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Tag Archives: TBBS
William Kloefkorn Book Available on BARD!
“This Death by Drowning” by Nebraska author William Kloefkorn has been recorded by our Talking Book and Braille Service!
“Is there any human corner left to illuminate? To surprise? Absolutely, as these wondrous recollections by poet Kloefkorn prove. This slim volume is filled with provocative perceptions garnered from daily life. . . . After the last line, readers will turn back to page one and start again, slowly.”
Publisher’s Weekly
“This Death by Drowning” serves as Kloefkorn’s personal memoir. It is an artfully assembled collection of reminiscences having to do with water and is listed on the 150 Greatest Nebraska Books list — a list that represent the best literature produced from Nebraska during the past 150 years.
TBBS borrowers can request “This Death by Drowning,” DBC02002, 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.
New Nebraska Book on BARD!
“Welcome to Pallywonkersville: My Irreverent, but Humorous, Memories of Growing up in Rural Nebraska” by Nebraska author David Hunt is available on cartridge and for download on BARD!
Hunt shares humorous stories about growing up in Palisade, Nebraska, (population 350), which he refers to as Pallywonkersville. Family, friends, and pranks fill these vignettes of small-town life.
TBBS borrowers can request “Welcome to Pallywonkersville,” DBC01990, 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.
New Book available on BARD!
“Not by the Sword: How a Cantor and His Family Transformed a Klansman“ by Kathryn Watterson is now available on cartridge and for download on BARD!
“Watterson has written one of the most powerful, painful, yet healing stories about our most explosive issue: race. Her book [Not by the Sword] is not only literally true but also symbolically true for us as people — if we acknowledge and transform who and what we are.”
Cornel West, author of “Race Matters”
Grand Dragon of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of Nebraska, Larry Trapp was a wheelchair-bound amputee who led a campaign of fear against Jews and other minorities from his cramped apartment in Lincoln. After receiving death threats from Larry, Cantor Michael Weisser and his wife Julie extended friendship to him and later offered to take him into their home. Larry renounced all ties to the Klan, began working with youth groups to educate them about the danger of racist ideology, and, before dying from kidney disease, even converted to Judaism.
TBBS borrowers can request “Not by the Sword,” DBC01995, 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.
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.
Posted in Books & Reading, Education & Training, Talking Book & Braille Service (TBBS)
Tagged NCompLive, TBBS
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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.
Posted in Books & Reading, Education & Training, Talking Book & Braille Service (TBBS)
Tagged NCompLive, TBBS
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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
Listened to a good book lately?
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.
Posted in Books & Reading, Talking Book & Braille Service (TBBS)
Tagged Narrating, TBBS, Volunteers
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#BookFaceFriday – “Mr. Dickens and His Carol” by Samantha Silva
Bah! Humbug! and Happy Holidays from #BookFaceFriday!
Don’t let the ghost of Jacob Marley get you down! A good book, a cozy blanket, something warm to drink. This is the perfect recipe to put any Scrooge into the holiday spirit. We have ten copies of “Mr. Dickens and His Carol: A Novel” by Samantha Silva (Flatiron Books, 2017) and an audio version for our TBBS users as well. Reserve it for your book club to read next holiday season! You should also take a peek at all of our holiday-themed book club kits!
In the collection we have 114 holiday titles, 81 of which have 4 or more copies. If a library is looking to weed some of their holiday titles – they can think of us because we’re always happy to add to this particular collection!
These titles are very popular in November and December, with some book club groups reserving their choices up to a year in advance! NLC staff keep their eyes peeled for holiday-themed books year-round in order to meet the demand come the first snowfall.
“Mr. Dickens and His Carol is a charming, comic, and ultimately poignant story about the creation of the most famous Christmas tale ever written. It’s as foggy and haunted and redemptive as the original; it’s all heart, and I read it in a couple of ebullient, Christmassy gulps.”
―Anthony Doerr
This week’s #BookFace model could be considered by some, our very own office Scrooge, but with a heart of gold. It’s Jerry Breazile, our Business Manager!
Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Posted in Books & Reading, General
Tagged Book Club Kits, Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, books, Charles Dickens, Christmas, Holiday, Mr. Dickens and His Carol, Samantha Silva, TBBS
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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.
#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!
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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