NLS News
The latest news from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled
NLS Patron Announce-Only Listserv
Want to get the latest news and updates from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled? NLS’s Patron Engagement Section now hosts an announce-only listserv that will include announcements about NLS programs, services, and products that might be of interest to patrons. New announcements will be posted to the list few times a week. If you are interested in signing up for this listserv, please send your name and email address to the Patron Engagement Section at NLSPES@loc.gov. You will be able to unsubscribe yourself from the list at any time. So email NLSPES@loc.gov now!
Launch of the New NLS Spanish-Language Website
The National Library Service has launched a Spanish-language website to help connect Spanish speakers to a large and growing collection of Spanish books and magazines. Readers with low vision or blindness, or a disability that prevents them from using regular print materials can find information about NLS, apply for service, as well as find various resources and library materials in Spanish with ease. Take a look and share with your favorite Spanish-language readers. www.loc.gov/nls/es/
NLS Launches Braille-on-Demand Pilot Project
NLS is launching a Braille-on-Demand pilot project on Monday, June 20, 2022. This project will allow active patrons to request and receive one hard-copy braille title per month, which patrons can retain for their personal use. If an individual who is not registered as a patron submits an order, NLS will refer the individual to their local network library to begin the process of becoming a patron.
Braille titles will be limited to books that are currently available on BARD, the NLS Braille and Audio Reading Download service. At this time, requests are limited to one book per patron per month. Only complete titles will be distributed. Requests for partial titles (for example, volume one of a three-volume book) will result in receiving the entire book. Braille titles will be limited to books that are currently available on BARD.
The form to request a braille-on-demand book: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NLSbrailleondemand.
You may also contact WTBBL or NLS Reference at nlsref@loc.gov for assistance in completing the form.
NFB-NEWSLINE® Service Available
The Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library signs up WTBBL patrons for the free NFB-NEWSLINE®service which provides more than 300 publications, including fifteen Wisconsin newspapers (including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal), updated daily, accessible by telephone or an iOS (Apple/Mac) app. The user selects a newspaper, a section, or an article of interest which is read to them using synthetic speech (nonhuman computerized speech). The service includes job listings and death notices. To sign up for NFB-NEWSLINE®, Wisconsin residents should contact the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library at (800) 242-8822 or visit wtbbl@milwaukee.gov.
Newspapers from throughout the United States cooperate with the NFB-NEWSLINE® service and send electronic text to the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) for processing and distribution. Access to this service is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, to anyone who is eligible to receive library services from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) of the Library of Congress and cooperating network libraries, such as WTBBL.
How to Use NFB-NEWSLINE®
All NFB-NEWSLINE® readers need an identification number and security code, which are assigned upon registration. Using the system requires a touch-tone telephone. A phone with a speaker is convenient but not required. Anyone who is registered can call NFB-NEWSLINE® at the number provided: (888) 882-1629. After a brief opening announcement, the system will ask for your preassigned identification number and security code, which you enter on the touch-tone keypad. Once admitted, you can then access the newspaper menu or select other information. When choosing the newspaper option, you can read papers in your state or nearby area, or you can read other papers from across the country. After you have chosen a paper, you can listen to today's edition, yesterday's edition, or the Sunday paper, which remains on NFB-NEWSLINE® for an entire week.
Once in the menu of a particular paper, you can choose any section presented on the menu as soon as you hear the one you want. You can switch from article to article, section to section, or paper to paper at any time and without delay; it is fast and easy. Also, when reading a particular section, pressing a single key on the telephone keypad will quickly move you from one article to the next, skip ahead in the article, return to a previous article, change the speaking speed, change the reading voice, or spell out or search for words. The keystrokes are few and easy to remember. NFB-NEWSLINE® reminds you to check the help page to learn more about the service and any changes each time you call.
To sign up for NFB-NEWSLINE®, Wisconsin residents should contact the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library at (800) 242-8822 or wtbbl@milwaukee.gov.