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Tag Archives: Talking Books
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
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
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
#BookFaceFriday “Let’s Be Reasonable”
This is a #BookFaceFriday to make Grant Wood proud.
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!
Talking Book & Braille Service Volunteer Celebration
The Nebraska Library Commission’s Talking Book and Braille Service celebrated the work of our volunteers at a luncheon on April 18, 2018. Volunteers are indispensable in serving Nebraskans who use Talking Books. Of the 35 active volunteers, many record magazines and books of regional interest. Others prepare national books for check out.
The Nebraska Library Commission’s Talking Book and Braille Service thanks all the volunteers who play an integral part in serving Nebraskans with disabilities. We provide free audio books and magazines and braille reading materials. Nebraskans receive reading selections through the mail or digital download. The service is available to individuals with a visual or physical condition, or a reading disability, which limits the use of regular print.
Nebraska Library Commission Director Rod Wagner presented a special recognition to three volunteers:
- Norman Simon started volunteering with Talking Book and Braille Service shortly after 9-11. He began as a narrator, went through training, and became a producer in the recording studios. During the volunteer luncheon on April 18, 2018, Rod Wagner presented Norman an Admiralship in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska in appreciation of 15 years as a volunteer with us.
- Jane Hood was recognized for five years as a volunteer narrator.
- Amy Eidenmiller’s graduation from Doane University was also celebrated. At Talking Books, she prepares a variety of materials for mailing.
For more information, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/tbbs/. To volunteer, contact Annette Hall, Volunteer Services Coordinator, 402-471-4033, 800-742-7691, email.
Talking Book and Braille Service Celebrates Volunteers
The Nebraska Library Commission’s Talking Book and Braille Service celebrated the work of our volunteers at a luncheon on April 6, 2017. Pamela Davenport, a consultant from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) in The Library of Congress, thanked the volunteers for their contributions. NLS administers a free library program of braille and audio materials circulated to eligible borrowers in the United States by postage-free mail through a national network of cooperating libraries, including the Library Commission’s Talking Book and Braille Service.
Nebraska Library Commission Director Rod Wagner presented a special recognition to three volunteers:
- Marjory Gloe, who has narrated books and magazines for twenty-five years and is known for her infectious enthusiasm.
- John Sposato, who sorts new books into sets and has volunteered for twenty years, starting in audio duplication.
- Jerry Hall, who has volunteered for fifteen years and does a variety of tasks in readers services.
Retiring volunteer narrators Cherie Frederick and Karen Boyer, who are two of the voices behind the talking books recorded here at the Nebraska Library Commission, were also recognized.
The Nebraska Library Commission’s Talking Book and Braille Service thanks all the volunteers who play an integral part in serving Nebraskans with disabilities. We provide free audiobooks and audio magazines and braille through the mail and through digital download to individuals with a visual or physical condition, or a reading disability, which limits the use of regular print. For more information see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/tbbs/. To volunteer, contact Annette Hall, Volunteer Services Coordinator, 402-471-4033, 800-742-7691, email.
Scott Scholz: Director of the Talking Book and Braille Service
Congratulations to Scott Scholz, who recently completed his MLS degree from the University of Missouri. Scott joined the Library Commission in 2005 to take what might be described as the perfect job for someone with his interest in reading and qualifications for recording. We are fortunate his wife Heidi found the original job posting for circulation manager that led him to us. In recent years, he has taken a leadership role on a number of NLC projects, including moving lower level operations to a new space on the first floor of the Atrium Building in 2014, helping Nebraska become the first state to convert its magazine recording program to digital format in 2010, and implementing assembly and review procedures in the TBBS studios. Currently, Scott is performing the work of two staff, as both the Acting Director of the Talking Book and Braille Service and the Circulation and Audio Production Coordinator.
Scott’s commitment to books, culture, and community makes the Talking Book and Braille Service hum, and he is a devoted advocate for Nebraskans who are unable to use traditional print. This interest started early, in Columbus, NE, where Scott was raised only two blocks from the Columbus Public Library and served as a volunteer for summer reading programs. As a young reader, he was interested in all kinds of fiction and nonfiction, from Encyclopedia Brown to science books. While working at a bookstore in high school, Scott developed an interest in music and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in music composition from the University of Denver. Scott lists authors David Foster Wallace, William S. Burroughs, and Miranda July among his current favorites, along with interests in Surrealist and Dada literature and history.
Outside of library work, Scott hosts a podcast called Words on Sounds, writes for several online publications, and runs a boutique experimental music label. Scott writes about and reviews experimental music to promote artists and connect with others who share the same passion for the underground music scene.
Scott credits Glee Nelson (the former children’s librarian at Columbus Public Library), and Kurt Cylke (former director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped) as influences on his career path.
On the home front, Scott has been married to Heidi Uhing for 13 years and they share their residence with two dogs, Olive and Izzy, as well as some backyard chickens. As a Lincolnite, Scott appreciates what is happening in the local arts and culture community, and the ease and beauty of life in Nebraska. As a staff member of the Library Commission, we hope he stays for a very long time, because nobody could ever replace him and what he offers to our staff and to our patrons.
NLC Staff: Meet Amanda Sweet
Meet Amanda Sweet who joined our staff in August as a Library Reader’s Advisor for our Talking Book and Braille service.
Amanda was born in Milwaukee, WI and was raised in the small town of St. Francis, near Lake Michigan. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English with an Emphasis in Publishing from Carleton College. After a brief stint with a literary agency in New York City, she decided to veer away from the making of books and shifted to the circulation of books in the library. As long as she is near a book, she is happy.
It was while working for Beyond Vision, a nonprofit that employs 85% blind and visually impaired individuals, that she began her Masters in Library and Information Science at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. At Beyond Vision she heard tell of some difficulties in raising awareness for TBBS services and she decided it was time to get more involved with the service as a whole. Here at the Commission, she loves the personal interaction she gets with patrons and will be completing her degree in December. If all else fails with the library career, she will content herself as a professional Dorito taster.
Amanda is a lifelong user of libraries and generally has at least one book in her oversized purse at all times. Some of her favorite authors include Sherman Alexie, Patricia Briggs, Dean Koontz, Richelle Mead, and many others. In her spare time she makes jewelry for the Etsy site she shares with her father- Sweetwater Creations. She lives with her boyfriend Sean and, since their move, they both have a craving for Oakland Gyros Greek Restaurant back in Milwaukee. The silver lining is that Amanda loves the people here in Lincoln as well as the new bead store/ art gallery she stumbled upon. Ideally, she would spend her entire weekend holed up with a gyro while reading, watching movies, making jewelry, and mindlessly surfing the web. We are grateful Amanda has joined us.
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Talking Book Brochures and Applications Available in Spanish
Are there Spanish-speaking individuals with a visual or physical disability in your community? These individuals might benefit from the Talking Book and Braille Service. While most talking books are in English, our collection includes materials in other languages, especially Spanish. We have a supply of Spanish application forms and brochures. Just let us know how many you could use. Call toll-free: 800-742-7691 or email: nlc.talkingbook@nebraska.gov .