MARYLAND STATE LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND AND PHYSICALLY
HANDICAPPED
LIBRARY LINE Volume 12, Issue 2 Spring, 2005
LBPH
415 PARK AVE. BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 21201
LIBRARY HOURS
MONDAY -FRIDAY, 8:00AM - 5:00PM
SECOND SATURDAY OF EACH MONTH 10:00AM -2:00PM
TELEPHONE
410-230-2444
In State
1-800-964-9209
TDD
410-333-8679
Library Director’s Report
We count on the winter months to be the time when we take care of planning and library projects such as weeding the collection or shifting books. Winter is the time when people hesitate to venture out in the cold to come to the library. This year, however, we had a record number of groups and individuals come for tours and presentations at LBPH. Our book club was even able to meet on all its dates.
We welcomed spring with our annual celebration of National Poetry Month in April. We held a “Meet the New Maryland Poet Laureate” program in which we introduced Michael Glaser to our patrons. Michael Glaser is a professor of English at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and the author of several volumes of poetry. At the program, he and several LBPH patrons read from their own poetry and from their favorite poets. We will be including original patron poems in this and subsequent newsletters.
April held another LBPH celebration; our young patrons celebrated Hans
Christian Anderson’s birthday as part of a Fairy Tale Festival held jointly with the Enoch Pratt Free Library. The birthday party featured stories by

Miss Kit, King John from the Walters Art Museum, and a Pratt librarian as well as craft activities and treats.
In May, LBPH staff and twenty-five patrons participated in a usability study conducted by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped (NLS) as part of the preparation for the Digital Talking Book
(see p. 5). Patrons took part in 90-minute interviews in which they discussed their use of audiocassette books and playback machines and tested various models of a new machine.
Taking part in the study was exciting for all of us; we were honored to be asked to provide input into the future book and player.
Recently, our reference staff began to participate in InfoEyes, an online reference service provided by LBPH libraries in several states. InfoEyes gives our patrons the ability to contact a librarian via email or online chat to receive reference help several hours each week (see p. 5) If you have questions about InfoEyes please contact our reference staff at 410-230-2443.
Jill Lewis
Library Director
Library Adds Eight New Descriptive Videos
Chicago DV303
DV304 Passion of Christ
Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets
Shrek 2
Harry Potter and the
Prisoner of Azkaban
The Terminal
DV305
DV306
DV307
DV308
Raising Helen
The Last Samurai
DV309
DV310
Descriptive Videos are movies and television programs for people with low or no vision that are enhanced with descriptions of the action, setting, and characters. No special equipment is needed. You can play these on a regular
VCR (videocassette recorder).

Poems
Sonnet XIV (or The Grove of Dion) By Nikki Singh
The grove of Dion is of olive trees
Cool, hidden, and a luscious green
Where a dove coos his plaintive reveries to the listening rose and eglantine.
A marble fountain splashes in the wood
With vivacious jets which dulcetly fall.
Columns still rise where once a temple stood; On their plinths, they stand commanding and tall.
When dusk falls to begin the evening hour, Frankincense and myrrh scent the stilly air.
A thousand candles are lit in each bower, Burning lambent flames inside the grove there.
This is where the silvan spirits gladly rove Among the secrecy of Dion's grove.
I Feel Your Presence By Rachel A. Urban
I can not see, but have no fear
I feel that You are always near.
I feel Your Presence.
I thought that I just heard
A flutter of a little bird.
I hear Your Presence.
A gentle breeze just passed my nose
It has the aroma of a rose.
I smell Your Presence.
My throat is dry, but first,
A sip of water will quench my thirst,
I taste Your Presence.
I am a little tired. I think I’ll nod

I am not afraid. You are my God.
I feel Your Presence.
What is the Washington Ear?
The Washington Ear, Inc., is the closed-circuit radio reading service for the blind, visually impaired, and print-handicapped in the greater Washington,
D.C. metropolitan area. In some areas its broadcasts are extended by cable beyond the 35-mile radius of the transmitter.
The programs of The Washington Ear can be heard via special pre-tuned radio receivers in private homes and in some hospitals and retirement homes. The receivers, which can be attached to a timer and a tape recorder, are loaned without charge to individual users. Registered users of LBPH are eligible.
The Washington Ear is on the air seven days a week for 112 hours a week.
At present, it has distributed approximately 1,700 receivers in the greater
Metropolitan Washington area. Volunteers read selections from more than
200 current publications - national and local newspapers, magazines, and best-selling books. Included is special interest information covering consumer concerns, general and grocery shopping, home management, sports, music, the arts, business, world affairs, health, and aging. The broadcast is also on the website and is archived for 4 weeks.
New from the Maryland Department of Transportation:
MARC Train System Map (Braille)
Baltimore Metro Subway and Light Rail Ride Guide (Braille)
Contact the Reference Desk (410-230-2443) for a free copy
Friends of LBPH
Tactile Art
Textured Feelings, an art exhibit by students at the Maryland School for the
Blind (MSB), is now hanging in the meeting room at LBPH. Each painting consists of four panels; the paintings are done in bright, vibrant colors, and

each is intended to be touched. Each work is painted onto a Masonite board, with a different texture for each of the panels.
Michelle Vestal, a student at the Maryland Institute College of Art, worked with several classes at MSB to create these large paintings. She wanted her students to experience colors, so she used the abstract forms with them. The students used the various textures so that our patrons can fully enjoy the art experience.
Please stop by and experience Textured Feelings.
Friends of the LBPH
The Friends Board met on March 11, 2005.
Chris Baugh, Secretary for Friends read the minutes from our January meeting.
Jill Lewis, LBPH Director, discussed the plans for the Spring Broadening
Horizons Program and the Poetry Celebration. She and Wilhelmina
Hargrave gave a report on the cost of equipment that will enable the Library to record digitally. She also thanked the Board for its continual support of the Library.
Gene Spurrier, Chairman of the Legislative Public Relations Committee, led a discussion on the function of his committee and possible new strategies for promoting the library with the legislators.
Barbara Cheadle, Chairman of the Estelle Williamson Awards Committee, reported on the efforts of her committee to reach more prospective candidates for the award.
William S. Bingman, President, led a discussion on the Friends Investments and new fund raising strategies.
Sharon Maneki, Vice President of the Board, proposed that the Board establish a major fund raising project to begin to raise money for new digital recording equipment. This equipment will be needed sometime in the next eighteen months. She volunteered to draft a letter to apply for grants and to

solicit funds from corporate or individual donors. The Board voted unanimously to make this an action item for the June meeting.
If you have a question or concern regarding Friends, please do not hesitate to call me at 410-837-9737.
William S. Bingman, President
The Eye Site
The Eye Site is a traveling exhibit for shopping centers developed by the
National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The exhibit consists of five colorful kiosks which have interactive multimedia touch screen program information on local low vision services and resources. The exhibit and touch screen program explain the causes of low vision, offer personal accounts of people living with low vision, and provide a selfassessment to help people determine if they or someone they know may have low vision. Look for The Eye Site in Maryland at the following locations:
Arundel Mills Mall July 16–Aug. 11
White Marsh Mall Aug. 13-Sept. 8
Enoch Pratt Free Lib. Sep 10-Oct. 6
Owings Mills Mall Oct. 8-Nov. 3
The Digital Talking Book
As many of you know, in 2008 NLS will begin to introduce a new kind of audio book and player. The Digital Talking Book (DTB) will be housed on a high-density flash memory cartridge that will resemble a credit card (only slightly larger). A complete book will be on one cartridge. Patrons will be able to navigate through the DTB by jumping to different chapters or sections, create bookmarks, and vary the playback speed among other new functions. The sound and quality of the DTB will be much better than the audiocassette and easier to use; patrons will no longer have to flip a switch for different sides of a book. The new flash-based playback machine will be smaller, portable, and less complicated than the current machine. Both the
DTB and playback machine are still in the design stages.

The DTB and player will be phased in slowly, and patrons who wish to continue using audiocassettes will be able to do so.
Book Club, 2005
The Library’s Book Club meets the third Wednesday of each month from noon to 1:00 PM at the Park Avenue address. Here are some of the Club’s upcoming books:
June 2005
Age of Innocence
By Edith Wharton (RC 28162), (BR 12711)
July 2005
Devil in the White City
By Erik Larson (RC55748)
August 2005
The Crucible
By Arthur Miller (RC 32974) , (BR 09499)
Summer Reading for Children
Sneaks the Cat is going to take us on a reading safari this summer since we are Wild About Reading!
Each child who reads 3 books will win a Sneaks tee-shirt.
For further information, or to sign up, call Miss Kit at 1800-964-9209
InfoEyes
InfoEyes is a nationwide virtual reference service for people with visual impairments. InfoEyes allows users to ask a librarian to help find information on almost any subject. Patrons can ask questions via email or
“ask a librarian” in real time via chat. InfoEyes is staffed by librarians in several states. Please call our reference staff at 410-230-2433 or email us at recept.lib.md.us if you would like information on how to use InfoEyes.