order to
use the app you must first sign up for BARD. If you have any
questions regarding the app or are interested in signing up for
BARD, call us at 1-800-523-0288 or 405-521-3514 and ask for a
librarian.
--Erin Byrne and Andrew Shockley, Librarians
OSLS:
Oklahomans for Special Library Services
The OSLS group has had a very busy year in 2013-2014.
This group supports the efforts of the Oklahoma Library for the
Blind and Physically Handicapped financially and cooperatively. It
is made up of individuals that are patrons of the library and those
who support the philosophy and purpose of the library. Our
projects this year included the Kick Off party for the summer
reading program, and purchasing iPads for the AIM Center. While
these endeavors promote literacy for all children and make books
accessible, grants are being pursued to purchase more iPads.
Also, we currently have a young lady attending the Oklahoma
School for the Blind who was allocated funds to help with travel
expenses to the National Braille Challenge.
Another project includes the renovation of “The Hill.” “The
Hill” is a garden just south of the library that is in great need;
however, OSLS is working on transforming the area into a
sensory garden, creating a teaching environment for every one of
every age. Soon organizations, families, school groups, and
rehabilitation specialists will be able to enjoy the garden for
teaching and gathering.
OSLS hosted a small reception followed by a BBQ Dinner in
Bricktown for the National Library Service National Conference in
May. A great time was had by all. We are honored to have such
an outstanding library service here in Oklahoma to highlight.
The year ended with the annual meeting in May. This meeting
was held at the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
A catered meal was enjoyed and a wonderful presentation was
given by Dr. Phil Morgan of the Chickasaw Nation. The group also
delighted in having a presentation by a young lady that used one
of the donated iPads this school year.
If you would like to join the Oklahomans for Special Library
Services please contact Vicky Golightly at the Library for the Blind
and Physically Handicapped. It is a great group with a mission to
support YOUR local library.
--Debi Trout, OSLS Board Member
Mismatched Digital Books and Containers
We are noticing a great increase in the number of books
coming back from patrons who have mismatched the book with
its proper container before sending it back. Please ensure that the
number on the book matches the number on the box before
returning it. This will help us get books processed and on their
way to you faster, and will reduce the number of “mistake” books
you receive. We appreciate your careful attention to this matter.
--Marka Will, Librarian
Check out these recently added titles to our collection!
Damnation Road (DB 75224) by Max McCoy
This Western is set in Oklahoma Territory in 1898. On a train
heading to Texas, lifelong outlaw Jacob Gamble meets Anise
Weathers, a tattooed woman who survived captivity by the
Mohave tribe. Anise hires Jacob to help her recover Confederate
gold lost in an Apache cave.
Midnight Express (DB 72843) by Billy Hayes
This is an autobiographical account of a Long Island-native who
was apprehended with two kilos of hashish while leaving a
Turkish airport in 1970. The author describes the five years he
served of his thirty-year sentence before escaping to Greece.
Hayes’ harrowing account was made into a 1978 film of the same
name.
A Beautiful Place to Die (DB 72867) by Malla Nunn
In early 1950s South Africa, detective Emmanuel Cooper
investigates the murder of Afrikaner policeman Captain Pretorius
in an isolated bush town. Despite apartheid and opposition from
the government's security branch, whose members believe black
Communist radicals committed the crime, Cooper discovers the
captain's personal secrets and the killer's true motive.
Little House on the Prairie series (DOK 342) by Laura
Ingalls Wilder
If you ever wanted to listen to all nine volumes of Laura Ingalls
Wilder’s classic series set in the Great Plains, this cartridge is for
you. All nine titles are here and in order: Little House in the Big
Woods, Little House on the Prairie, Farmer Boy, On the Banks of
Plum Creek, By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Little
Town on the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years, and The First
Four Years.
Super Boys: The Amazing Adventures of Jerry Siegel and
Joe Shuster, the Creators of Superman (DB 76844) by
Brad Ricca
If you like Superman, this book is for you. The author details the
lives of Joe Shuster (1914-1992) and Jerry Siegel (1914-1996),
the creators of Superman, the first comic book hero. He explores
their early years in Cleveland, creation of the famous character
during the Great Depression, and their lives post-Superman.
African Cherokees in Indian Territory: From Chattel to
Citizens (DB 76865) by Celia E. Naylor
African American enslavement by Native American tribes is a
rarely discussed topic, and this book uses archives and firstperson accounts to explore the socio-economic condition of this
very group enslaved by the Cherokee people. It chronicles the
slaves' fate on the 1838-1839 Trail of Tears, their relationship to
their owners, 1863 emancipation, and ensuing freedom.
--Andrew Shockley, Librarian
From the AIM Center:
NEW! Visual Brailler App for iPad
Announcing another iOS app from APH! Works with your
Apple iPad® or iPad mini® running iOS 7® or later! And it's freeof-charge!
Visual Brailler is the simple braille editor! It's a braillewriter
for your iPad, and it has a place in every braille transcriber's
toolbox. It displays a traditional six-dot keyboard and simulated
braille on your iPad screen. You can edit and save your work,
which makes Visual Brailler perfect to use for on-the-go practice
for NLS certification exercises. Visual Brailler supports any code
you wish to use, because it makes no assumptions about what
you are writing. Use it to help learn new codes, such as Unified
English Braille (UEB), and to record your progress.
For transcribers who are blind, Visual Brailler also works with
Bluetooth refreshable braille displays and with keyboards.
Features include 6-dot braille on-screen keyboard; support for
any and all 6-dot braille codes; an indefinite number of 40-cell
braille lines; cut, copy, and paste braille manipulation; compatible
with refreshable braille display input and output devices; and BRL
(unformatted) and BRF (formatted) braille file export.
--Pepper Watson, AIM Center Director
Do You Want Books on the Weekend?
The library is closed on Saturday and Sunday, but do you
know the best way to ensure you have enough reading material
for the weekend? It’s simple: call the library no later than
Thursday! If you call on Friday, it is too late to add your book
requests to that day’s batch of mail to be picked up by the Post
Office. So give us a call by Thursday and ask for a librarian. We
will be happy to help.
--Andrew Shockley, Librarian
Overdue Books
Books are checked out for a two month period, with a one
month extension, if you need more time. Please remember to
return these books as soon as you finish listening to them. Other
patrons of the library would like to read them, too, and are likely
waiting on them. Thank you!
--Andrew Shockley, Librarian
Cassette Books to End; Digital Books Will Continue
Here’s another reminder that the National Library Service for
the Blind and Physically Handicapped has ceased production and
maintenance of the cassette book collection and the players
needed to listen to those cassettes. These are the older cassette
books mailed in green containers and the large yellow
cassette player pictured on the front page of this newsletter.
Your digital book service, which all of you currently receive, is
unaffected by this and will continue as usual.
Cassette service for all OLBPH patrons will end
January 1st, 2015. Patrons must return their cassette books and
yellow cassette players to OLBPH at that time. The National
Library Service requires OLBPH to return all cassettes and
equipment. We cannot allow you to keep them, nor will they be
for sale.
This will not affect our collection of digital books,
which will continue to circulate as before. A number of our
patrons have already cancelled their cassette service and are
pleased with the wide selection of digital books we mail them.
OLBPH is adding new digital titles all the time!
Thank you so much for your cooperation. If you have any
questions do not hesitate to call OLBPH. We want to make this
transition easy for everyone.
--Erin Byrne and Andrew Shockley, Librarians
Oklahoma Telephone Reader
The Oklahoma Telephone Reader (OTR) is an on-demand
dial-up information service. It is intended for use by anyone with
a disability that prevents them from reading standard print
materials, and you must be a library patron in order to register
for OTR. OTR takes the place of and is similar to its predecessor,
the Older Blind Telephone Line.
Volunteers record articles from “The Oklahoman”, “Tulsa
World,” the “Oklahoma Gazette,” and other publications on a daily
basis. Such articles include news, editorials, sports, grocery ads,
obituaries, as well as a variety of other types of articles. Listeners
can access these using the key pads on their telephones and
navigate directly to the publication of their choice. You can even
use your telephone key pads to speed up or slow down the
readings and to change the volume!
We invite all patrons to try the demo by calling 1-855-8876397 or 405-522-1896. Once the system answers, enter 5555,
then enter 1 (for Group 1 publications), then follow the prompts
to get to a desired article. For more information, please call the
library and ask for Becky Bates or Steve Dowdy.
--Becky Bates, OTR Administrator
For Your Information
Eligible Seniors Can Sign Up for Free Medical Eye Exam
EyeCare America, a public service program of the
Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology,
continues to match eligible seniors in need with volunteer
ophthalmologists who provide a medical eye exam, and up to one
year of care, at no out-of-pocket cost to the patient. To find out if
you or your loved ones qualify for this program, visit
www.eyecareamerica.org. The online application does not request
financial information.
Announcing KNFB Reader for iOS Release Plan
Responding to worldwide inquiries, KNFB Reading
Technology and Sensotec have announced today that the release
of the KNFB Reader iPhone app is being scheduled to coordinate
with Apple's upgrade to its new iOS 8 operating system, expected
to occur on or about September 10, 2014. The app has been built
for use with iPhone 5 or above, and running iOS 7 or higher.
Designed to be fast, accurate, and efficient, the KNFB
Reader iPhone app allows anyone to snap a picture of printed
text, in several languages, and quickly have the words read
aloud. The first release will initially support 11 languages, with
more to come. The app has been designed to particularly benefit
blind, visually impaired, and print disabled users. Documents can
be saved, stored, and shared with others as well.
More information about the KNFB Reader for iOS app is
available at http://www.knfbreader.com with links to video and
audio presentations, description of features, and more.
Did You Know?
The Library operates a local channel included on Newsline.
There you can learn about adaptive technology, such as talking
prescription labels or smart phones, general stories of interest to
people with disabilities, what is happening in Oklahoma City,
support groups for people who are blind or visually impaired,
news from consumer organizations, information on organizations
and agencies such as Visual Services, the Library, NewView
Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma School for the Blind and much
more. If you have not signed up for Newsline, contact the Library
and ask to sign up for it in order to gain access to over 350
magazines and newspapers, TV Guide listings, Target sales ads,
job announcements, etc.
Audio Books and Other Audio Sources
For Christian audio books, go to www.christianaudio.com.
For Christian classic audio and text books one of the best sources
is the Christian Classics Etherial Library, headquartered at Calvin
College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, www.ccel.org.
For both text and audio classic books, go to The Gutenberg
Project at www.gutenberg.org.
Audible.com is now a division of Amazon. The audible books
are audio with human readers. Find out how to access these
books at www.audible.com.
A person who cannot see to read can access a Kindle ebook
through the Kindle HD Fire for $229.00 or the free accessible
Kindle app for PC, Mac and iPhone. When looking for the app you
need to specify the accessible Kindle App.
For those of you who would like to be able to listen to other
news than what you find on television, the Global News Podcast
is available from www.bbc.uk/globalnews. This podcast is
released twice daily and is a compilation of news available from
across the BBC.
For listening to radio from all over the world, go to
www.tunein.com. Many radio stations called Reading Radio
Services broadcast readings of newspapers, magazines, and
books. Many of these services stream and you can find them at
http://www.iaais.org/streamingsites.html.
For those who might enjoy listening to old time radio
programs, either streaming or downloaded: go to the Old Time
Radio Researchers Library, www.otrrlibrary.org. The Internet
Archive's collection of thousands of old time radio programs is
found at http://archive.org/details/oldtimeradio.
--Compiled by Vicky Golightly, Public Information Officer
The Back 40
It is a great time to be alive! Good things are happening
and, as usual, your Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped is right on the leading edge.
The OLBPH is one of the leading regional libraries for the
blind and physically handicapped. The history of the OLBPH
includes some of the most innovative and trend-setting people and
technologies that serve our wonderful patrons.
Travis Leon Harris, for whom the library building is named,
was such an innovative person. His contributions to the library
brought it into the 1970s and the era of the cassette book players.
Paul Adams is another innovative leader. It is his vision,
talents, skills and innovation that brought the library’s technology
into its present digital age. He saw the potential for much higher
quality recordings and pioneered much of the application of the
methodology used for recording in the library today.
Your OLBPH continues to be one of the very best in the
nation and wants to serve as many deserving Oklahomans as
possible. Please share the experience with others whose lives will
be improved by becoming acquainted with us at OLBPH.
--Jim Kettler, Visual Services
Tax Deductible Donations
Every gift to Oklahomans for Special Library Services (OSLS)
benefits thousands. Contributions enable OSLS to provide
activities not funded by the annual Library budget. Make checks
payable to OSLS and mail to Oklahomans for Special Library
Services, P.O. Box 53593, Oklahoma City, OK 73152.
Donations are accepted in memory of a loved one, family
member or to honor an individual. When a gift is made, it should
include the name of the person being honored and the name and
address of the family or family member to be notified of the gift.
Please consider naming OSLS as a beneficiary of a life insurance
policy or in other estate planning bequests. With the assistance of
an estate-planning attorney, significant tax benefits may be
possible from this gift.
Oklahoma Library for the Blind
and Physically Handicapped
300 N.E. 18th St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Bright Future is the official publication of the Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. It was printed
by Heritage Solutions in El Reno, OK. It is published four times a year. Kevin Treese is the Library Director and Andrew
Shockley is the Editor. In providing information to readers of Bright Future, the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation
Services does not endorse any product or service referred to by this newsletter. This publication is authorized by the
Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services in accordance with state and federal regulations, with copies deposited
with the Oklahoma Department of Libraries Publications Clearinghouse. Cost of printing and distribution was $3,041.84 for
6,000 copies. DRS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability in
employment or the provision of services. For additional copies, contact the Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped, 405-521-3514.