Category Archives: Talking Book & Braille Service (TBBS)

New Book Available on BARD!

George Norris, Going Home: Reflections of a Progressive Statesman” by Nebraska author Gene A. Budig and Don Walton is now available on cartridge and for download on BARD!

“Nebraskans need to remember George Norris. He truly was one of our great citizens. This book is a very enjoyable journey through those memories.”

Francis Moul, Lincoln Journal Star

This enjoyable book takes readers back through George Norris’ career and what he accomplished. It provides a contemporary perspective about a man who fought to improve everyday life for all American citizens.

TBBS borrowers can request “George Norris, Going Home,” DBC01907, or download it from the National Library Service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. If you have high-speed internet access, you can download books to your smartphone or tablet, or onto a flash drive for use with your player. You may also contact your reader’s advisor to have the book mailed to you on cartridge.

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“In Cold Storage” on BARD!

In Cold Storage: Sex and Murder on the Plains” by Nebraska author James W. Hewitt is now available on cartridge and for download on BARD!

“In 1973 the small southwest Nebraska railroad town of McCook became the unlikely scene of a grisly murder. More than forty years later, author James W. Hewitt returns to the scene and unearths new details about what happened.”

Book Jacket

James W. Hewitt is president of the Friends of the Center for Great Plains Studies and was an adjunct professor of history at Nebraska Wesleyan University and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He is the author of “Slipping Backward: A History of the Nebraska Supreme Court” (Nebraska, 2007).

TBBS borrowers can request “In Cold Storage,” DBC01892, or download it from the National Library Service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. If you have high-speed internet access, you can download books to your smartphone or tablet, or onto a flash drive for use with your player. You may also contact your reader’s advisor to have the book mailed to you on cartridge.

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NCompass Live: Learning Opportunities and Resources from WebJunction

Come on a tour of WebJunction and learn how to build your library-specific knowledge, skills, and confidence on next week’s NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, July 20 at 10am CT.

WebJunction provides a range of library-specific, online, and on-demand courses and webinars to help meet your continuing education needs. Whether you are looking to pick up a new skill, or to find inspiration for a new idea, these resources can help you take the first, or next step. With the support of the Nebraska Library Commission, all of the content, webinars and courses are free, and you’ll find topics ranging from customer service to organizational management to space planning. Join this session for a tour of WebJunction and to hear about these flexible and dynamic learning opportunities!

Presenter: Kendra Morgan, Senior Program Manager, WebJunction.

Upcoming NCompass Live shows:

  • July 27 – Pretty Sweet Tech: CES 2022 and Libraries
  • Aug. 3 – Building a Reading Community Through Podcasting
  • Aug. 10 – Reinventing Programming Kits
  • Aug. 24 – Team Up with your Community!
  • Sept 7 – Retirement: Time to Ease on Down, Ease on Down the Road

For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.

NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.

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NCompass Live: Talking Book and Braille Service: Continuously Evolving

Learn all about the NLC’s Talking Book and Braille Service on next week’s NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, July 13 at 10am CT.

Join Gabe Kramer, Director of the Nebraska Library Commission’s Talking Book & Braille Service, to learn about the free audiobooks, audio magazines, and Braille available through the TBBS to individuals with a visual or physical condition, or a reading disability which limits use of regular print. We will take a look at the past, present, and future of the talking book program’s technology and services.

Upcoming NCompass Live shows:

  • July 20 – Learning Opportunities and Resources from WebJunction
  • July 27 – Pretty Sweet Tech: CES 2022 and Libraries
  • Aug. 3 – Building a Reading Community Through Podcasting
  • Aug. 10 – Reinventing Programming Kits
  • Aug. 24 – Team Up with your Community!
  • Sept 7 – Retirement: Time to Ease on Down, Ease on Down the Road

For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.

NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.

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New Nebraska Memoir on BARD!

Our Life Our Way: A Memoir of Active Faith, Profound Love, and Courageous Disability Rights” by Nebraska author William L. Rush and Christine F. Robinson is now available on cartridge and for download on BARD.!

“Our Life Our Way, A Memoir of Active Faith, Profound Love, and Courageous Disability Rights explores an extraordinary love story grown out of engagement with both disability rights advocacy and Christian faith communities. This important memoir contains thoughtful, often-entertaining, and sometimes heart-wrenching anecdotes of a couple’s journey to create their profoundly intimate relationship and Christian marriage, in a world not yet ready for them.”

Book Jacket

This memoir was written by a husband and wife, and is narrated by Christine Robinson, it is the sequel to Rush’s autobiography, “Journey Out of Silence,” which is also available on BARD and cartridge.

TBBS borrowers can request “Our Life Our Way,” DBC01986, or download it from the National Library Service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. If you have high-speed internet access, you can download books to your smartphone or tablet, or onto a flash drive for use with your player. You may also contact your reader’s advisor to have the book mailed to you on cartridge.

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New Nebraska Book Available on BARD!

Journey Out of Silence: An Autobiography” by Nebraska author William L. Rush is now available on cartridge and for download on BARD.!

Bill Rush’s exceptional journey continues to encourage and inspire all who aspire to live fully and contribute to society. Bill lived with a significant disability of quadriplegic cerebral palsy. He did not have use of his arms, hands or voice. Society’s prejudices proved to be a greater obstacle than his disability in attaining his first life’s goal of completing college. William (Bill) L. Rush chronicled his extraordinary life from childhood until graduation from the University of Nebraska -Lincoln in Journey Out of Silence, first published in 1986.”

Book Jacket

This humble and uplifting autobiography is a window into the world of people with disabilities. It’s narrated by Scott Scholz, who is a past director of Talking Book and Braille Service at the Nebraska Library Commission.

TBBS borrowers can request “Journey Out of Silence: An Autobiography,” DBC 01985, or download it from the National Library Service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. If you have high-speed internet access, you can download books to your smartphone or tablet, or onto a flash drive for use with your player. You may also contact your reader’s advisor to have the book mailed to you on cartridge.

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Roger Welsch Book Added to BARD!

It’s Not the End of the Earth, But You Can See It From Here: Tales of the Great Plains” by Nebraska author Roger Welsch has been recorded by our Talking Book and Braille Service!

“In this rather slight collection of monologues, stories and essays, Welsch–a regular on CBS’s Charles Kuralt show, a columnist and collector of Great Plains lore–celebrates small-town America’s leisurely pace, human scale and the ordinary man or woman who “moves mankind and shapes destiny.”

Publisher’s Weekly

The book is a collection of stories which demonstrate that small-town Nebraska life is filled with color and variety, ideas and humor, wit and warmth. Some pieces are short narratives; others are descriptions of characters. The book was previously recorded in the TBBS studios and has been reformatted for national distribution.

TBBS borrowers can request “It’s Not the End of the Earth, But You Can See It From Here,” DBC 01987, or download it from the National Library Service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. Another Welsch title available for download is “Mister, You Got Yourself a Horse: Tales of Old-time Horse Trading,” DBC 13621. If you have high-speed internet access, you can download books to your smartphone or tablet, or onto a flash drive for use with your player. You may also contact your reader’s advisor to have the book mailed to you on cartridge.

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NLC Staff: Meet Eric Saxon

Questions and Answers with TBBS Studio & Book Circulation Support, Eric Saxon. He started working with NLC in May of 2021. Take a few minutes and get to know him better with a few fun questions!

What was the last thing you googled?
Looking up the pronunciation of Coccidiosis

What advice would you give your 21 year old self?
Make your money in the early side of life and retire early, as early as possible

What’s your ideal vacation?
Not too far away, not too close, and cheap

What do you do to relax?
Walk my dog

Describe your first car?
A royal blue 1993 Honda Civic

If I weren’t working in a library, I’d be…
Working in a museum or archives

What was the first concert you remember attending?
Social Distortion at the New Daisy Theatre in Memphis, TN

What movie can you watch over and over again?
This Is Spinal Tap

What was the last book you read?
The Unexpected Universe, by Loren Eiseley

What was the last movie you watched?
The Alpinist

What is your proudest handyman moment?
I fixed our dryer

What smell brings back great memories?
The smell of roasting jalapenos

If you could have one superpower what would it be?
The ability to stop time for the world while I can keep moving

What’s the last thing you do before you got to bed?
Text friends especially in other countries/time zones

Do you have any tattoos?
I have a pencil lead tattoo

What is your favorite comfort food?
Mashed potatoes

What words or phrases do you overuse?
Sounds good

On what occasion do you lie?
When I’m tired

What posters did you have on your wall as a kid?
Torn out pictures of insects, jewel beetles, and a No Bozos poster

Do you love or hate rollercoasters?
Love

Do you have any pets?
Yes – a Bernese mountain dog named Pepper

What is your guilty pleasure?
Throwing rocks through ice

Favorite technology you could not live without?
Running water

If you could get rid of one holiday – which one would you abolish?
National Mayonnaise Day

If you could only eat one kind of food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Granola

What do you get every time you go to the grocery store?
Fresh garlic

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New Book on BARD!

Just in Time for the Holidays!

One of the first works by Willa Cather has been recorded by our Talking Book and Braille Service! “The Burglar’s Christmas” was originally published in the December 1896 issue of The Home Monthly under the pseudonym Elizabeth L Seymour.

“William Crawford has failed at one enterprise after another. No job, no money, no food, he desperately decides to try being a thief – and gets caught. “

This is a short but powerful read, just right for the holidays. TBBS borrowers can request “The Burglar’s Christmas,” DBC 01980, or download it from the National Library Service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. If you have high-speed internet access, you can download books to your smartphone or tablet, or onto a flash drive for use with your player. You may also contact your reader’s advisor to have the book mailed to you on cartridge.

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TBBS Volunteers Receive Award


Volunteers at Talking Book and Braille Service were chosen for Celebrate Literacy, 2021. The award was presented by the Nebraska State Literacy Association at their annual conference. This year the conference was online. Pictures of some of the volunteers were displayed during the ceremony.

We think the studio volunteers are super! They are very dedicated, and many have narrated for several years. Thank you Nebraska State Literacy Association for honoring them.

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NLC Staff: Meet Amy Irons

Questions and Answers with Talking Book and Braille Circulation Technician, Amy Irons. She started working with the NLC in August of 2019. Take a few minutes and get to know her better with a few fun questions!

What was the last thing you googled?
Horse Creek Adventures

What advice would you give your 21 year old self?
It’s okay if you don’t have it figured out yet

What’s your ideal vacation?
Mountains and forest

What do you do to relax?
Art: paint, draw, sew, cross stitch

Describe your first car?
A 1987 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser Station Wagon with wood paneling. It was white and her name was Billy

What was the first concert you remember attending?
All for One at the Nebraska State Fair

What movie can you watch over and over again?
Sleepless in Seattle, While You Were Sleeping, The Princess Bride

What was the last book you read?
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

What was the last movie you watched?
Birds of Prey

What is your proudest handyman moment?
I installed ceiling fans

Three words that describe you?
Weird, silly, and kind

What smell brings back great memories?
Pine trees and Christmas

If you could have one superpower what would it be?
The power to heal

What’s the last thing you do before you got to bed?
Make the rounds in my house to make sure all the doors and windows are locked and then snuggle with my dog

Do you have any tattoos?
Yes – seven

What is your favorite comfort food when you are sick?
Miso soup

What words or phrases do you overuse?
She was not fragile like a flower, she was fragile like a bomb

What’s your most treasured possession?
My son – Bodhi – age 11

What posters did you have on your wall as a kid?
Lisa Frank’s unicorns and dolphins

Do you love or hate rollercoasters?
Love

Do you have any pets?
One fat unruly cat named Girl Girl and a dog named Cora who is the sweetest girl that ever lived.

What is your guilty pleasure?
Taco Bell

Favorite technology you could not live without?
The Internet

If you could get rid of one holiday – which one would you abolish?
Columbus Day

If you could only eat one kind of food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Sushi

If you could call anyone in the world and have a one-hour conversation, what would you call?
Lizzo

What do you get every time you go to the grocery store?
Mio

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NLC Staff: Meet Matt Hier

Questions and Answers with NLC’s Audio Production Studio Manager, Matt Hier. He started working with the NLC in our Talking Book & Braille Department in October 2019. Take a few minutes and get to know him better with a few fun questions!

What was the last thing you googled?
I was unfamiliar with shoepeg corn that appeared in a recipe

What’s your ideal vacation?
Traveling to cities – New York, Chicago, and Seattle are my favorites

What do you do to relax?
Curl up with a cup of coffee and a good book

Describe your first car?
Red 1989 Ford Probe

If I weren’t working in a library, I’d be …
Working in a radio station

What was the first concert you remember attending?
Sweet 98’s Sweetstock at Westfair Amphitheater in Council Bluffs

What movie can you watch over and over again?
Back to the Future

What was the last book you read?
Normal People by Sally Rooney

What was the last movie you watched?
The Matrix

What is a quote you live by?
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Three words that describe you?
Reserved, hardworking, and empathetic

What smell brings back great memories?
Scents of fall: apple cider, caramel corn at a pumpkin patch, cinnamon

If you could have one superpower what would it be?
To fly

What’s the last thing you do before you got to bed?
Read

If you had a warning label, what would it say?
Less cranky than appears

Do you have any tattoos?
No, I’m not opposed to them but I am indecisive and would almost certainly regret my decision

What is your favorite comfort food?
Mac and cheese

What words or phrases do you overuse?
Fantastic

On what occasion do you lie?
Only when it will hurt someone’s feelings if I tell the truth and it does not matter

Do you love or hate rollercoasters?
I love theme parks but not giant rollercoasters

Do you have any pets?
No

What is your guilty pleasure?
80’s pop music

Favorite technology you could not live without?
Streaming television shows and movies

If you could get rid of one holiday – which one would you abolish?
4th of July because I don’t like loud noises

If you could only eat one kind of food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Italian food

If you could call anyone in the world and have a one-hour conversation, who would you call?
Michael J. Fox

What do you get every time you go to the grocery store?
Frozen pizza

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Talking Book and Braille Service Open by Appointment Monday July 6th

Long-time no see!  Starting July 6th, Nebraska Talking Book and Braille Service will begin allowing patrons entrance to our library by appointment.  Since the pandemic is still very much a reality, our staff is still socially distancing and we are therefore continuing to have only one Readers Advisor at the desk at a time. 

If you are going to be in downtown Lincoln and would like to come pick-up your books in person, give us a call ahead of time and we will get your order ready to go.  When you come in at your appointed time, we will have a table to the left of the main doors for pick-ups and drop-offs so that we can all social distance, and so that our staff can sanitize the space for everyone’s safety!

Additionally, we would all appreciate the use of masks and hand sanitizer when you come in and that you remain six feet apart from your friendly librarian!  Bathrooms and drinking fountains will not be open to our guests at this time, so please plan accordingly.  We ask that you not loiter after your order pick-up to provide the space we need to sanitize after your visit. Lastly, please be aware that if you are more than fifteen-minutes late for your scheduled appointment, you will have to reschedule. 

We look forward to seeing your friendly faces and providing you with books.  Thank you for your patience as we get through this difficult time. 

Readers Services Division, Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service

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NLC Staff: Meet Hollin Attendola

Questions and Answers with NLC Reader’s Advisor, Hollin Attendola. They started working with the NLC in our Talking Book & Braille Department in August 2018. Take a few minutes and get to know them better with a few fun questions!

Last thing you googled?   
Nebraska Primary

What’s your ideal vacation? 
Driving up the Pacific West Coast Highway in Oregon, staying in cabins in state parks.

What do you do to relax?  
Embroidery – right now working on something my grandmother started to give to my mom for her upcoming birthday.

If I weren’t working in a library, I’d be …  
in school to become a professor teaching Creative Writing

What movie you can watch over and over again?
Mad Max: Fury Road

What was the last book you read? 
Underland by Robert Macfarlane

What was the last movie you watched?
The Half of It

Three words that describe you? 
Funny, charismatic, and interesting

What smell brings back great memories?
An early summer morning with dew on the grass and a cool breeze – this reminds me of my childhood

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Shapeshifting

What’s the last thing you do before you go to bed?
Pet my cats

If you had a warning label, what would it say?
Caution – may contain many tangents

Do you have any tattoos?
Not yet

What is your favorite comfort food when you’re sick?
Chicken noodle soup

What’s your most treasured possession?
I love my 1988 Ford Ranger truck with almost 400,000 miles on it (the engine was rebuilt!).

What posters did you have on your wall as a kid?
Art posters of dragons, dolphins, and wolves

Do you love or hate roller coasters?
I have a love/hate relationship with roller coasters – because I almost passed out on a roller coaster once

Do you have any pets?
Two cats – Bourbon and Edgar

What is your guilty pleasure?
Reality TV dating shows

Favorite technology you could not live without?
My cell phone

If you could get rid of one holiday, which one would you abolish? 
Arbor Day and Columbus Day

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Oreo Milkshakes

What do you get every time you go to the grocery store?
Cheese

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Listened to a good book lately?

Narrator Lois Crandall prepares to narrate a magazine.

This article was originally published in the Lincoln Journal Star.

Nebraska Talking Book and Braille Service uses newly developed technology to supply audio books to individuals with print disabilities. As books are requested, they are duplicated and mailed to the borrower’s home. Duplication-on-demand has eliminated waiting lists for popular books. Borrowers are also able to download reading materials and listen to them on their phone.

Talking Book and Braille Service is available to Nebraskans with print disabilities. These include visual impairments, dyslexia, and disabilities that make holding a book difficult. Talking Books is part of the Nebraska Library Commission and works in collaboration with the National Library Service.

The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled works with Talking Book libraries across the nation to provide audio books, magazines, and special book players. The National Library Service has also paid for mailing the materials back and forth to homes, so that there is no cost at all to borrowers to use the service.

To supplement the bestsellers and national books and magazines, the Talking Books audio studio records 21 magazines of specific interest to Nebraskans. Volunteers narrate the text as a second person follows along and handles the recording equipment. The team’s goal is to make a recording that is word perfect. Experienced volunteers might also narrate books about Nebraska or by Nebraska authors. To audition to be a narrator, or if you or someone you know would like to sign up to use the service, please contact the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service at 402-471-4038 or 800-742-7691.

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#BookFaceFriday – “Conversations with Friends” by Sally Rooney

Raise your hand if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to read more! One of the best ways to accomplish that goal is by joining a book club, and have some great ‘conversations with friends’ about books! “Conversations with Friends: A Novel” ( Hogarth, 2017) by Sally Rooney is a part of our book club kit collection. It’s also available to our Talking Book & Braille customers who are looking for a new read in the new year! Check out all of our Book Club titles and TBBS services to start tackling your goals today!

“An insightful look at what it’s like to be young, smart, and deeply confused about friendship and love . . . It’s like an Ask Polly letter in the form of a novel, in the best possible way.”The Cut

This week’s #BookFace models are Anna Walter and Hollin Attendola, two of our Talking Book & Braille Service Library Readers Advisors!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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NLC Staff: Meet Gabe Kramer

Gabe Kramer: The Accidental Librarian

Meet Gabe Kramer who joined the Library Commission staff ten years ago and recently became Talking Book & Braille Service Director. Gabe grew up in Wahoo and graduated from Wahoo High School. He attended UNL earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcasting and completed his Master’s Degree in Library Science this past December from the University of Missouri. As a kid, Gabe remembers reading all the Goosebumps books and his first Stephen King book in 5th grade.  As an adult, Gabe prefers nonfiction and is currently reading John Adams by David McCullough. Gabe estimates for every fiction book he reads, he reads two nonfiction. Stephen King is his favorite author. Gabe’s library also includes a substantial music collection featuring David Bowie, Nirvana, Kanye West, and Radiohead.

Prior to working in libraries, Gabe worked at Dairy Queen, the UNL Parking and Transit Department, and produced the broadcasts for the Lincoln Stars and the Lincoln Saltdogs. Gabe submitted an application for several jobs with the State of Nebraska and received a call to interview for the Library Commission. He does not remember applying specifically for a job at the Library Commission but happily, his application made him a good candidate making Gabe an accidental librarian. When he isn’t busy juggling the many staff shortages his department has been dealt recently, he likes to play basketball and spend time at home with his family listening to music and playing video games.

Gabe is married to Jenny and together they have a 9-year-old daughter, Ella. When I asked Gabe what is the best thing about life in Nebraska, he replied, “Jenny keeps me here.” A perfect day for Gabe is one with lovely weather, no chores, and plenty of time to do whatever he wants.  If Gabe won the lottery, travel would be the first priority with the goal of filling all the pages of his passport book with custom stamps. Two trips to Japan to visit his mother’s family has whetted his appetite to see more of the world. Accidental or otherwise, we’re grateful Gabe joined the staff at the Library Commission.

NLC Logo

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#BookFaceFriday “Let’s Be Reasonable”

This is a #BookFaceFriday to make Grant Wood proud.

"Let's Be Reasonable" by Joel Sartore BookFace Photo

Is there anything more iconic Midwestern than American Gothic? We got the chance to create our own with this week’s #BookFace selection “Let’s Be Reasonable” by Joel Sartore (Unversity of Nebraska Press, 2011). That’s the Nebraska photographer/author himself on the book cover with his wife Kathy. If you’re not familiar with this book of short essays and photography, you should really change that. It’s a must read.

“For this collection of essays and images, photojournalist Santore drew on various subjects encountered in his travels on assignment for CBS Sunday Morning and National Geographic magazine. By turns quirky, candid, whimsical and moving, they cover a wide range of topics, including endangered species, the power of laughter, state-fair food, mud, money, conspicuous consumption, and his own life and family at home in Nebraska.”—Neil Pond, American Profile

(Neil Pond American Profile 2011-09-05)

We pulled this from our Talking Book & Braille (TBBS) collection. It was recorded by NLC in 2016, and narrated by Alice Timm. It’s a part of our collection of Nebraska books and publications made available to Nebraska TBBS customers. It was recently added to TBBS’s Duplication on Demand service. You can learn all about the new Duplication on Demand service in next week’s episode of NCompass Live: Talking Books and Duplication on Demand!

Imagine if there were no books on your library shelves, and instead books were custom-made for every patron, printed and conveniently bound together during their visit. Something along those lines is being implemented with the digital talking books circulated at the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service. Tune in to find out about the technology behind this change, and its advantages and disadvantages for patrons and staff as we begin this adventure together!

Join Scott Scholz, Director of our Talking Book and Braille Service, and Christa Porter next Wednesday, Dec. 26th at 10:00 am Central Time. Register here!

Scott also happens to be one of this week’s #BookFace models!

Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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Free Materials for Nebraska Libraries to Support Great American Read Programming

The Great American Read is the new PBS eight-part television competition and nationwide campaign to discover America’s favorite novel. Everyone can vote for their favorite from a list of 100 novels chosen in a national survey. NET Television is offering Nebraska resources for programming to help community members participate in the Great American Read. Nebraska libraries are invited to request posters and bookmarks (and possibly a local screening) from Marthaellen Florence, Director, Community Engagement, Nebraska Educational Telecommunications – NET, mflorenc@netad.unl.edu, 402-470-6603.

See http://netnebraska.org/greatread or Facebook.com/netNebraska for more information about the program broadcasts on NET. The series is hosted by Meredith Vieira and features conversations with authors, celebrities, and book lovers. The programs are scheduled for the next six weeks, leading up to the last day of voting (October 18, 2018) and announcement of America’s favorite read (October 23, 3018).

Schedule

“Launch Special” (Premiered Tuesday, May 22, 2018) – WATCH NOW

“Fall Kick-off” (Premieres Tuesday, September 11, 2018 7:00 p.m. ct)
“Who Am I?” (Premieres Tuesday, September 18, 2018  7:00 p.m. ct)
“Heroes” (Premieres Tuesday, September 25, 2018  7:00 p.m. ct)
“Villains and Monsters” (Premieres Tuesday, October 2, 2018 7:00 p.m. ct)
“What We Do For Love” (Premieres Tuesday, October 9, 2018  7:00 p.m. ct)
“Other Worlds” (Premieres Tuesday, October 16, 2018  7:00 p.m. ct)
“Grand Finale” (Premieres Tuesday, October 23, 2018  7:00 p.m. ct)

The Nebraska Library Commission’s Talking Book and Braille Service helps Nebraska librarians serve library customers who can’t use regular print, and all but four of the Great American Read titles are available in the talking book format through this service. For more information, see http://nlcblogs.nebraska.gov/nlcblog/?s=great+american+read. To help serve book clubs that want to read a title from this list, the Nebraska Library Commission Book Club Kit collection contains 59 of the 100 selections. To serve your library customers, search at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub/ or contact Lisa Kelly, Information Services Director, 402-471-4015 for the list of Great American Read titles available in Book Club Kits.

For more information, see the recording of the Sept. 5, 2018 NCompass Live Great American Read broadcast at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/scripts/calendar/eventshow.asp?ProgID=17615 

#GreatReadPBS

 

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“The Great American Read” Books available to Talking Book and Braille Service readers

The Great American Read LogoThis reading list, curated by PBS, shows the diversity of America’s 100 most beloved fiction books. Voting for America’s greatest novel began May 22nd and will end in October 2018. Learn more about The Great American Read and how to vote at http://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/about/show/

For library patrons who can’t use regular print, all but four of the Great American Read titles are available in the talking book format. If you know readers who would love to be involved, but their vision is making it hard to use regular print, they can’t hold a book, or turn pages, the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service is here to help! You can use the 5-digit numbers beside the book titles below to order these and many other wonderful books and magazines. Simply give us a call anywhere in Nebraska by dialing 1-800-742-7691, or visit our section of the NLC website.

DB Title and Author
73474 1984 by George Orwell
50482 A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
29012 A Prayer for Owen Meany: A Novel by John Irving
24697 A Separate Peace by John Knowles
44769 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
53084 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
65599 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Alex Cross Series by James Patterson
50842 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
77188 Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
11077 And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
(also within DB 53999)
56114 Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
(also within DB 50475)
51074 Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
26026 Beloved by Toni Morrison
62431 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
65402 The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
49486 The Call of the Wild by Jack London
48063 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
47480 Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
74950 Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
50083 Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis
52680 Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
57412 Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah
58842 The Color Purple by Alice Walker
56946 Count of Monte Christo by Alexandre Dumas
50147 Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
56893 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
55735 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
24290 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
26423 Doña Bárbára by Rómulo Gallegos
44126 Dune by Frank Herbert
74504 Fifty Shades of Grey series by E.L. James
36176 Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
80139 Foundation series by Isaac Asimov
book 1 10365, book 2 80139, book 3 10610
25835 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
45742 Game of Thrones series by George R.R. Martin
Prequel Companion  80183, Prequel Anthology  80183
book 1 45742, book 2 49913, book 3 51406,
book 4 62348, book 5 73557
85921 Ghost by Jason Reynolds
59561 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
37689 The Giver by Lois Lowry
25677 The Godfather by Mario Puzo
74888 Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
33082 Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
68308 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
53991 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
16147 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
23150 Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
24695 The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
book 1 47260, book 2 48437, book 3 48772, book 4 50228,
book 5 56062,  book 6 60262, book 7 64495
30535 Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
12613 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
68889 The Help by Kathryn Stockett
18339 Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
book 1 68384, book 2 69689,  book 3, 71734
21513 The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
56346 Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
47868 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
29021 The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
32018 Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
47462 Left Behind by Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
44071 The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
18128 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Lonesome Dove series by Larry McMurtry
book 1 43928, book 2 45001, book 3 22959, book 4 37323
61873 Looking for Alaska by John Green
The Lord of the Rings (series) by J.R.R. Tolkien
prequel 48978, book 1 47486,  book 2 47487, book 3 47488
54698 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
78389 The Martian by Andy Weir
45008 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
34184 Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
43180 The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
25181 One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
book 1 36535,  book 2 36536, book 3 38591, book 4 43320
book 5 53366,  book 6 61201, book 7 70073,  book 8 79331
22433 The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
56794 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
59950 The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
30999 The Pillars of The Earth by Ken Follett
50549 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
73772 Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
11106 Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
67237 The Shack by William P. Young
52190 Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
15759 The Sirens Of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
12942 The Stand by Stephen King
34114 The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
26498 Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon
Tales of The City series by Armistead Maupin
book 1 39531, book 2 39602, book 3 39603,  book 4 39604,
book 5  39605, book 6 39606, book 7 65336, book 8 72107,
book 9 78276
35745 Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
47510 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
29252 This Present Darkness by Frank. E. Peretti
36414 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Twilight Saga series by Stephanie Meyer
book 1 82750, book 2 64367, book 3 65812,  book 4 67238
67136 War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
25982 Watchers by Dean Koontz
The Wheel of Time series by  Robert Jordan and Brandon
Sanderson
prequel 57628, book 1 57628, book 2 34701,  book 3 34702,
book 4 36984, book 5 37569, book 6 39661,  book 7 43043,
book 8 47082, book 9 51203, book 10 55506, book 11 62078,
book 12 70020, book 13 71926, book 14 76085
32449 Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
50261 White Teeth by Zadie Smith
25178 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
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