kestrell | Entries tagged with libraries

Join the library for a new monthly event!
Beginning Thursday, August 11, 2022, the Patron Engagement Section of the National Library Service (NLS) will offer a monthly program called The Many Faces of BARD. This program will occur on the second Thursday of every month from 7-8 PM Eastern Time. Each session will start with a brief presentation covering one aspect of the BARD (the Braille and Audio Reading Download) service, followed by an opportunity for questions about the presentation or other aspects of BARD usage. The first presentation will provide an overview of all of the available BARD products. At the end of each program, the topic for the next presentation will be announced.

These sessions are open to all patrons, and can be accessed through
Zoom online
https://loc.zoomgov.com/j/1611161911?pwd=bVh5ejFsWFBlL21KY0VqaHlRMUlSQT09#success
using the
meeting ID 161 116 1911
and
passcode 489758,
or via phone at (669) 254-5252 followed by the meeting ID 161 116 1911.
Upon connecting, participants will be placed in a virtual waiting room until the program begins. When they enter the room, they will be on mute, and they should remain on mute unless the host calls upon them to speak. At that time, they may unmute by using Alt-A from a computer or star 6 if dialing in by phone.

All Many Faces of BARD sessions will be recorded.

As part of its braille modernization initiative, NLS is launching the Braille-on-Demand pilot project on Monday, June 20, 2022. This project will allow active NLS patrons to request and receive one hard-copy braille title per month, which they can retain for their personal use. If an individual who is not registered as a patron submits an order, NLS will refer the individual to their local network library to begin the process of becoming a patron.
Braille titles will be limited to books that are currently available on BARD, the NLS Braille and Audio Reading Download service. At this time, requests are limited to one book per patron per month. Only complete titles will be distributed. Requests for partial titles (for example, volume one of a three-volume book) will result in receiving the entire book.
The form to request a braille-on-demand book can be found linked from https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NLSbrailleondemand. Patrons may complete the form themselves or contact their network library for assistance. They may also contact NLS Reference at [email protected] for assistance in completing the form.

Article originally posted at https://www.braillists.org/uncategorised/nls-launches-braille-on-demand-pilot-project/

from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

It's a beautiful day, go buy some books and support your public library!

https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/events/60f0600517df9637003d9daf?_ga=2.219669081.1920398884.1628343568-256674133.1628343568

1. Bookshare and EasyReader: The Perfect Solution That Will Keep Your Students Reading During This Extended Break

March 26th, 2020 at 12:00 PM PDT

Join Bookshare and Dolphin for a 30-minute webinar on two different days where you will learn how to download the free Dolphin EasyReader app on your home devices, sync it with your child’s Bookshare account, and set reading preferences.
Register here
https://yourdolphin.com/en-gb/webinars/100148677

*

2. Important Notice to Library Borrowers

Dear Perkins Library Patrons,

Due to evolving Coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker issued an Executive Order requiring all non-essential businesses to close effective Tuesday, March 24, 2020. The Executive Order extends until April 7, 2020.

The Perkins Library falls into this category, so no Library mail will be sent out after March 24. Additionally, we ask borrowers to hold all Library materials until you are notified that we are able to receive them by return mail.

In the absence of Library materials, you may wish to consider signing up for our Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) service. This service allows you to download titles directly to an Android, Kindle Fire, or iOS device for easy playback. You can also download the books to a USB drive for use with our digital player. To start using BARD,
simply fill out the application available here.
https://nlsbard.loc.gov/NLS/ApplicationInstructions.html

If you wish to learn more about our BARD service, please contact Cory Kadlik at (617) 972-7580 or email Cory.Kadlik@Perkins.org.

We understand the hardship this situation may cause for you. We also feel the loss of not being able to serve you during these uncertain times. We will resume operations as soon as we can ensure the safety of all concerned.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Kim Charlson, Executive Director
Perkins Library

The book currently on my scanner is _The Image of Librarians in Cinema (1917-1999)_ by ray tevis and brenda tevis, so I was particularly amused to see this new fiction title: _Betty Page Presents: The Librarian_ (2012). I haven't read it, but it seems to be pretty much what the title says it is: inspired by the images of Betty Page, a librarian transforms herself from dowdy bookgeek into a fetish princess. Wouldn't this look cute next to your librarian action figure?

This has been a public service announcement.

Vintage photographs from inside ten famous libraries. I wonder if there are any library ladders? You know who has really sexy library ladders? The Boston Athenaeum. (I note here that Mr. Naggy Spellchecker is absolutely no help in spelling 'Athenaeum,' and that my screen reader insists on pronouncing the acronym for the New York Public Library "nipple.")
http://www.flavorwire.com/328811/vintage-photographs-from-inside-10-famous-libraries

Oo, men with glasses on library ladders...I wish this came inbraille...
http://menofthestacks.com/

Current Location: aerye

I'm refining my e-library, but I'm still having trouble finding the DDSN for various subjects, such as alchemy, codes, and cryptography (although I have found the numbers for Halloween 394.264 and tie-dye 746.6). Does anyone have a link to an exhaustive online list of subjects and their numbers?

My big project over the past month has been culling my book collection, labeling what's left with braille labels, and
converting a closet into my personal library
http://www.ehow.com/how_4843763_closet-bookshelf.html
or, as I have dubbed it, the Closet of Mysteries.
(For an even tinier library, check out this traditional British red phone box converted into a town lending library
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/8385313.stm
and a second example
http://www.ragandbone.com/blog/?p=1980 ).

I culled approximately nine boxes- and crates-worth of books, which GotBooks.com just picked up and took away. GotBooks.com http://www.gotbooks.com is a great resource if one is downsizing one's library, and the man who took away the books was extremely polite and efficient. The request pickup form is even accessible.

Also, yesterday I gave LJ user herooftheage a chance to show off a bit
http://herooftheage.livejournal.com/386035.html
when I asked for his help in getting the boxes down the two flights from the attic to the ground floor. There were four or five significantly-sized boxes and, after he made only two trips, I asked, "Did you just bring down two boxes at once?" to which he replied, "No, I brought down three," to which I can only contemplate how pleasant it is to share a domicile with someone that strong.

Lastly, I think there should be a t-shirt featuring the bibliophibian mentioned in the following comic (description courtesy of LJ alexx_kay):
Wondermark, by David Malki!

Panel 1: A man and a woman in 19th century garb, in a library.
M: SO MANY BOOKS! I thought we were trying to CUT DOWN the amount of STUFF in our lives?
M: There must be a THOUSAND books here.
W: I've pared down the collection to the esentials.

Panel 2:
M: How many of them do you ever actually READ?
M: Why not donate them to the library? That way they'll still be there whenever you want them --
W: They're not really for me.

Panel 3:
W: Look, WE love to read because we grew up in homes filled to bursting with weird and wonderful books.
W: I'm keeping these books not because of how often I read them all, but so, on rainy days and lonely nights, our children can discover them for themselves.
M: By the time we ever have children, we will be DROWNING in a SEA of books, gasping for breath in a little air pocket near the ceiling.
F: Then they will be bibliophibians.

Kes: Short but information-rich, if you are going to read one article on the subject of ebooks and accessibility for blind readers, read this one.

E-Texts for All (Even Lucy)
By Char Booth, E-Learning Librarian, University of California, Berkeley Aug 5, 2010
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/community/academiclibraries/886230-419/e-texts_for_all_even_lucy.html.csp

block quote start
Lucy is partial to a few sayings that have helped me understand the e-text accessibility paradox. The first is that "ebooks were created by the blind, then made inaccessible by the sighted."

Online text formats like DAISY and EPUB were pioneered in part by the accessibility movement as an alternative to expensive and cumbersome Braille texts.
As ebooks have gained popularity, however, digital text became inexorably less accessible as for-profit readers like the Kindle and Sony Reader muscled onto the scene. A patina of
digital rights management (DRM) has been added in order to protect the intellectual property of vendors, contrary to the open and accessible orientation libraries have long held toward literacy and learning.
block quote end

The random page button on
the Library and Information Science Wiki
http://liswiki.org/wiki/Main_Page
is full of nifty terms, like "book dummy" -- how did I never learn about book dummies?