Talking Book Digital Player Ready for the Asking

The exciting news is, any talking book borrower in Nebraska can probably be sent a new Library of Congress digital player, almost immediately. Because the Talking Book and Braille Service is receiving allocations of new players on a regular basis, the waiting list for new players has disappeared. Any borrower in good standing can now be sent a new player virtually upon request. This includes individuals, schools, retirement centers, and care facilities. An individual is in good standing if they have no more than one Library of Congress cassette player in their possession and have not demonstrated a pattern of lost or damaged library materials. The same criteria apply to schools, retirement centers, and care facilities except that more than one cassette player may have been assigned to them at a time. The digital player from the Library of Congress is easy to use, smaller and lighter than the cassette player, has good sound quality, and comes with a rechargeable battery that lasts up to thirty hours. Books and magazines on cartridge are virtually trouble free, and can be played without the need to change sides or be turned over. Help is available from the Talking Book borrower’s Readers Advisor, plus an easy-to-follow set of instructions comes with each player. Talking book borrowers are encouraged to retain their Library of Congress cassette player even after they receive a digital player. Many recorded books and magazines are still available on cassette only; and some titles may never be transferred over onto cartridge. To request a digital player, talking book borrowers should contact their Readers Advisor. Some public libraries have been asking if and when they will be sent digital players for demonstration purposes or as a machine exchange site for talking book borrowers who live nearby. Right now we don’t have an answer to those questions, though we greatly appreciate the interest and enthusiasm from Nebraska’s public librarians as we make this transition from analog tape to digital cartridge.