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TBLB
Newsletter
Talking Book
Library
Winter 2010-2011
NEVERMORE:
A FAREWELL TO
CASSETTE BOOKS
END OF AN ERA: FINAL NEW
CASSETTE BOOKS PRODUCED
October 1, 2010 marked the end of new
cassette books being produced for the
Talking Book Library program. As of
now, all new books are being produced
in digital format only. If you don’t have
your digital player yet, you won’t have
access to any new titles—so give us a call
so we can get you started with the new
format! Currently our digital book collection is approaching 4,000 titles, with more
arriving every day and a much larger collection available for computer download.
We also still have plenty of older books
available on cassette.
(Special note to our prison inmate customers: We are still working on permission for inmates to have digital players.
We will keep you up to date.)
In honor of the end of cassette book
production, and celebrating the fall 2010
Fresno County Public Library Big Read
of Edgar Allan Poe
Written by your librarian,
Wendy Eisenberg
1
Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I listened, weak and weary,
To many a quaint and curious
volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping,
suddenly I heard a tapping,
As of something gently snapping—
snapping from my player’s core.
“’Tis the tape”, I sadly muttered,
as a quiet curse I swore,
“Just the tape—and nothing more.”
Ah, distinctly I remember,
it was in the bleak December,
As I in a fit of temper threw
that tape upon the floor,
So many times my player failed me,
with frustration it had ailed me,
Many new ones they had mailed me,
saying “this one’s good for sure,”
But each time I’d press that button, it
seemed that it was all for nothing,
“Would I ever find that something
lets me listen?”, I implored,
“To my books forevermore?”
I opened up the package, beaming;
inside a black machine was gleaming,
And a small white cartridge, seeming
much too small one book to hold,
But I put that cartridge in it, and
within a single minute,
I knew that this machine would win
it—win my heart forevermore.
And cassette tapes? Nevermore!
“YOU’VE REACHED THE
TALKING BOOK LIBRARY. . . “
When you call TBLB during our normal
work day, 9:30 to 5:30, Monday through
Friday, you usually get right through to a
TBLB staff member (unless we’re busy on
another call!). However, due to budgetary restrictions, there may occasionally
be days when the library is short staffed
or extremely busy and no one is available
to immediately take your call. So, if we
are busy with walk-in customers and no
staff member is available to answer the
telephone, you may get our answering
machine instead , even if the library is
open. Feel free to leave a clear message
with your name and phone number,
and we will get back to you as soon as
we can. It is our goal to give you the
best and most efficient service possible,
whether by phone or in person. Thanks
for your patience and consideration.
Eagerly I wished for morrow—
for perhaps, surcease of sorrow
Would come with the next tape I would
borrow—Without hiss or pop or roar,
Without stop, or twist, or tangle,
maybe it would play me more.
Dare I hope that I could someday hear
a book straight through once more?
One day sit, relax, and listen,
find my reading joy restored
By a book forevermore?
I woke next morning, after dreaming,
in my room the sunlight streaming,
Tried again to play that tape
I’d thrown upon the floor.
Then I heard a quiet tapping,
as of someone gently rapping,
’Twas the postal carrier tapping,
tapping on my dwelling’s door.
“Friend,” he said, with smile of greeting,
“this is such a merry meeting,
For I bring the gift of reading—
reading that is now restored
By digital books forevermore!”
I took the package that he gave me—
could this package truly save me
From the anguished cries I made when
my books would play nevermore?
2
FAREWELL TO UNABRIDGED
DOWNLOADABLES
Since November 2004 Unabridged
Downloadables has served individuals
who are blind, experience low vision,
or are otherwise print-impaired. The
service was developed to provide a
downloadable digital audio book collection for this community while other,
larger services were being prepared
and launched.
DIGITAL TALKING BOOKS PLUS 2009
The 2009 “Big Book” catalog is finally
in! Formerly called Cassette Books, it’s
been renamed this year to Digital Talking
Books Plus. This large print catalog lists
all Talking Books produced in English
and Spanish during 2009 for adult and
young adult readers. Some are available
in cassette format only, others in both
cassette and digital formats. The catalog
is divided into fiction and nonfiction sections, and further divided by subjects or
genres, for easy reference.
Current users of Unabridged should
note that at midnight on December 31,
2010 the service will shut down. Until
then, Unabridged will continue to offer
a selection of current, high-demand
fiction and non-fiction audio books.
Budget constraints at the participating
member organizations and declining
usage of the service were cited as the
primary reasons for this decision.
Here at TBLB, we had a number of
customers using the Unabridged service. It served a great need and was
a wonderful bridge to downloadable
audiobooks until BARD was up and
really running. If you were a TBLB
Unabridged customer and have not yet
signed up for downloads via BARD, let
us know.
If you did not get a copy of Digital Talking Books Plus 2009 and would like to
have one, please call, write, or e-mail
TBLB.
BARD DOWNLOADS
We want to make sure all our “computer-friendly” customers know that
you have access to more than 18,000
titles via download from your computer to your digital talking book
player. You will need a flash drive or
blank cartridge, a high speed internet
connection, and an e-mail address.
Contact TBLB for more information
about signing up for BARD. We have
about 100 customers signed up for
BARD so far, and hundreds of books
are being downloaded per month.
3
Kids’ & Teens’
Corner
National Federation of the
Blind Braille Reading Pals Club
Information Submitted by
Chuck Krugman
Registration for 2011 is now open!

Provide parents literacy strategies to
use with their children

Direct parents to essential resources
for promoting success for their
young blind children

Help parents promote early literacy
skills, a love of reading, and a positive
attitude about Braille through daily
reading with their blind children
To learn more about this exciting program, or to register, please visit www.
nfb.org/readingpals, or call (410) 6599314, extension 2295.
The NFB Braille Reading Pals Club is an
early literacy program that encourages
parents to read daily with their blind or
low-vision child (ages infant to seven).
Sponsored in part by the National
Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) and the American
Action Fund for Blind Children and
Adults (AAF)
Participating club members will
receive:

A print-Braille book and a plush
reading pal

Monthly parent e-newsletter promoting tips for early Braille literacy

Quarterly Braille activity sheets for
young children

Braille birthday cards for child participants

Access to a network of resources
devoted to serving parents of blind
children
From Around Our Four Counties
BEYOND MACULAR DEGENERATION
Thomas A. Gonzales, a legally blind
author from our local blind community,
has a new book release in large print,
Beyond Macular Degeneration: A Personal
Guide to Living Everyday Life with
Age-Related Macular Degeneration,
Heart Disease, and Stroke.
Beyond Macular Degeneration is a self-help
book for individuals who are dealing
with vision problems, including macular
degeneration and other major disabilities.
Tom shares more of his personal experi-
Mission of the Program:

Introduce young children and their
families to Braille
4
SENIOR LEGAL HOTLINE
Information from Valley Center
for the Blind December 2010 Newsletter
ences in coping with and adjusting to
blindness. He wants to let the readers
know that they are not alone and that
there is life after blindness.
Have a legal question or problem?
California residents age 60 and over are
eligible for FREE legal advice, writing
information, referrals and other brief
services in the following areas of civil
law: foreclosure, pension law, Snap
(formerly food stamps), and reverse
mortgage counseling. Toll-free in California: 1-800-222-1753 for a confidential
telephone consultation with a member of the hotline’s legal staff. You can
submit your question by E-mail and
find other useful information at: www.
seniorlegalhotline.org. Senior Legal
Hotline is a program of Legal Services
of Northern California, a nonprofit
public service organization.
You can read more about Tom and his
books at www.blindpress.com.
CALIFORNIA COUNCIL OF THE
BLIND—GREATER SAN JOAQUIN
CHAPTER
Article Submitted by
Mary Beth Randall, Past President
With the New Year ahead the Greater
San Joaquin Valley Chapter, an affiliate
of the California Council of the Blind,
hopes that Thanksgiving was a good
one and that Christmas will be a wonderful time for everyone.
The chapter meets at Denny’s restaurant,
1110 E. Shaw Ave. on the second Friday of
the month. We start with a time of socializing at 5 PM and ordering dinner. At
6 PM is when the meeting gets started.
We are through with our meeting by 7:30
PM. The chapter meets in the back room
of the restaurant.
of wisdom
“ Lessons
have never such
power over us as when
they are wrought into
the heart through the
groundwork of a story.
We hope to see you at one of our meetings. The dates for the next few months
are January 14th, February 11th, and
March 11th.
Contact Mary Beth or Tom Randall at
559-224-7999 to learn more about the
CCB and our chapter.
NATIONAL FEDERATION
OF THE BLIND
The local chapter of the National Federation of the Blind meets monthly.
Contact Jan Kafton at 559-478-0745 for
meeting details. They would love to
have you join them.
—Laurence Sterne
5
“
LIBRARY CLOSURE DATES AND
ADJUSTED WINTER HOLIDAY
HOURS
HOW TO CONTACT US
December 20, 21, 22, 23: Library
Open 10 AM – 6 PM
PHONE
(559) 488-3217
Or 1-800-742-1011 and ask the
County Operator to connect you
to 488-3217.
December 24: Library Closed
for Christmas Holiday
December 27, 28, 29, 30: Library
Open 10 AM-6 PM
December 31: Library Closed
for New Year’s Holiday
ADDRESS
Talking Book Library
770 North San Pablo
Fresno CA 93728
Monday, January 17, 2011: Closed
for Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
Monday, February 21, 2011: Closed
for Presidents’ Day Holiday
All of us at TBLB wish our customers,
colleagues, and friends the happiest of
holiday seasons and the very best in
the new year to come.
HOURS
Open 9:30 AM-5:30 PM
Monday-Friday
TALKING BOOK LIBRARY STAFF
Librarian, Wendy Eisenberg
E-MAIL
[email protected]
Senior Library Assistant,
Ivy L. Bennett
Library Assistant, Barbara
Pendergrass
Library Aides, Leticia Molano and
Kevin Wilson
WEB
www.fresnolibrary.org/tblb
Senior Aides, Elen Dowing and Fred
Huff, AARP/SCSEP
bit.ly/TBLBFresnoFacebookPage
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TBLB
Talking Book
Library
Newsletter
This newsletter is published by the
Talking Book Library for the Blind
and is available in large type, on cassette, in Braille, via e-mail, and via
Audio Podcast on the TBLB web site.
If you wish to receive this newsletter
on cassette, in Braille, or via e-mail,
please call TBLB at (559) 488-3217 or
1-800-742-1011 (ask the county toll-free
operator for 488-3217.)
of TBLB or the Fresno County Public
Library. Any mention of products
and services in this newsletter is for
your information only and does not
imply endorsement by TBLB. We
welcome news and comments from
our readers.
Talking Book
Library
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Newsletter
Viewpoints expressed in articles submitted by agencies other than TBLB
do not necessarily reflect the opinions
TBLB
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Talking Book Library
770 North San Pablo Ave.
Fresno, CA 93728
Free Matter
for the Blind
and Physically
Handicapped