[nfbwatlk] Winter 2008 "Reading Matters" from WTBBL

Mon Feb 4 10:20:03 CST 2008

-----Original Message-----
From: Wes Derby [mailto:wes at wtbbl.org]
Sent: Friday, February 01, 2008 9:25 AM
To: Wes Derby
Subject: Winter 2008 "Reading Matters" from WTBBL

You are receiving this message because you have elected to receive
newsletters and announcements from the Washington Talking Book & Braille
Library via email.  Please contact us if you wish to change your email
address or your method of subscribing to the newsletter.

Special Notice to E-Mail Subscribers: Included in this edition of the
newsletter is a brief survey.  Please take a moment, if you wish, to
answer the questions. Please send your answers to Sarah Merner at
volunteer at wtbbl.org.  Thank you.

Washington Talking Book & Braille Library
Reading Matters
Winter 2008 Newsletter
Message from the Director
Dear Patrons,  Volunteers and Friends,

	Happy New Year!  I hope that 2008 brings you good health, joy
and happiness.  2007 was another busy year for Washington Talking Book
and Braille Library (WTBBL).  We are celebrating several significant
accomplishments:

For the fifth consecutive year, readership and circulation have remained
strong.  We now have 16,548 patrons and circulation rates are continuing
to hover around half a million.

Governor Christine Gregoire announced her Fiscal Year 2009 Supplemental
Budget, which included the Secretary of State's request for WTBBL in the
amount of $341,433.  These funds, if approved by the legislature, would
maintain our current level of services.  Thanks are due to the WTBBL
Patron Advisory Council, the Washington Council of the Blind, and the
National Federation of the Blind of Washington for their collaborative
work on this effort.  
	More than 400 volunteers contributed 21,500 service hours, which
is
equivalent to 10+ full-time staff.  Thank you, volunteers!	

Membership in the Summer Reading Club (ages 6-12) increased by 5.4%.
For the first time, end-of-the-year celebrations were held in eastern
Washington
(Kennewick) as well as in Seattle.

Eight centenarians joined us for a "10-Squared" luncheon in their honor,
on Mother's Day weekend.  Bernard "Barney" Chichester, Ruth Houk, and
Evangeline Schuler all reached centenarian status, and were inducted
into the 10-Squared Club.  Our oldest centenarian, Daisy Murphy, who is
now 108, also attended.  

WTBBL staff are involved in educating the State about Library operating
procedures, in preparation for the July 1, 2008 transition.  On that
date, the State of Washington will assume the administration of the
library and direct delivery of library services to the blind and
disabled community.  

These achievements are due to the dedication of staff and volunteers,
who are committed to ensuring access to books and information for all. 

Sincerely,
Gloria J. Leonard, Director

2008 Selected Legislative Issues
(This is provided for informational purposes only.) 

The following selected items are disability-related issues that are
included in Governor Christine Gregoire's Fiscal Year 2009 Supplemental
Budget: Washington Talking Book and Braille Library (WTBBL) - (No Bill
#) The Office of the Secretary of State (OSOS) has requested $341,433
and 21.3 FTE's which would maintain the current level of library
services, including staffing, when the Washington State Library, located
in the OSOS, assumes administrative responsibility for the Seattle-based
WTBBL on July 1, 2008.

Promoting Accessible Communities-HB 2794. By Rep. Wallace: Provides
funding for county Accessible Community Advisory Committees and for
local projects to improve disability access and awareness, through an
increase in disability parking fines.

Refilling Prescriptions in Emergencies-HB 2583. By Rep. O'Brien:
Provides for early refills on prescriptions for a person residing in a
county that is under a flood warning, a declared state of emergency, or
has activated its emergency operations center.

Both the Washington State House of Representatives and the Washington
State Senate will need to agree on priority funding issues and vote in
support of them before funding is assured.  If you are interested in
making your opinion known to legislators, call your representative or go
to this link to find your representative's contact information:
http://www.access.wa.gov/government/state_legislature.aspx. 
Members of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Ways and
Means Committee are always interested in hearing your opinions.

Meet WTBBL's Staff: Sally Jo Hagen

WTBBL ships out approximately 2,000 books per day to our patrons.
That's a lot of books, and we could not do it without the hard work of
staff members and volunteers in our shipping department.  Sally Jo Hagen
is the coordinator of the shipping department, and has worked at WTBBL
for 10 years, and at Seattle Public Library for 10 years before that.
She is a Seattle Native, and lives with her husband, Leonard, and their
12-year-old daughter, Rosie, in West Seattle.  At the urging of Rosie,
Sally Jo is working her way through the Harry Potter series, and is well
into the seventh and last book!  Sally Jo works with Cathy Houston, Rick
Slama and Gayle Hunt, plus lots and lots of volunteers.  Here are some
helpful hints from Sally and her crew:

-If you have a problem with your player, call the 
Library so we can send you a new one.  Then mail the broken one to us.
Don't forget to fill out the form that's inside the machine!

-If you are returning a book with a broken cassette, put a rubber band
around the individual cassette or on the tab/snap of the box. That way
we know there's a problem, and can fix it.

-If you have any kind of problem with a book or equipment, call the
library!

A Poem:  Library for the Blind
Boxes, green boxes
Treasures hidden inside.
Awaken
My ears and my eyes.

Opening keys, new worlds, old worlds
New friends, old friends
Lives, loves, histories, visions, poetry, ideas.
Imaginings.

Boxes, green boxes
There is magic inside.
My education, my graduate school, my expansion-
My companions.

By Priscilla Maynard, WTBBL Patron.  September, 2007

Most Challenging Pronunciation

If we gave out an award for Most Challenging Pronunciation in a book
undergoing narration, it would probably go to Alita Kiaer, who is
working on narrating the novel Death Stalks the Khmer.  
	The Khmer language is very complicated. It has 26 vowels, two
classes of consonant (which have different rules that govern the
pronunciation for the vowels used with them),  several diacritical
markings that dramatically change pronunciation, and a glottal stop that
occasionally converts p to b, t to d, etc. Vowels sound like French
vowels except when they don't. To complicate things further, the author
thoughtfully attempted to write Khmer words phonetically rather than
using an accepted system of transliteration, which makes it very hard to
determine which class of consonant is being used and therefore which
vowel sound should follow. It's mind-boggling!
	So, we have enlisted the help of Tina Mat, a Khmer-speaking
librarian with the Seattle Public Library, who is on call for Alita.
Tina speaks words into the telephone as pronunciation instructor to
Alita.  Big thanks to Tina and to Alita!

I Love my Library but I wish for this.

If WTBBL could grant you a wish, what would it be?  Please answer the
questions, remove the page, fold it in half so the Library's address
shows,
and mail it back to us.   
The Library is considering making audio-described DVDs available.  Would
you be interested in borrowing these if we had them?  ___yes ___no

The Library is planning to develop programs for you.  Please help us by
indicating your interests. Select the age group of interest to you:
____children		____teens	
	____adult		____seniors (55 and older)

Select topics that are of interest to you:
	____health			____travel
	____memoir writing	____computer basics
	____book discussion group	s     ____finances
	____others____________________________
Indicate your preference:
__Virtual programs (via a computer internet connection) __In-person
programs at a library or other facility near you.  
What is your local public library?______________

2/2008

Hints to Help Us Serve You Better

Magazine List Now Available
A comprehensive list of large print, cassette, and braille magazines is
now available through the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library, and
it's free. Please visit our web site, or call the Library to request a
copy in
braille or large print.   

Web Streaming Update
Our new, improved login system for the Evergreen Radio Reading Service
web stream is receiving rave reviews.  If you were unable to listen
online before, we urge you to try again.  You can hear our volunteers
read local and national news, as well as our weekly live call-in talk
show and exclusive author interviews.  For more information, visit
www.wtbbl.org.

Attention Braille Users
Do you utilize the braille format of book orders from Talking Book
Topics and Braille Book Review?  If so, please remember that you must
put your name and address on the first page of the order form, as
indicated.  Otherwise, we don't know from whom the order came.  Thanks!!

If You Prefer Email
If you're interested in receiving library announcements and newsletters
via email, please contact Wes Derby at wes at wtbbl.org with your name and
email address.

Communicating Important Messages
When you have an important message to send to WTBBL about yourself or a
family member, please phone us at 206-615-0400, or send us an email at
wtbbl at wtbbl.org.  Be sure to include your first and last name and your
address or patron id number.  This helps us to serve you better.  

Are You a Veteran?
Patrons who have served and been honorably discharged from U.S. armed
forces are given priority in receiving some library services.  If you
are a veteran, please call the library so we can make sure your records
reflect this fact.  This will help us improve our statistics, and may
benefit you as well.  Thank you.  

Note These Dates!

May 10, 2008.  10-Squared Club Celebration.  To honor our patrons who
are over 100 years old. April 27-May 3.  Volunteer Appreciation Week,
when we show our gratitude to the many WTBBL volunteers, who give us so
much of their time and of their selves.  

Has your email address changed?  Please let us know!!

Recommended Reads:  
Spotlight on Locally-Produced Books

Citizen Vince by Jess Walter
Spokane; 1980. Vince Camden is working as a baker in the Witness
Protection Program.  When another gangster recognizes him, Vince heads
to New York to make amends with the mob. 
Cassette book CBA 7839.  Braille book BR 16842.

Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism 
by Dawn Prince-Hughes
By working with the gorillas in Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, the author
was able to emerge from the solitude of her undiagnosed autism and
connect to living beings. 
Cassette book CBA 7724.  Braille book BRW 1116.

Long Time Gone by J. A. Jance.  In the 17th J. P. Beaumont mystery, Beau
must contend with a case concerning a nun who, under hypnotherapy,
recovered memories of a murder she witnessed fifty years ago. Cassette
book CBA 7817. Braille book BRW 1131.  Large print book LP 22733.

Surveys Underway
The Washington State Library (WSL) is conducting a survey of WTBBL
patrons to help determine the future service priorities for WTBBL.  If
you have any questions about the survey, call Cathy Turk at
1-866-538-4996.  
WTBBL is also conducting our own telephone survey of patrons who are
using web streaming to access the Evergreen Radio Reading Service.  If
you have any questions about this survey, call Sarah at 1-800-542-0866
or 1-206-615-0417.  
Annual Catalog of Locally Produced Books
Are you interested in books about the Pacific Northwest?  Do you enjoy
reading works by local authors?  Our locally-produced talking book and
braille collections feature thousands of books of regional interest as
well as books unavailable from NLS that have been requested by patrons.
Our talented volunteers and staff produce quality books, all of which
are thoroughly proofread, reviewed, and formatted to ensure they meet
our high standards.  
If you would like to read new locally-produced books, please call the
Library to make sure you are subscribed to our annual catalog.