Vol. 2, No. 4

September 1995

Third Annual Pub Golf Classic

The library’s annual fundraiser, the Pub Golf Classic, will be held at Belleview Mido Country Club on Saturday, October 21. Tee-off time is 7:45 a.m. The four person scramble event is sponsored by the Pub of Indian Shores and the Omega Omega Chapter of ESA International Service Sorority. The entry fee is $60.00 per player or $240.00 per foursome. Player incentives include free buffet lunch following tournament, door prizes, individual and team awards, ditty bag, and a fun, festive atmosphere. Call the library at 538-9567 for more information and a registration form. Golfers with disabilities are encouraged to participate.

Skiing is Believing

Blind or visually impaired adults interested in cross-country skiing are invited to apply now for the 1996 Ski for Light (SFL) International Week. The 21st annual event takes place at Spearfish, South Dakota, Sunday, January 28 to Sunday, February 4, 1996. The program consists of individual instruction by experienced cross-country skiers, as well as a talent show, Norway night, and other special activities. Skiers need no prior experience to participate.

The total cost of the week, around $550, includes room, board, registration fee, and some transportation. The application deadline is November 1. Contact Larry Showalter, SFL Applications Chairman, at 206 Vista Drive, Gahanna, Ohio 43230 for more information, or call 614/478-7898.

Volunteers Win Gold

The JCPenney Company’s annual recognition of exceptional volunteer services in the Tampa Bay area included a cash award for the Pinellas Talking Book Library. Myrtle Wells accepted $250 on behalf of all library volunteers at an awards luncheon, Sheraton Grand Hotel-Westshore in Tampa. The library volunteers were designated a Pinellas County Golden Rule Finalist based on their outstanding commitment to community service. The awards ceremony coincided with National Volunteer Appreciation Week, April 23-29. JCPenney sponsors the Golden Rule Award annually to honor exemplary volunteer services to the community. Seven counties in West Central Florida and over 200 entries were represented in this year’s program.

Volunteers have logged thousands of hours since the library opened in May, 1993, with their contribution growing in value and significance as reader registration grew. Several volunteers are themselves talking book readers.

Please join us in congratulating the library’s dedicated volunteers who make your talking book service possible.

DVS on the Move

The TBL has purchased several new titles for its descriptive video (DV) collection (see following list). Talking book readers have 50 selections total to choose from including animated features, comedies, dramas, adventures, westerns, and more from Hollywood, plus documentaries and mysteries produced by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). All movies have added descriptions of visual elements so that those with low vision can enjoy videos with sighted friends and family. For more information on the FREE loan of videos and a complete list of titles, available in large print or braille, call the library at 538-9567.

Mary Poppins

Father of the Bride

Home Alone

Star Wars

Battle of the Bulge

Geronimo

America & the Holocaust

Lion King

Joy Luck Club

Service Tips

The library enters reader requests received by mail or phone into the computer even if a particular book was previously circulated to the reader. Thus, if you send us a request, we will order it regardless of whether the computer indicates you have read it before or not. Call your reader contact if you want your requests handled differently.

Rewinding your tapes before returning saves many hours of volunteer and staff time. Be kind — please rewind. Also, be sure to place the correct tapes in each mail container. Misplaced or missing cassettes impede timely circulation to the next reader.

The Florida network of talking book libraries is experiencing an inventory shortfall of cassette book machines. We thank you for your patience in waiting an extra week or so for machines sent by mail. Please call your reader contact if you choose to swap your machine at the library. Our stock of machines is depleted as well.

Please notify the library of any changes in your address or telephone number as soon as possible. We cannot maintain magazine subscriptions, including Talking Book Topics, for readers with obsolete or incorrect addresses.

Please do not browse through or pick up your neighbor’s talking book cassettes intended for mail carrier pick-up. Please treat our materials with the same respect for privacy and confidentiality as you would a print letter or package.

Technology Corner

Advances in technology for people with disabilities are accompanied by a bloom of terms, abbreviations, and acronyms. To help you make sense of new products and services, we will provide a short glossary on the subject in each newsletter. Items found in the Pinellas Talking Book Library will be followed by TBL in parentheses. We encourage your visit to the TBL to use our talking computers, CCTV’s and other assistive devices.

Braille Output Devices (TBL): Braille output from computers is typically achieved via paperless or "refreshable" braille, or braille embossing. Refreshable braille software and companion peripheral device convert a line of text on the computer screen into a tactile braille display. As the line changes on the screen, so does the tactile display. Embossing, or braille printing, involves braille translation software and a braille embosser. The computer document is printed on paper in braille—grade one, two, interpoint, etc.—depending on the embosser’s capability and wishes of the user. The TBL has a braille embosser available for public use. Call the library for details.

News You Can Use

Hurricane season brings the potential for havoc to Florida each year. You can prepare for a disaster before the emergency strikes. Information to assist elders in disaster planning is available from the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, 1317 Winewood Boulevard, Building 1, Room 17, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0700.

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida, offers a program for blind and visually impaired visitors. Multi-sensory tools, including raised line drawings, audiotapes, tactile material, and descriptive text are used to introduce works of Baroque Art. Specially trained guides are available as well. Call the museum at 941/359-5716 for an individual or group appointment.

How to Choose a College: Guide for the Student with a Disability is a booklet from the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and the Heath Resources Center. Request a free copy from Heath Resource Center, One Dupont Circle, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036 or call 1-800-544-3284.

Indian Summer

The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) has spent the past year celebrating Native American Culture and creating or improving links between the talking book program and Native Americans with disabilities. The NLS collection contains tribal lore and wisdom, fictional and historical accounts of conflict with European settlers, contemporary stories of life on the reservation, and many other fascinating titles that speak to the diverse and complex experience of America’s first residents. We encourage you to order any or all of the following books by filling out the enclosed order form or calling your reader advisor.

Indian Affairs

by Larry Woiwode

RC 36155

Chris should be working on his weak marriage and finishing his dissertation. Instead, he is dwelling on his Native American heritage, prompted by uneasy interactions with his Native American neighbors.

Shadow Catcher

by Charles Fergus

RC 34653

An Indian agent’s stenographer’s candid photographs of Native Americans differ greatly from the image portrayed by the Indian Bureau, thus causing quite a stir.

From the River’s Edge

by Elizabeth Cook-Lynn

RC 34767

A Dakotah rancher whose herd of cattle has been stolen endures humiliating treatment in an American courtroom.

Runner in the Sun: A Story of Indian Maize

by D’Arcy McNickle

RC 35588

A novel about pre-Hispanic Native American life in the American Southwest reveals the first Americans’ love and respect for peace.

Old Indian Legends

retold by Zitkalal-Sa

RC 34791

BR 08880

A retelling, in English, of fourteen Dakota Indian tales. Some have a moral twist; some portray Native American culture and traditions.

Native American Testimony: A Chronicle of Indian-White Relations from Prophecy to the Present, 1492-1992

edited by Peter Nabokov

RC 34794

Voices of Native Americans recount United States history over the last five centuries.

Grandmothers of the Light: A Medicine Woman’s Sourcebook

by Paula Gunn Allen

RC 34434

Twenty-one spiritual stories culled from the oral histories of various Native American tribes including creation legends and the steps to becoming a medicine woman.

Computer Use Policies

The Pinellas Talking Book Library provides computer workstations and other electronic print access devices for public use. Policies governing use of the equipment have been written to protect the privacy of users, to maintain the integrity of software and hardware, and to generally offer fair use and enjoyment of these resources. The TBL’s consumer advisory committee, ABLE, assisted in drafting the policies document. For a copy of the policies in large print or braille, call the library at 538-9567.

Library Holidays

Please mark the following days on your calendar as library holidays. Please leave a message at 538-9567 if you need assistance, and we will return your call when we return to the office.

Labor Day, Monday, September 4

Veteran’s Day, Friday, November 10

Thanksgiving, Thursday and Friday, November 23 and 24

Christmas, Monday and Tuesday, December 25 and 26

Library Staff

R. Greg Carlson

Talking Book Librarian

Martha Forbes

Assistant Talking Book Librarian

Vivian Godfrey

Office Manager

Marianne Morawetz

Library Assistant

Denise Valkema

Library Assistant

Mission Statement

The Pinellas Talking Book Library's mission is to encourage and support reading and provide library services to Pinellas County residents for whom conventional print is a barrier.