[blindlaw] FW: National Library Service Commemorates 75 YearsofPioneering Service to Blind and Physically Handicapped Readers

Fri Dec 29 07:39:57 CST 2006

TheKing James version of the Book of Psalms was one of the first; The 
Washington State School for the Blind had a copy when I was a student there 
in the 1950's.

Mike Freeman

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "albert griffith" <albertpgriffith at hotmail.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, December 29, 2006 3:23 AM
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: National Library Service Commemorates 75 
YearsofPioneering Service to Blind and Physically Handicapped Readers

I wish they'd have said what the first talking book was.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "McCarthy, Jim" <JMcCarthy at NFB.ORG>
To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2006 9:19 AM
Subject: [blindlaw] FW: National Library Service Commemorates 75 Years
ofPioneering Service to Blind and Physically Handicapped Readers

|I realize that this is somewhat off topic.  However, many of us have a
| relationship with NLS, and those few who do not should.  Also, there is
| some legal history that may not be well known.
| Jim McCarthy
|
| -----Original Message-----
| From: James Elekes [mailto:jelekes at sc.rr.com]
| Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 10:27 AM
| Subject: National Library Service Commemorates 75 Years of Pioneering
| Service to Blind and Physically Handicapped Readers
|
| FYI, JJE.
|
|
|
| >PR Newswire, New York
| >Tuesday, December 26, 2006
| >
| >National Library Service Commemorates 75 Years of Pioneering Service to
|
| >Blind and Physically Handicapped Readers
| >
| >  Free library service celebrates long history and bright future in
| keeping
| >     patrons engaged in literature and connected to the world around
| > them
| >
| >     WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- This month, as the nation
| >reflects on the past year and looks toward the future, the National
| >Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), Library
|
| >of Congress, is commemorating 75 years of providing free library
| >service to people who cannot see standard print or who have problems
| handling print materials.
| >Established in 1931 by the Pratt-Smoot Act, NLS provides free reading
| >materials in braille and on audiocassette, as well as audio playback
| >equipment to eligible enrollees of all ages. As NLS celebrates its 75th
|
| >year of ensuring that all may read, the program continues its tradition
|
| >of innovation and service. In 2008, a revolutionary transformation will
|
| >occur when NLS launches the digital talking-book system, harnessing the
|
| >latest technology to enhance the way patrons stay connected to the
| >written word and the world at large.
| >     "This is a monumental milestone in NLS history," says Frank Kurt
| >Cylke, NLS director. "For the past 75 years, we have remained committed
|
| >to meeting the unique needs of blind and physically handicapped
| >readers. As we enter the digital future, NLS will continue to explore
| >ways to enhance the reading experience of our patrons, thereby
| >improving the quality of their lives."
| >     A long history of keeping people connected
| >     Known today as the talking-book program, NLS was born on March 31,
|
| >1931, when President Herbert Hoover signed the Pratt-Smoot Act into
| >law, authorizing the Library of Congress to provide embossed books for
| >blind people in the United States and its territories. The legislation
| >was the outgrowth of efforts dating back to the nineteenth century to
| >foster literacy in the blind community. While the Library of Congress
| >had offered an in-house collection of braille materials since 1897, it
| >wasn't until President Herbert Hoover signed the Pratt-Smoot Act into
| >law that such materials became accessible to blind readers on a
| national level.
| >     It became apparent early on that the braille collection did not
| >meet the needs of older patrons who lacked the tactile sensitivity to
| >learn braille. In 1934, laying the foundation for a service that puts
| patrons'
| >needs first, Congress supplemented the original legislation with
| >additional funding to produce books on phonograph records -- the first
| audiobooks.
| >Thus the talking-book program was born. Always exploring the
| >technological horizons for new methods of improving service to readers,
|
| >NLS made cassette books and special playback machines available to
| patrons in 1969.
| >     When Senator Reed Smoot and Representative Ruth Pratt introduced
| >the legislation that created this special library service in 1931, they
|
| >could hardly have envisioned the phenomenon spawned by their efforts.
| >Today, NLS provides services to more than 700,000 avid readers. The NLS
|
| >staff has grown from one professional staffer in 1931 to a staff of
| >more than 100 individuals. The 19 affiliate libraries have expanded to
| >a national network of 132 cooperating libraries found throughout the
| >United States and in its territories. Moreover, the NLS collection has
| >increased from a mere 15 book titles to a collection of more than
| >400,000, including the latest bestsellers, circulating 24 million
| >copies annually. In addition, NLS provides music materials in braille,
| >recorded, and large-print formats; and offers readers a selection of
| braille and recorded magazine subscriptions.
| >     Moving into the digital future
| >     The 75th anniversary of NLS ushers in a new era for the
| >talking-book program. Building on its past tradition of implementing
| >cutting-edge technologies to enhance user-friendliness, NLS is in the
| >midst of converting its analog-based system to a digital system, and
| >developing new digitally based talking books and playback machines.
| >     The digital talking-book system will greatly enrich the user
| >reading experience through improved audio quality, navigation features,
|
| >accessibility, portability, and durability. NLS expects to begin
| >distributing the digital talking books and players to patrons in 2008.
| >     Users play a key role in shaping NLS's digital future. In
| >partnership with the National Federation of the Blind, NLS is engaging
| >a broad range of blind and physically handicapped consumers in a series
|
| >of rigorous product tests to ensure that the medium and player are
| >functional and accessible to readers of diverse ages and skill levels.
| >     "It's been wonderful to be part of this process," says NFB
| >spokesperson Marc Maurer. "Throughout its history, NLS has proven
| >itself a forward- thinking organization and a leader in developing as
| >well as implementing assistive technologies to improve service to its
| patrons."
| >     The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
| >Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress, administers the talking-book
| >program, a free library service available to U.S. residents or American
|
| >citizens living abroad whose low vision, blindness, or physical
| >handicap makes reading a standard printed page difficult. Through its
| >national network of regional libraries, NLS mails books and magazines
| >on cassette and in braille, as well as audio equipment, directly to
| >enrollees at no cost. Further information on eligibility requirements
| >and enrollment procedures for the program is available at
| >http://www.loc.gov/nls or 1-888-NLS-READ (1-888-657-7323).
| >
| >
| >SOURCE Library of Congress
| >
| >Related links:
| >
| >http://www.loc.gov/nls
| >
| >
| >http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/
| >12-26-2006/0004496729&EDATE=
| >
|
|
| _______________________________________________
| blindlaw mailing list
| blindlaw at nfbnet.org
| http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw
|

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