The original item was published from September 1, 2021 11:10 AM to September 1, 2021 11:17 AM
From the Director’s Desk
With COVID cases on the rise, our Reader Advisors will once again be working remotely through at least October 4th. When calling in, we ask that you dial the extension that corresponds to the last name of the account you are calling about.
Last names A-D – Ext. 1
Last names E-K – Ext. 2
Last names L-R – Ext 4
Last names S-Z – Ext 5
Machines/Descriptive Videos – Ext. 3
Institution Accounts – Ext. 7
If you’re unable to dial an extension, you can wait and leave a message on our general voicemail. Or you can email KTB@ks.gov. I thank you for your patience as we navigate these new requirements.
In other news, there’s a lot of exciting activities going on at Kansas Talking Books (KTB). Braille readers are enjoying the new NLS braille eReaders from Utah, many patrons are receiving books on their new custom cartridges, we’ve still got plenty of free Bookshare subscriptions for KTB patrons, and much more. Keep reading for all the latest news and happenings.
If you have any questions or concerns please contact me directly at 620-341-6287 or email me to discuss them.
Stay safe, stay healthy, and keep reading.
–Michael Lang, Director
KTB Updates
Using Bookshelf to Navigate Your Custom Book Cartridges
Your cartridge contains multiple books. There are two ways to listen to them.
Listen through
- After a book has played fully, you will hear the end of book announcement.
- Wait a few more seconds and you will hear instructions to “Press the play/stop button” to go to the next item on the cartridge.
- Press the play/stop button again to listen to the next item
Bookshelf Instructions
- Make sure the player is turned on and the cartridge is inserted.
- Press and hold the green square play/stop button on the player for a few seconds. The player will announce “bookshelf,” and the total number of items on the cartridge. Release the green square play/stop button.
- Press and release the fast-forward button to scroll to the next magazine/book in the list.
- Press and release the rewind button to scroll to the previous magazine/book in the list.
- Once you hear the title of the item you want to read, press and release the green play/stop button to select the item.
- Press and release the green play/stop button to start your next item.
To change the number of books added to your next cartridge or to order specific books, call us at 1-800-362-0699 or email KTB@ks.gov
Braille eReader Pilot
Kansas Talking Books patrons have the opportunity to join the NLS pilot to use the Humanware braille e-reader device through the Utah State Library Program for the Blind and Disabled. This is an exciting opportunity for patrons to have early access to the e-reader, and for NLS to collect statistical data from a larger number of participants. This pilot will not change or replace the distribution of hard copy braille materials.
As part of the pilot, the staff of Utah’s Library Program for the Blind and Disabled will conduct the registration survey and provide technical support to participating Kansas patrons. Utah will also duplicate braille books onto cartridges for use in the e-reader device.
The initial contact and registration process began in June. The pilot phase for data collection is six months. Patrons can keep the device once the pilot phase ends.
Phone Book Club
Calling all readers! Join readers from across Kansas on Wednesday, September 8, 2021, for discussion about Taylor Jenkin Reid’s book Daisy Jones & the Six DB 94175. Annotation: Daisy Jones, the daughter of a painter and a model, comes of age on L. A.'s Sunset Strip in the 1960s. As she falls into the rock 'n' roll scene, she joins forces with an up-and-coming band, The Six. The pairing becomes legendary. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2019.
If you are interested in participating, there are two sessions available: 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Please contact our office at 1-800-362-0699 or KTB@ks.gov to let us know you are interested. Include which session time you want and if you need a hard copy of the book or will be downloading from BARD.
The discussion will be held using Zoom. You can join the meeting using your phone or computer, call into the meeting, or call our office and we’ll transfer you to the meeting.
Our last phone book club discussion for the year will be held on Wednesday, December 8, 2021. We’ll be reading DB 101568 Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, which was made into a TV series on Netflix in 2020.
Manhattan VIP Book Club
Manhattan Visually Impaired Persons’ Book Club went virtual in 2020 due to COVID-19. In doing so, they opened their book club to Kansas Talking Book patrons from all around Kansas. There are patrons from Ellis, Lawrence, Kansas City, Cherryvale, Silver Lake, and Manhattan. The book club members encourage patrons to join the book club as there are books from all different genres included.
The book club meets the third Tuesday of every month at 1:00 p.m. using Zoom. A link is provided the day before each meeting. If you do not have a computer or smartphone, you can call in to the meeting using your phone or call us and we can connect you.
If you are interested in attending any of the meetings, please contact our office at 1-800-362-0699 or KTB@ks.gov.
The books for September 2021 through July 2022 have just been selected. Here are the books for the first 3 months.
September
DB 96933 The only plane in the sky: an oral history of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff
An account of the 9/11 al-Qaeda terrorist attack on America through the voices of the people who experienced it. Draws on transcripts, declassified documents, interviews, and oral histories from government officials, first responders, witnesses, survivors, friends, and family members. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2019.
October
DB 99575 The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
Carly Kirk--obsessed with the story of her aunt Viv, who mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down Motel in 1982--decides to move to Fell, New York, and visit the motel. She quickly learns that nothing has changed since 1982 and soon finds herself ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed her aunt. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2020.
November
DB 49506 A farewell to arms by Ernest Hemingway
Romance between an American lieutenant in the ambulance service in Italy during World War I and an English nurse who becomes pregnant and dies in childbirth. One of the author's most popular novels.
Summer Reading
Congratulations to our grand prize winners: Linda S. from Alden for adult and Matt C. from Shawnee for youth! Thank you to all patrons who joined this year’s program. We look forward to your participation in next year’s summer reading program, Oceans of Possibilities.
A huge thanks to the Kansas Talking Books Advisory Council for your support and provision of the weekly and grand prizes. Without you, we wouldn’t have a summer reading program.
News from NLS
Foreign Language Search on BARD
NLS has deployed new and improved tools to search BARD for titles in languages other than English. The new search tools give patrons the ability to specify one or more default search languages and also limit search results by language. These updates will make it easier for you to find books in the languages you prefer to read, whether that be English, Spanish, or one of the other twenty-four languages currently available on BARD.
Here is a brief how-to on the new tools:
- Designate your default search language(s) by clicking the “language preference settings” link or the “Accounts Settings” link from the BARD main screen.
- Check more than one default search language if you want to see titles in more than one language. You can update these settings at any time, or you can specify a different language while searching through the drop-down menu adjacent to the search field on the BARD main screen.
- The BARD administrative account management interface has also been updated so network librarians can set patrons’ default language(s) on their behalf.
- Your default language settings will extend to the collection browsing options on the BARD main screen, such as Browse by Author Last Name, Browse by Title, and Browse by Subject, as well as Recently Added Books and Magazines.
- If you choose multiple languages or do not set your language preferences, a language filter drop-down menu on search results screens will display the number of books in each language and allow you to filter results by language. That will only display when more than one language is present in the search results. Setting your language preference will not affect the Recently Added menu in BARD Mobile at this time.
Readers’ Advisor Recommends: Recipe Books
With the fall and winter holidays around the corner and friends and family hopefully gathering together in celebration, try recipes from these books as you seek to bring comfort, joy, and love to those around you.
DB102353 The new fondue cookbook: from savory ale-spiked cheddar fondue to sweet chocolate peanut butter fondue: 100 recipes for fondue fun!
Collection of savory and sweet recipes intended for serving in group settings. Includes health and safety tips for serving. Recipes include fondues based on and around cheese, breakfast, seafood, meat, vegetable, falafel, chocolate, strawberry shortcake, caramel, lattes, pie, honey, peppermint, berry compote, nuts, and doughnuts. 2020.
DB101418 Modern comfort food: a Barefoot Contessa cookbook by Ina Garten
Collection of recipes by the author of Cook Like a Pro (DB 93340) that are geared to evoke an emotionally satisfying experience. Suggests ingredients which support the experiential nature of the food. Courses include cocktails, lunch, dinner, vegetables and sides, dessert, and breakfast. 2020.
DB101664 The flavor equation: the science of great cooking explained more than 100 essential recipes by Nik Sharma
Examination of the ways food flavors develop and layer to create experiences. Topics include sensory input through sight, sound, mouthfeel, aroma, taste, and emotion. Recipes highlight the flavor profiles of brightness, bitterness, saltiness, sweetness, savoriness, fieriness, and richness. Also provides recipes for what Sharma considers pantry essentials. 2020.
DB100310 A table for friends: the art of cooking for two or twenty by Skye McAlpine
Cookbook featuring recipes easily scalable from an intimate gathering to a much larger one and responsive to the seasonal availability of ingredients. Includes advice on preparing for entertaining. Recipes are categorized by the stars of the meal, sides, sweets, and extras. 2020.
DB 98761 Life is a party: deliciously doable recipes to make every day a celebration by David Burtka
Chef and actor shares over one hundred recipes and sixteen party themes--including playlists and planning tips. Includes rules for entertaining such as using nice utensils and preparing your mood beforehand. Recipes accompany party themes and are divided into seasons. 2019.
DB 97298 My drunk kitchen holidays!: how to savor and celebrate the year by Hannah Hart
Guide to celebrating fifty inclusive holidays throughout the year, from the well known--New Year's, Independence Day, and Hanukkah--to the offbeat--I Am in Control Day, Be a Millionaire Day, and Left-Hander's Day. Includes reasons to celebrate, suggested food to serve, and decoration ideas. Contains some strong language. Commercial audiobook. 2019.
Services Spotlight: Audio Description at Starlight Theatre
The Audio-Reader Network is partnering with Starlight Theatre in Kansas City to describe the Saturday night Broadway Series Shows for the 2021 season. Description headsets can be checked out in the area behind Terrace 2, beginning an hour before the show. To purchase tickets, contact Starlight box office at 816-363-7827 or at http://kcstarlight.com.
Audio Description involves the accessibility of the visual images of theater, television, movies, and other art forms for people who are blind, have low vision, or who are otherwise visually impaired. It is a narration service (provided at no additional charge to the patron) that attempts to describe what the sighted person takes for granted -- those images that a person who is blind or visually impaired formerly could only experience through the whispered asides from a sighted companion.
Shows begin at 8:00 PM, doors open at 7:00 PM
Dates for the remaining described Broadway series shows are:
On Your Feet! September 11, 2021
Escape to Margaritaville, September 25, 2021
To find out more about Audio Description and the Audio-Reader Network visit the website http://reader.ku.edu
To find out more about accessibility at KC Starlight visit https://www.kcstarlight.com/visit-starlight/accessibility-of-starlight/
Recent Locally Produced Books
DBC14927 Revolutionary heart: the life of Clarina Nichols and the pioneering crusade for Women’s Rights by Diane Eickhoff
Clarina Nichols (1810-1885) was a newspaper publisher and political speaker at a time when few women dared make their voice heard. Diane Eickhoff's meticulous quest to collect Nichols'scattered writings and papers has yielded a remarkable story about a fledgling movement with striking parallels to today's MeToo movement. Despite ridicule and verbal abuse, Nichols thrived by using humor and pluck to persuade men to grant unprecedented rights for women. Named a Kansas Notable Book and ForeWord's Book of the Year in Biography. Adult. Some violence.
DBC14933 Shadow of Death by Michael D. Graves
When a cop killer strikes Wichita, Pete Stone, Private Investigator, is on the case. He has to be. He wakes up in jail, battered and bruised and accused of a murder he's almost certain he didn't commit. He must prove his innocence before he's abandoned by his clients, his friends, and one special lady. When Stone is not getting knocked around by cops, he's getting roughed up by love. Some descriptions of sex, some strong language, and some violence.
DBC14940 Grandfather Buffalo by Jim Amosky
When Grandfather Buffalo, the oldest bull of the herd, trails behind the group, he finds that he is joined by a newborn calf. For preschool-grade 2.
DBC14948 Signed, Abiah Rose by Diane Browning
In pioneer days, a young girl who is a talented artist is encouraged to paint portraits, Bible scenes, and other pictures, but told never to sign her work, either because it would be a sign of pride or because artists are expected to be men.
Upcoming State and Postal Holidays Reminder
Monday, September 6 – Labor Day (Observed)
Monday, October 11 – Columbus Day (Postal Holiday)
Thursday, November 11 – Veteran’s Day (Observed)
Thursday, November 25 – Thanksgiving Day (Observed)
Friday, December 24 – Christmas Eve (Office closed)
Contact Information for Kansas Talking Books
1 Kellogg Circle, Box 4055
Emporia, KS 66801
1-800-362-0699
620-341-6280
KTB@ks.gov
Hours:
Monday – Friday
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m
kslib.info/talking
Talking Books Talk Blog: https://kslib.info/talkingbooks
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kansas.talking.books.service
On Twitter : @KSTalkingBooks