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Logo of The Friends of The New Jersey Library for the Blind and Handicapped: Within a circle is a family with their pets. Around the circle is our organization name, The Friends of the New Jersey Library for the Blind and Handicapped. THE FRIENDS OF THE NEW JERSEY LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND AND HANDICAPPED, INC.
 
Spring 2014 NEWSLETTER

 

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President’s Message

Welcome to the Spring 2014 Newsletter of the Friends of the New Jersey Library for the Blind and Handicapped (NJLBH). Now that the doldrums of winter have passed, we hope for nicer weather and summer fun and enrichment.

The next meeting of the Friends of the Library will be held on Saturday June 7th from 10 AM to 12 PM followed by lunch from 12 PM to 1 PM at the Joseph Kohn Training Center (JKTC), located at 130 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick, NJ 08901. Directions are at the end of this newsletter. Anyone wishing to stay for lunch will be asked to contribute $5.00 towards the cost of the food. Please call (609) 895-1048 and select the Friends’ mailbox before May 31st to let us know how many to plan for lunch. I hope you will consider joining us for an informative meeting.

In this newsletter, you will find an interview with volunteer Bob Lucas who is a reader and a monitor for the New Jersey State Library Talking Book and Braille Center’s (NJSLTBBC) Audiovision. Information about the NJSLTBBC’s annual golf outing and about books by New Jersey authors is also included.

This is a friendly reminder that our Fiscal year dues for FY 2014 are up for renewal. Please send your dues and donations to the Friends mailing address and write your check out to the Friends of the New Jersey Library for the Blind and Handicapped. The Friends appreciate your efforts and your participation in helping the NJSLTBBC meet its goals. A membership form is attached to this newsletter for those who wish to join the Friends or pay dues. Dues are $10.00 for an individual membership and $25.00 for a family membership. These dues cover the 12 month period from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015.

Mary Jo Partyka, President of the Friends

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Election of Officers

Election of Officers will be held at the June 7th meeting. The Nominating Committee, which is comprised of Pat Kay, Jim Dougherty and Barbara Finan is proposing the following slate of officers: President – Mary Jo Partyka; Vice President – Lauren Casey; Secretary – Ottilie Lucas and Treasurer – Joyce Sowa. Other members may be nominated from the floor at the time of elections. We do ask that anyone being nominated from the floor be approached in advance of the meeting and he/she must agree to run for the office in question.

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Meet Bob Lucas, Narrator and Monitor

We wish to thank Bob Lucas for his willingness to give his time to both narrate and monitor digital books for the patrons of our library. In this article he shares with us his personal experiences. Bob, a member of the Friends Finance Committee, has recorded and monitored two separate books recorded in the Audiovision recording studios. He recorded To Have and To Kill by New Jersey author Mary Jane Clark and was the monitor for Brian Waite when he recorded A Symphony of Soloists: The Story of Wakefern and ShopRite.

Bob shared that although the two functions are intertwined and necessary to produce a good final product, each is very unique. He stated that when recording a novel, one must actually act out the various characters in an understated way as opposed to a non-fiction work in which the reader functions more as a narrator. Bob did point out that when recording, one becomes tired and will make reading mistakes after a period of time. The monitor will point these out and have the errors reread and corrected. Bob’s comment was, “After a while, my tongue gets in front of my eye teeth and I can’t see what I’m saying.”

He noted that the preparation for both the narrators and the monitors is the same with respect to proper pronunciation of difficult words and proper names. The monitor will listen to each word as the narrator is recording while following in his own copy of the book that is being recorded. “You have to be on high alert during the entire recording session to ensure complete and total accuracy. You get tired in a different way than when you are doing the recording,” Bob said.

Both positions have the same goal. That goal is to work together to produce a completely accurate rendition of the author’s book that can be enjoyed by people who are blind and reading impaired.

Lauren Casey, Vice President of the Friends

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Golf Outing

It’s Tee Time for Talking Books! TBBC is excited to announce its 3rd Annual Golf Classic to be held on June 10th at the picturesque Old York Country Club in Chesterfield NJ.

The Friends will be donating $1,000 for this year’s fundraiser golf outing. The donation will be split between the cost of the luncheon, the cost of the 19th hole and gift certificates from Dick’s Sporting Goods that will be awarded as prizes.

Each year the fundraiser golf outing nets more money for TBBC services not covered by federal and state funding.

If you know anyone interested in golfing, sponsoring, or volunteering, contact Linda Cerce in the Development Office at TBBC at 800-792-8322 extension 835.

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Newsletters Available On Newsline

Cassettes and cassette players are being phased out, but there is now an alternative for those without computers. Insights, New Jersey Talking Book and Braille Center’s Newsletter, and The Friends of The New Jersey Library for the Blind and Handicapped Newsletter and other newsletters are now available on Newsline. You can access these Newsletters with a Newsline subscription and a touch-tone telephone. If you do not have a Newsline subscription, contact Reader Services at the New Jersey Talking Book and Braille Center at 1-800-792-8322 to get signed up for a Newsline subscription. If you have a Newsline subscription, but do not remember your login information, contact Christian Riehl at the above number extension 821. Once you have secured your login information, dial in to the service by calling 1-888-882-1629, or the local dial up number provided to you for accessing the service. Follow the prompts for logging in and reading the Newsletters. Choose option 2 off the main menu for your state’s information channel, followed by option 5 the New Jersey information channel, and then follow the prompts for the Newsletters. Happy reading.

Please check out our website for information on community services as well as present and past copies of our newsletters at http://www.friendsnjlibraryfortheblind.org.

Bill Dougherty

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Books Recorded Locally

Several books have been recorded at Audiovision at TBBC by volunteer readers. You can get them at
http://www.audiovision-nj.org/members/books.php
The user ID is “guest” and the password is also “guest”. The download procedure is similar to that in downloading from BARD. Following is a list of the books presently available.

Sunset: A Macular Journey, DBL1002
The Charmer, DBL 5000
The Soprano State, DBL 5002
To Have and To Kill, DBL 5006
Jacket: The Trials of a New Jersey Criminal Defense Attorney, DBL 5009
The Last Newspaper Man, DBL 5010
NJ Noir, DBL 5011
Fragments from the Biography of Nemesis, DBL 5012
A Symphony of Soloists: The Story of Wakefern and ShopRite, DBL 5017

Children’s Books:
Calvin Coconut-Trouble Magnet, DBL 5001
Aggie the Brave, DBL 5003
Bink and Gollie, DBL 5004
Annie and Snowball and the Wintry Freeze, DBL 5005
Mac and Cheese, DBL 5007
Mallory in the Spotlight, DBL 5008
Pony Crazy, DBL 5013
Annie and Snowball and the Book Bugs, DBL 5014
Mia and the Dance for Two, DBL 5015
Dixie, DBL 5016

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In Memoriam

Roger Beekman, a friend to many and a longtime member of the Friends passed away on March 27, 2014.

Norman Goldstein, the father of our Treasurer, Joyce Sowa, passed away on April 4, 2014.

Please keep the families and friends of these gentlemen in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this difficult time.

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A Heartfelt Thank You

The Friends would like to thank the following people for their very generous donations: Karen Cerulo, Margaret Chesson, Janis Foster, Kay & Ed Blick, Harry Kyriakoudis & Family

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Directions to the Next Meeting

Address: JKTC
130 Livingston Avenue
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-2421

Cross Street: Seaman Street

From the North

  1. South on Route 1 to Route 18 heading toward New Brunswick.
  2. Get off Route 18 at the New Street ramp.
  3. Turn slight right onto New Street/ NJ 26.
  4. Take the 2nd left onto Livingston Avenue/NJ 26.
  5. Turn left onto Seaman Street and left into the JKTC parking lot.

From the South

  1. North on Route 1 to Livingston Avenue/NJ 26 toward New Brunswick.
  2. Turn right onto Seaman Street and left into the JKTC parking lot.
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THE FRIENDS OF THE NJ LIBRARY for the BLIND MEMBERSHIP FORM

Name: _________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________

City, State, Zip: ___________________________________________

Telephone (with area code):_________________________________

E-mail address: __________________________________________

Preferred Media Format:

LP____ Cassette____ E-mail_____ or None I will read online_____

I am eligible for NJLBH Services: Yes ___ No ___

Individual Member $10.00 ___ Family Membership $25.00 ___

Donation $ _________

Donation in Memory or Honor of:

Name: _______________________________________________

Send acknowledgment for memorial gift to:

Name: _________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________

City, State, Zip: __________________________________________

I have made a bequest in my will _____

Please return this form together with your check payable to:
The Friends of the NJLBH
PO Box 434, Woodbridge, NJ 07095