Okefenokee Trail Becomes Wheelchair Accessible

One of the more popular trails along the Okefenokee is getting a facelift to become wheelchair accessible. The U.S. Forest Service gave $650,000 to rebuild the Cane Pole Trail and add in some wheelchair-accessible fishing platforms.

The work should be completed soon, and the platforms should last about 100 years.

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/041210/new_604912821.shtml

Food for Healthy Eyes

Everyone has heard that carrots are good for your eyes, but did you know that berries, kale, and almonds also provide essential eye vitamins? Check out the entire list from "Cooking Light" magazine:

www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/17/eyes.healthy.eating.foods/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Spring Clean Your Reading Record

Are you doing spring cleaning in your home? Don't forget to spring clean your Talking Books reading record!

Are you getting books that are above or below your reading level, books that you aren't interested in, or too many or not enough books? Just give us a call at 1-800-531-2063! We can go over your account settings with you and update them with one phone call.

Remember you can always change your account settings, not just in the spring!

NFB-Newsline Breaks Record

NFB-Newsline recently announced they delivered 3,000,000 minutes of news to the print-disabled in March 2010! There have also been some exciting upgrades to the service - for instance, readers can now choose to receive their news by telephone, email, the web, or downloaded to a portable player.

Here is the press release from NFB-Newsline:

The National Federation of the Blind is pleased to announce that NFB-NEWSLINE®-its free service that provides independent access by print-disabled people to hundreds of local and national publications and TV listings-delivered a record-setting three million minutes of news to its subscribers in March.

NFB-NEWSLINE® 's record-setting month capped off an exciting start to 2010, including a long line of recent improvements and additions to the system. NFB-NEWSLINE® In Your Pocket-a dynamic software application for personal computers, which through an Internet connection automatically downloads the publications of a subscriber's choice to his or her digital talking-book player-is now compatible with two more digital talking-book players, the BookSense and Book Port Plus.

NFB-NEWSLINE® now offers more publications than ever before, with 317 newspapers and magazines available, which can be accessed by a number of methods: by download to a digital talking-book player, over the telephone, or on the Web. Most recently, NFB-NEWSLINE® added several prominent magazines, including the Smithsonian, Time, and The New Republic. The newest addition to the list of magazines available is Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind, which contains features of specific interest to the blind. NFB-NEWSLINE® subscribers can now also administer access to their favorite publications through the NFB-NEWSLINE® Web site (www.nfbnewsline.org), deciding which publications they wish to receive by phone, via the Web site, by e-mail, or with NFB-NEWSLINE® In Your Pocket. The Web interface allows each user to maintain separate lists of favorite publications for each delivery method.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "The record-setting number of minutes of news delivered in March clearly demonstrates that NFB-NEWSLINE® is reaching more subscribers than ever before. This vital service­­­­­-which offers the print-disabled unprecedented, round-the-clock access to news and information-continues to grow, regularly adding new publications and new features. We are extremely proud of the NFB-NEWSLINE® team for its hard work and dedication to providing the best service possible to subscribers."

NFB-NEWSLINE® allows those who cannot read conventional newsprint due to a visual or physical disability to access newspapers and magazines by download to a digital talking-book player, over the telephone, or on the Web.

To learn more about NFB-NEWSLINE®, please visit www.nfbnewsline.org. Those interested in subscribing to the service may fill out the online application form, write to nfbnewsline@nfb.org, or call (866) 504-7300. In order to be eligible for NFB-NEWSLINE®, an individual must be a US resident who is legally blind or has a physical or learning disability that prevents the independent reading of newspapers.

From the NFB-NEWSLINE® Team
(866) 504-7300
nfbnewsline@nfb.org
www.nfbnewsline.org
www.nfbnewslineonline.org

If you are a TBC patron who would like to sign up for Newsline, either contact them at 1-866-504-7300 or call the TBC at 1-800-531-2063.

Thanks to Our TBC Volunteers!!

This is National Volunteer Week, and the TBC staff would like to recognize all our hardworking volunteers!! We currently have 26 volunteers who donate hundreds of hours of their time each year. Volunteers help us by recording newspapers, rewinding and organizing the tapes that come in every day, cleaning and repairing the cassette players, and putting labels on the newsletters we send out. We truly could not do it without them!!

"Through a Dog's Eyes" Airs on PBS Tonight

Tonight at 8pm, PBS will air the documentary "Through a Dog's Eyes", which was filmed at the Canine Assistants' training site in Milton, GA.

The documentary focuses on five people with special needs who have receieved a service dog from Canine Assistants, showcasing the selection and training process as well as the bond between human and dog.

To read more about this documentary, please visit one of the following links, and don't forget to tune in tonight!

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/20/AR2010042004802.html

www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/pets/2010-04-20-dogeyes20_ST_N.htm

Don't Forget the RFB&D Record-A-Thon!

Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic's 15th Annual Record-A-Thon begins today, April 19. This week-long event is designed to create both awarness and support of the organization as well as produce as many audiobooks as possible. RFB&D records textbooks for the print-impaired.

Help fill the recording booths! For more information, please call (706) 549-1313 or visit www.rfbd.org.


http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/041210/liv_604908244.shtml

University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering

The University of Washington's Computer Science & Engineering department has been working on some exciting new technologies for low vision, blind, and deaf-blind people. This department is developing cell phone technologies that will incorporate touch-screens, navigation, location finder, color recognizer, and barcode reader advances. To read about the projects, please visit their website:

http://mobileaccessibility.cs.washington.edu/

Large Print Boy Scout Handbook

If you need to order a large print Boy Scout handbook, please contact:

Boy Scout Handbook

Large Print Edition
APH
L-98300-00
$155.
2 vols.

On-line edition
www.bsahandbook.org

Downloadable Bible

Aurora Ministries, which has been providing cassette versions of the Bible to the visually-impaired for years, has recently updated their website to include a link to a FREE download of the New King James Bible. This download is available to anyone, although if you qualify for the free audio Bible, you may still request it to be mailed to you.

If you would like to download the Bible, please visit http://audiobiblesfortheblind.org/. Please be aware the file is very large and may take several hours, depending on your connection speed.

National Library Week

National Library Week is this week, April 11 - 17. The theme this year is "Communities Thrive @ Your Library".

This event is held annually to celebrate and promote libraries of all kinds. This year even features the first annual "National Bookmobile Day" on Wednesday, April 14!

At a time when many libraries' funding is in jeopardy, don't forget to do the most important thing of all - use your library!! Check out books, attend programs, and use all the free resources your local library has to offer.

If you would like to read about National Library Week, the American Library Association webpage is a great place to start.

Athens Council of the Blind Fundraiser Tonight

Don't miss the Athens Council of the Blind fundraiser! It will be held tonight in downtown Athens. Live music! A donation to the ACB is requested as a cover charge.

Athens Council of the Blind fundraiser
Little Kings
223 West Hancock Ave Athens GA

5:30pm - 9:30pm


For more information, you can call (706)369-3144.

Over 1,000,000 BARD Downloads!

A press release from NLS:

On February 21, 2010, Tonia Gatton downloaded the digital talking-book version of__ Charlotte's Web__ to her home computer. She knew she was going to read a classic of children's literature. What she didn't know was that she was also making history. That talking book marked the one millionth piece of reading material delivered by the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD)service, a new initiative from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress.

Formally launched on April 30, 2009, BARD quickly became popular. Today more than 15,000 of NLS's more than 800,000 patrons are registered for access. "We're gratified by the passionate response BARD has received," says NLS director Frank Kurt Cylke. "At NLS, we strive to continually improve our patrons' opportunities to access a wide range of reading material. BARD has been an unequaled success in speeding delivery to our patrons."

Ms. Gatton, an NLS patron from Kentucky, selected _Charlotte's Web _from among more than 18,000 titles currently available through the Internet. In the past, NLS patrons would have had to wait for E.B. White's children's classic to arrive in the mail. BARD allowed Ms. Gatton to download a digital version for immediate playback.

Ms. Gatton is a rehabilitation teacher at the Kentucky Office for the Blind. She has been an NLS patron for more than twenty-five years. "Finally having instant access to thousands of books and magazines that I can download and read as desired, rather than waiting and hoping for new books to come in the mail, has been an incredible experience," says Ms. Gatton. "I've recently started going back and reading a lot of the classics that I either hadn't read or didn't appreciate as a child, such as
_Charlotte's Web._ After only a little over a year of using BARD, I can't imagine what I did without it."

"Our patrons are enthusiastic about BARD. Some of the more computer-literate readers have switched exclusively to downloading since the option became available," says Barbara Penegor, branch manager of the Kentucky Talking Book Library. "We are ready to become more directly involved in the service and excited to learn that this milestone occurred so close to our assuming full responsibility for the download activity."

NLS administers the free library program that loans materials to residents of the United States and citizens living abroad who are unable to read or use standard print materials because of visual or physical handicaps. Materials loaned include braille and recorded books and magazines, music scores in braille and large print, and specifically designed playback equipment. The 121 network libraries throughout the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands provide direct service to eligible individuals and institutions. Eligible American citizens living abroad are also able to participate in the NLS program. For more information about NLS, visit www.loc.gov/nls.


For more information contact:

Jane Caulton
Head, Publications and Media Section
jcau@loc.gov

Bookshelf Feature on DTBM

If you are downloading books from the BARD site, you may not know about the Bookshelf feature. This feature allows you to put more than one book on a flash drive or blank cartridge.

First, you will need to make sure your player is upgraded to the most current software. Visit www.loc.gov/nls/DTBM/index.html and follow the instructions to upgrade your equipment.

Second, log into the BARD site and download the books you wish to read. You may put multiple books on your flash drive.

Next, insert the flash drive into the USB port on the digital player. Press and hold the play/stop button to enter Bookshelf Mode. Use the rewind and fast forward buttons to select the book you would like to listen to. Tap the play/stop button to select and begin playing the book.

RFB&D Record-A-Thon

Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic in Athens is looking for volunteers to help out with their annual record-a-thon, being held April 19-23. If you are interested in volunteering, contact them at (706) 549-1313.

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/040210/new_599235901.shtml

Digital Books Deemed Textbooks

The Georgia House will now recognize online books and digital book devices as textbooks and allow schools to use textbook money to purchase these items.

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/040110/new_598687041.shtml