Tag Archives: Talking Books

Did you know that the Indiana State Library has a recording studio?

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Yes, the Indiana State Library has a recording studio! It’s part of the Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library, and it’s used to record audio books and audio magazines. This program is called Indiana Voices. Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library employee Jannell Summers is the program coordinator for the Indiana Voices program. She oversees all aspects of the program here at the Indiana State Library. The Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library serves citizens of Indiana who are blind or visually impaired, have a physical disability that makes using a standard book difficult or have a reading disability.

Indiana Voices records books written by authors who have a connection to Indiana; books with a subject that has a connection to Indiana; and books about Indiana history. Unfortunately, most people will never be able to listen to our books. Indiana Voices records books to be uploaded to the Braille & Audio Reading Download Service, most commonly known as BARD. This is an app produced by the National Library Service for use by talking book and braille libraries all over the nation. The reason Indiana Voices can only upload books to this site for use by our patrons is because the Legislative Branch of the United States government gave us permission to record any book for this service without violating their copyright protections.

During 2024, Indiana Voices recorded 10 books and magazines for the BARD service. These include:

Local authors
“Zeek the Zigzag Zebra” by NT Lucy is a juvenile fiction book. All four books currently in the series were recorded by the author in our studio.

“Now You See It/ Him/ Them” by Gene DeWeese and Robert Coulson is an adult fiction mystery. This book was recorded by Indiana Voices volunteer Lisa Calabro.

Books set in Indiana
“The Ghosts of Jungle Park” by Tom W. Williams is an adult nonfiction book. This book was recorded by Indiana Voices volunteer Kathleen Munsch.

“I Saw Santa in Indiana” by Shannon Anderson is a juvenile fiction book. This book was recorded by Indiana State Library employee Karen Perry.

Magazines
Outdoor Indiana is the state’s premier magazine, featuring the best of state parks, lakes, wildlife, forests, trails, hunting, fishing, wildflowers and outdoorsy people. Volume 87, Number 4 was read by Indiana State Library employee Doug Conrads.

Volunteering for Indiana Voices
Indiana Voices can always use more volunteers, and we have two positions that we are always looking to fill.

Narrators and readers: These volunteers are recorded reading the books and magazines. An hour every two weeks is all that we ask of your time, but you must be able to come to the Indiana State Library in Indianapolis.

At-home reviewers: These volunteers work from home listening to the finished books and read along to find errors that need to be corrected. Everything you need is sent to you electronically. An hour or two a week is all that we ask of your time.

To find out more information about volunteering, contact Jannell Summers via email or call her at 317-234-2128.

Read more about the Indiana State Library’s Volunteer Program here.

This blog post was written by Judy Gray, Indiana Talking Books and Braille Library supervisor.

Have you heard about Twin Vision Books?

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Did you know that the Indiana Talking Book Library has a robust collection of Twin Vision braille books? The Talking Book Library houses hundreds of Twin Vision braille books for you to enjoy, but what exactly are Twin Vision braille books?

Here is just a small example of the many Twin Vision books we have in house.

In 1960, Jean Dyon Norris had the idea to create a way that blind children could read with their sighted parents, or blind parents could read bedtime stories to their sighted children. Norris found a way to create books that contained print with pictures along with the same text in braille.

Two book in the collection: “Stack the Cats” and “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”

“I heard this blind mother talking about her children,” Norris recalled. “She said, ‘My children just don’t understand why I can’t read books to them.’” She went home that night and dug out a copy of a book her son had loved as a child, “Fuzzy Wuzzy Puppy.” Using a slate and stylus, the most labor intensive of braille transcribing methods, she created the first Twin Vision braille book (Colker, 1990).

The interior of “Stack the Cats.”

Norris started creating Twin Vision braille books on her kitchen table and distributing them to friends that needed them. Her work grew into creating libraries that included Twin Vision books. Eventually, the National Federation of the Blind and the National Library Service followed her lead and started manufacturing these books.

The interior of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” with the braille overlay pulled up so it is visible.

All this history leads us to today, and our collection. We have the old classic Twin Vision books, as well as newly-published books for kids and adults alike to enjoy together.

If you are interested in any of our twin vision books, give us a call at 800-622-4970.

This post was written by Abby Chumin, librarian in the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library.

Colker, D. (1990, March 29). “Once more, with feeling: Twin vision translates classic children’s stories into Braille.” Los Angeles Times.

 

 

 

 

 

A day in the life of the Talking Book and Braille Library staff members

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The following details the general day-to-day workings in the basement level of the Indiana State Library where the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library conducts its circulation operations. Those who work in this department help many people who are unable to use standard printed reading material – and may not be able to use the library – gain access to library materials. This allows hundreds of people to take part in the Talking Book and Braille Library every day.

The process begins in the basement of the Indiana State Library, where hundreds of books are circulated to and from patrons. The basement is like nearly any other part of the library’s stacks, with the small exception being that all items are a part of the Talking Book and Braille Library and each item being circulated is a different form of an accessible book. From large print books to audio books to braille, every day there is an ebb and flow of accessible reading material sent out and returned, and here is how it works:

The day starts with requested large print books being pulled from the shelves in the stacks of the basement. They are then checked out to be sent through the InfoExpress courier service to the requesting libraries to be held for their patrons. From there, these books are transferred to the State Library’s circulation desk where they are processed by circulation staff and sent on their way via the courier service. Any incoming books are brought down and checked back in as well.

TBBL staff opening the returned mail to check in the talking books cartridges.

Next, large print and braille books are mailed directly to patrons through the Talking Books and Braille Library. These books are pulled from shelves in the same manner as the other books, as well as checked out, but rather than being sent to circulation, these books are bagged up along with their associated mailing cards and set in mail tubs to be sent out later in the day through the United States Post Office. The cases used for the braille books are tough, black, Velcro-enclosed boxes that help in the safety of the books during transportation. All these books are mailed as “free matter for the blind,” and no postage is paid by the library or the patrons.

After all the outgoing physical books have been finished, next comes the audio book duplication. Audio books are distributed through the Talking Book and Braille Library via Duplication on Demand. USB drives that are larger than traditional drives, and are easier to manipulate, are then placed inside a small machine connected to a computer known as Gutenberg. While connected to Gutenberg, books that have been assigned to patrons are copied onto the USB drives and within a few minutes are ready to be sent out. The cartridges are pulled from the machine, causing their mailing cards to be printed along with the books contained on the device. The cartridges are placed inside their special blue mailing cases, along with their card for the destination, and sent along with the rest of the mail. Every day, anywhere from 100 to potentially upwards of 500 of these are sent out, with each USB containing anywhere from one to around 10 books.

A mail tub with outgoing talking book cartridges.

Alongside the Duplication on Demand cartridges, digital players must be sent out as well for patrons to be able to listen to these books. Players are held on to, often for years at a time, so the amount of players circulating each day is far lower than the amount of cartridges. They are kept waiting on shelves ready to be sent out as needed. Headphones are occasionally sent along with these players and are kept in the same area. Mailing cards are printed for all requested devices and they are checked out in KLAS, and sent out as well. This marks the end of the outgoing materials from the basement section of the Talking Book and Braille Library.

Talking book players are stored here until they are either sent to a patron or sent to the repair shop for evaluation and cleaning.

Next comes the incoming material. Every day, just as hundreds of books split between the three types go out, a similar amount comes in. Mail tubs arrive in the middle of the day at the loading dock. Mail is separated and sorted, and then the process of checking everything in starts. Books are checked back in, making them available to be borrowed again. Duplication on Demand cartridges are separated from their cases and scanned to become available to be overwritten with new books the following day. Players are marked to be refreshed or repaired and placed on holding shelves where they will be sent to the repair group in Fort Wayne. The repair group is a volunteer organization that works with talking book players from the Indiana State Library, as well as a few other states. Once at the repair group they will be checked for any issues, fixed of any that are found, and returned later to become available for circulation once again. Alongside these returned materials from patrons, repaired machines could arrive with this mail as well.

Hopefully, this look into the day-to-day operations of the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library has been informative and insightful.

This post was submitted by Derrick Fraser, Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library. 

A brief history of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled and the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library

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The idea of a National Library Service for the Blind was first developed in 1897 by John Russell Young, the Librarian of Congress. He created a Braille Reading Room in the Library of Congress containing 500 items, including books and music scores. The Indiana State Library was not far behind in developing a library collection for the blind. Today, the collection is known as the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library.

In 1905, the Indiana State Library began mailing embossed books to blind residents throughout the state. At the time, the library’s collection consisted of 300 volumes, 200 of which had been donated by blind people throughout the state who were eager to establish a library. This original collection of books began circulating on Oct. 1, 1905.

One day per month, books were sent to patrons throughout the state by the loan division of the State Library. The collection was slow to grow at this time as braille was not yet the standard method of embossed print; it was mostly able to grow through gifts and hand transcribing projects undertaken by volunteers such as the Junior League.

In 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed into law the Pratt-Smoot Act, which established the National Library Service for blind adults administered by the Library of Congress. They started out with 15 braille titles, the first of which was Woodrow Wilson’s biography of George Washington. Eighteen libraries were also initially selected to serve as regional libraries to better serve people through the country. In 1934, thanks in large part to the existing program that the Indiana State Library was offering, and the support around the state the program had, the Indiana State Library was selected to join the National Library Service as a regional library.

The following year, 27 book titles – including the four Christian gospels, historical documents and a variety of Shakespeare’s works – were made available on long-playing records. Patrons wishing to listen to these titles needed to buy their own phonograph. Records in various forms would continue to be used for more than 50 years. The National Library Service added service to children in 1952 and to people with physical disabilities and reading disabilities in 1966. Talking book formats have changed from records to flexible discs to cassettes in 1968 and in 2009 to digital books, download on demand, and downloadable media for braille e-readers and cellphones. The Library also includes large print titles and braille books.

However, the mission and goals of the program have remained the same, to provide library materials to those people unable to use standard printed materials. In 2019, the National Library Service was renamed the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled.

Learn more about the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled here, and learn more about the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library here.

This blog post was written by the past and present staff of the Talking Books and Braille Library. For more information, contact the Talking Books and Braille Library at 317-232-3684 or via email.

Indiana Voices at the Talking Books and Braille Library

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A sudden hush… clipped sentences… cheerful replies…

Audiobook aficionados know that a storyteller’s voice can create tangible experiences. Narrating is not just the task of reading out loud, but the art of inviting others into the story. For patrons of the Indiana Voices program of the Indiana State Library’s Talking Book and Braille Library, volunteer narrators do just that.

Together with Indiana State Library staff, volunteers bring Hoosier words and voices to persons who cannot use standard printed materials due to a visual, physical or reading disability, and live in the state of Indiana or across the country. Cozy mysteries, local history, true crime, authors from Indiana and more are recorded in the program. But, what goes into the process of recording an audiobook?

Narrators begin work on their titles outside of the studio, reading ahead for thorny sentences and unfamiliar pronunciations. Once they are confident in their preparation, they arrive at the downtown Indianapolis studio to narrate for an hour. A monitor outside the booth follows along in the text to catch mistakes and alert the narrator.

It may take months to finish a title, but when the back cover is eventually closed, the audiobook is sent to a volunteer reviewer for a final examination. Corrections are recorded, mistakes are edited out and the finished book is made available to Talking Books and Braille Library patrons.

Reading out loud may sound easy, but each title represents up to four times as many behind-the-scenes hours as the total runtime of the audiobook. It takes dedication to bring an author’s words to life!

The most popular books of 2023, so far, that were recorded by Indiana Voices are:

  • “Material Witness: A Shipshewana Amish Mystery” by Vanetta Chapman – Fiction DBC17818
  • “Falling to Pieces: A Shipshewana Amish Mystery” by Vanetta Chapman – Fiction DBC13578
  • “100 Things to Do in Indianapolis Before You Die” by Ashley Petry – Nonfiction travel guide – DBC12182
  • “Born to Build: the Story of the Gene B. Glick Company” by Gene Glick –  Nonfiction Biography – DBC17815

Volunteers are needed to do precisely that. Opportunities are open to join the work of providing Indiana-related titles to audiobook readers. Indiana is made up of many individual voices, representing different Hoosier communities, identities and experiences, all of which contribute to authentic interpretations of Indiana books. Volunteers from all the different communities and cultures in the state of Indiana are invited to apply. Volunteers are expected to work at least one hour every other week.

For those interested in learning more about volunteering with Indiana Voices as a narrator or as a monitor, please visit the Indiana Voices website or contact Hannah Arnold, Indiana Voices director, via email.

Patrons interested in audiobook materials from Indiana Voices should contact the Indiana State Library’s Talking Book and Braille Library at 317-232-3684.

This blog post was written by Hannah Arnold, Indiana Voices director,
and Judy Gray, Talking Books and Braille Library supervisor.

New offerings from the National Library Service

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The National Library Service, as part of its braille modernization initiative, has launched a braille-on-demand program which allows patrons to request copies of hard copy braille to keep indefinitely. Patrons may order up to five titles per month. Titles are limited to those that are available on BARD Braille and Audio Reading Download page, and only complete titles will be distributed. The form to request a book can be found here. Patrons may complete the form themselves or contact the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library for assistance. The books are being produced by Clovernook Braille Printing House in Cincinnati. The title requested most so far is “A Treasury of Knitting Patterns” by Barbara G. Walker. The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series have also proved popular.

NLS’ Patron Engagement Section now offers a monthly program called The Many Faces of BARD. This program will occur on the second Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. Eastern time. It will last for one hour and cover one aspect of BARD usage. Each program will start with a brief presentation. The remainder of the time will be spent answering questions about the presentation or other questions related to BARD usage. NLS will announce the topic for the next presentation at the end of each program. These sessions are open to all patrons and can be joined upon request.

This post was written by Laura Williams, supervisor of the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library.

Summer reading with the Talking Book and Braille Library

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Summer reading is in full swing at the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library. This year’s theme is “Oceans of Possibilities.” All patrons of TBBL between the ages of 4 and 18 are eligible. The program runs from May 31-Aug. 5. Books are available to borrow from the library in braille, large print and digital audio formats; participants can also download digital audio books and braille files from BARD or use the BARD mobile app available from the iTunes app store, the Google Play store or the Amazon App Store.

Any book borrowed from the library within the time frame will count toward a participant’s total. Note that only books borrowed or downloaded from the library will count towards a reader’s total. Every reader will receive prizes!

We are sending out packets each week throughout the program that include prizes, activity sheets and crafts.

To enroll – or if you have questions about the program – please contact Abby Chumin via email or by phone at 317-232-3684 or 1-800-622-4970.

This post was written by Laura Williams, supervisor of the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library.

Talking Book and Braille book talks now available

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The Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library has begun recording book talks and posting them on our Facebook and YouTube pages. Each talk will run between 10 and 15 minutes and include information about plot, characters and themes. The first book talk was about “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah (BR 23299, DB 81189, LP 19795).

This month’s talk covered “The Night Circus” (DB 73783, BR 21370) by Erin Morgenstern.

Upcoming book talks include the following:

You can request a copy of either of these books by contacting Abby Chumin at 1-800-622-4970 or via email.

This post was written by Laura Williams, supervisor of the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library.

 

Talking Book and Braille Book Club October meeting

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The Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library will be having a meeting of the Talking Book and Braille Book Club on Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 2 p.m. Eastern/1 p.m. Central. We will be reading “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah, which is available in audio (DB 81189), braille (BR 23299) and large print (LP 19795).

The novel is set in France, 1939. Vianne Mauriac sends her husband off to war, while her younger sister Isabelle runs off to Paris, claiming an affair. Once there, Isabelle becomes involved in the Resistance. Vianne’s home is occupied by the invading Nazis. Please note that that “The Nightingale” includes violence, strong language and some descriptions of sex. “The Nightingale” was the winner of the 2015 Goodreads Choice Award for historical fiction and will be adapted into a film starring sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning, scheduled to be released in December 2022.

You can request a copy of “The Nightingale” and let us know you are interested in participating by contacting Abby Chumin at 1-800-622-4970 or via email. If you want to participate via the Zoom app, we will send you a link via email. For those wishing to join by phone, a number will be provided.

This post was written by Laura Williams, supervisor of the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library.

Duplication on Demand transition complete!

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In March, the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library completed the transition of its service model from sending patrons one book on one cartridge to Duplication on Demand, which sends patrons up to ten books per cartridge based on their requests and subject preferences. The same player and cartridge are used as before. Each cartridge includes a mailing card that lists its contents. Patrons should not attempt to return this card with the cartridge, but instead discard it or keep it for their records. There is an address sticker on each cartridge that ensures its return to the library.

There are many benefits to this change for both staff and patrons. Staff can duplicate up to 20 cartridges at a time. The number of physical items circulating through the library has decreased, allowing mail to be processed more efficiently. Patrons now have access to newly-published books more quickly, and there are no wait lists for popular titles. Cartridges can be easily customized for patrons wanting a series of books, or several books by the same author. Thousands of older titles that previously had to be ordered from offsite are now available immediately. All the Indiana Voices titles are also available through Duplication on Demand.

To access the titles on DoD cartridges patrons can either use the player’s bookshelf mode or the sequential play feature. Sequential play will play books in the order they have been loaded on the cartridge, while bookshelf mode lets the patron pick what book they want to listen to.

To use the sequential play feature, patrons put the cartridge in and listen to the first book as usual. At the end of the book, closing announcements will play; when they are finished a voice will say “end of book, press play/stop to go to the next book”. Patrons press the play/stop button and the next book on the cartridge will begin playing. They can repeat this step until all the books have played

To use bookshelf mode, patrons turn the player on and put the cartridge in. Next, they hold down the green “play/stop” button for ten seconds, or until the player beeps and says, “bookshelf mode.” Once in bookshelf mode, they use the fast forward and rewind buttons to scroll through the books or magazines recorded on the cartridge. After reaching the desired title, they press the green play/stop button again and it will start to play.

Any patron having any difficulties with Duplication on Demand should contact the Talking Book and Braille Library via email or at 1-800-622-4970.

This blog post was written by Laura Williams, Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library supervisor.