Teen/Tween Thursday: Library Preferences

Teen/Tween Thursday!

Library Preferences for Accounts

Contributed by LaShawn Myles, Youth Services Librarian

Have you updated your preferences lately?

As your child ages, their interests tend to reflect the social, physical, and environmental changes they experience. Did you know that you can update your child's reading preferences at any time, to reflect their changing interests? Common questions to ask yourself before updating your MD LBPH account:

• Is your child getting the books he or she likes to read?
• Is your contact information, your child's contact information, the same, or has it changed in recent years?
• Have you signed up for BARD Mobile? 
  

Look out for additional correspondence from the Youth Services Librarian in the coming weeks, and never hesitate to reach out to the library with any questions about your child's account.  

Marylandia Collection Update

Marylandia Collection Update

Marylandia Collection: Update

Contributed by Mary Ramos, Collection Development Librarian

The Marylandia Collection is produced by the LBPH Recording Studio. This collection includes books by Maryland authors and select regional authors and books of particular interest to Marylanders.  The Marylandia Collection is available for download through Braille & Audio Reading Download (BARD).  

Historical Fiction

DBC05345 – The Tide King, by Jen Michalski

Narrated by Janet Sanford

Stanley Polensky and Calvin Johnson serve in Germany during World War II. Calvin, near death after being shelled, is given a bewitched herb by Stanley and then left for dead. Each soldier returns from the war and years pass. Calvin, discovering he cannot age and cannot die, searches for Stanley to get answers.

You can search BARD for this and other great titles by visiting: https://nlsbard.loc.gov/login//NLS or via the Mobile App.

Tech Tips: ScripTalk

Tech Tips: ScripTalk

Contributed by Jerry Price, Assistive Technology Specialist

En-Vision America has recently updated and re-released ScripTalk Mobile, an iOS application that allows printed prescription labels to be read by individuals with vision impairment or blindness. 

Participating pharmacies will use an RFID enabled tag on prescription bottles. These tags will enable the iOS app to utilize any Near Feild Communication (NFC) enabled the iOS device to read a prescription bottle with ease. 

Which iOS phones work with NFC? Unfortunately, iPhones 7 and up will be the only phones that are able to take advantage of this product. 

Don't have an iOS phone 7 or above? En-Vision America still offers other ways for individuals with vision impairments to safely access their prescriptions. 

For more information, please read the following articles and listen to the following review by Sam at the BlindLife:

• Envision America Home Page - https://www.envisionamerica.com/about-us/
• Sam at the Blind Life - Android Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=majAcdyZ-gA
• AFB Android Review - https://www.afb.org/aw/14/6/15685
• iOS Download Link - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/scriptalk-mobile/id1317698388

Maryland Accessible Textbook Program: Fall Update

Maryland College Textbook Program

MAT Program: Update

Contributed by Joseph Beckett, Program Coordinator for MAT

The Maryland College Textbook Program is a specialized program under the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped that provides assistance to print-disabled college students by providing accessible textbooks. 

The Maryland Accessible Textbook program (MAT) is expected to deliver over one-hundred and fifty accessible textbooks to approximately seventy students attending Maryland colleges. 

However, there are many more qualifying print-disabled students that are unaware of the services MAT provides. After careful consideration and collaboration with other agencies, the MAT hopes to connect with more students through a revitalized marketing and outreach campaign. 

Additionally,  the MAT program has been working to provide materials in ePub formats, allowing students to access converted textbooks via Kindle and eReaders. By incorporating ePub, the MAT program hopes to increase its offerings, which currently includes PDF, Large Print, Audio, and Daisy formats. 

Subscribe to the Blog and LBPH social media for updates from the MAT program as LBPH staff explore technological and process improvements. The goal of the Maryland Accessible Textbook program is simple: To provide the best service possible to print-disabled students attending Maryland colleges and Universities.