PRAIRIE TRAILS MEMORANDUM
South Dakota State Library
Braille and Talking Book Library
Summer 2008, Volume 3, Issue 2
Editor: Dakota Saukel
pdf download
Notes from the Director, Dan Boyd
Progress continues on the conversion from cassette to digital format. Due to funding shortages, the timetable for initial distribution of the books and players has changed. Here’s how things stand right now.

Players: 5,000 players will be produced by the end of 2008. These players will be tested by users in 8 states (unfortunately South Dakota is not one of the states). Once these prototype players are tested, any necessary changes will be made and the player will go into general production. The first players for distribution will be received sometime in 2009. At this time, we expect to receive approximately 25 players per month for the first year. Under federal law, veterans receive preference when distributing the players.

If you haven’t indicated your interest in receiving a new digital player, call the library at 800 – 423-6665 and ask to be placed on a waiting list, Once veterans have received their players, others on the list will receive players based on how many books they receive a year. The goal is to make the players available to those who read the most.

All digital titles currently can be downloaded from the NLS BARD database. To download and listen to the titles, users must have high speed Internet access, an e-mail address, and have use of a digital player. Currently 3 players will play the downloaded titles and are available for purchase: For more information on purchasing any of these players contact the vendors. For information on accessing the NLS BARD database, contact the SD Braille & Talking Book Library 1-800-423-6665.


Football Season is Here
The NFL season has started, and we have schedules available in Braille. If you would like to request a copy, please contact your Reader Advisor at the Library.


Election Ballot Pamphlets
The election ballot pamphlets for this coming election are now available in the following formats: large print, Braille, and cassette. If you would like a copy, please contact the Library.


Closed for the Holidays
The Braille & Talking Book Library will be closed on the following holiday. Please place your book orders in advance so that you will have plenty on hand.
  • October 13—Native American Day

Cool Off This Summer With Music
In the heat of summer, you can cool off with “cool” music from Recordings for Recovery (R4R). R4R is a music library with music for everyone. We have over 1200 titles with 26 categories of music, short stories and sound effects. R4R gives you a choice of the music you want to hear.

State Library patrons and others can select tapes and receive them through the mail. Or just tell us the categories you want and we will select the tapes for you. The tapes can be kept and enjoyed for up to 60 days. They are then mailed back to R4R “Free Matter for the Blind” using the provided return label.

Individual memberships are only $10.00 per year. Service will not be denied to those who cannot afford it. Contact us now at 1-800-798-1192 and receive the summer information pack. This pack includes a large print catalog, a recorded catalog, membership information and a large print order form.

Make R4R your personal cool music library for “Fun in the Sun”. Call us at 1-800-798-1192.


Change in Utah Library Hours
South Dakota patrons who read Braille books are served by the Utah Braille & Talking Book Library. The Governor of Utah recently announced that all state agencies will change their schedule to work Monday - Thursday, 7 am - 6 pm Mountain Standard Time, and will close on Friday. This schedule begins August 4th. To order Braille call 1-800-453-4293 or e-mail requests to blind@utah.gov.


Taking Care of Your Machine
We are all awaiting the birth of the new format in late 2008. My new son will be brilliant. He will be able to do what I do and much more. He will weigh slightly over two pounds, have a twelve hour battery, fast forward and rewind, thirty minute sleep timer, two inset bars for attaching a carrying strap, use one cartridge per book, speed control, tone control, and cord for recharging the battery. I hope he will grow up to be as tough as old Pop!

But until then, please be kind to this old machine. I don’t eat or drink, so please keep food products far away. I am not a table. Spaghetti sauce doesn’t look as appetizing three weeks later. Sweet tea gums up the internal rubber wheels that turn the cassette sprocket. I don’t wear nail polish. Your pets don’t enjoy books. Pet hair is very difficult to remove. Don’t write your name on me in indelible ink (I am federal property). John Doe’s machine may come back for repairs and be sent out to Suzie Que next week. Mr. Suzie Que will ask his wife, “Who is John Doe?” We don’t want to create issues! I don’t like to go to appointments with you. You may forget me and sighted people may think I am some leftover junk from the 70’s and throw me away. I don’t like to go to someone’s house for a few days. I have been checked out to you and only you. View our relationship as a marriage!

Please be aware of the time it takes to clean and recondition a C-1 player. The longer it takes to clean and recondition, the longer you have to wait on a replacement. If you lose me or damage me beyond recognition you may still receive a replacement player. However, treat that second player like gold; you might have to buy the next one!


Changes?
If you would like to make changes to your reading preferences or that you wish to increase or decrease the number of books that you are currently receiving, please contact your reader advisor as soon as possible so that they may assist you.
  • If your last name starts with A-G, you may contact : Mary
  • If your last name starts with H-O, you may contact : Dakota
  • If your last name starts with P-Z, you may contact : Marcia

Free Bibles
The Bible remains very popular with our borrowers, but all too often we are unable to accommodate the request. One problem is that the Bible comes in multi-volume sets that are rarely available as a full set. A further concern is that, despite our loan policy, borrowers tend to keep Bibles for a long time, thereby reducing the number of copies we have for circulation.

If you want the Bible, a good alternative sources is Audio Bibles for the Blind, a division of Aurora Ministries in Florida. The goal of this organization is to give a recorded Bible completely free to anyone who can no longer see or hold a book. Their service is worldwide and they provide the Bible in around seventy languages. The following are available in English: the King James Version, the New King James Version, and the International Children’s Bible. They are on cassette and in CD/MP3 format. You will be required to provide proof of your disability.

Contact them at Audio Bibles for the Blind, PO Box 621, Bradenton, FL 34206, (941) 748-3031/4100, or go to their website: www.audiobiblesfortheblind.org.


Changes!?
If you would like to make changes to your reading preferences or that you wish to increase or decrease the number of books that you are currently receiving, please contact your reader advisor as soon as possible so that they may assist you.
If your last name starts with A-G, you may contact : Mary
If your last name starts with H-O, you may contact : Dakota
If your last name starts with P-Z, you may contact : Marcia

From the desk of Mary Sjerven
The South Dakota Collection contains books our readers have requested, or have been written by a South Dakota author. The following are some of the titles added to this collection.
  • Releasing the Prophetic Destiny of a Nation: Discovering How Your Future Can Be Greater Than Your Past by Dutch Sheets and Chuck Pierce SD004209
    Releasing the Prophetic Destiny of a Nation is the remarkable story of how God called two very different men to come together for a common cause: His desire to heal the United States of America. Endowed with God-given keys for reconciliation of the United States, Dutch Sheets and Chuck Pierce traveled the 50 states rallying apostles, prophets, intercessors and entire churches to break the grip of demonic strongholds. Their efforts to purge the land of territorial and generational sin began an open season of warfare against the principalities and powers entrenched in every state. Are you ready to join the fight to free your state and your country? Are you ready for God to release the prophetic destiny of your nation? SD004209

  • Sky Trails: The Life of Clyde W. Ice by Rhonda C. Sedgwick SD004231
    The author found Clyde Ice's career of great interest and was always impressed with the kindness and the generosity of this man. He was always ready to help someone in need. He would risk his own life when the weather was much too unsafe to be in the air if it meant fulfilling a mercy mission. Clyde was truly a pioneer in aviation and persevered when others considered flying merely a hobby. He had a creative mind and endurance and tenacity to carry out his convictions. It's long overdue that Clyde Ice be made a member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame. I'm working hard to see this accomplished. A South Dakota author.

  • Badger Clark Works of Poetry by South Dakota General Federation of Women’s Clubs SD004233
    Poetry by Badger Clark. Badger Clark was named the first Poet Laureate of South Dakota in 1937 by then Governor Leslie Jensen. His distinctive cowboy poetry was published widely during his lifetime. SD004233

  • Attic Treasurers by Wanda E. Brunstetter SD004234
    In this four-in-one romance, a journey begun in a dusty attic leads four women to new discoveries about their own lives, and none of them realize the impact these items will have on their futures. Lydia Dunmore is preparing to move from her country house to a retirement home in the city and has invited her four granddaughters to choose something to keep from her attic of long-forgotten treasures. Sheila seeks a doll she played with as a child, Kimberly is intrigued by an old fishing tackle box, Lauren cherishes an antique christening gown, and Jessica takes an intricately designed wooden box. SD004234

  • Looking Back : From the Top of Cedar Butte by Marion Berry Edwards SD004235
    In Looking Back : From the Top of Cedar Butte, readers will experience a unique period in high plains history through the eyes of the Berry family. Page after page of firsthand and nearly firsthand recollections provide a peek at the lives of some of America's last pioneers. Topics include homesteading, wolves, trading the horse and buggy for a Model-T, cattle rustling and the Great Depression. Author Marion Berry Edwards, 88, and contributing writers weave a tapestry of entertaining tales that ultimately define a ranching family. Some are happy stories and some are sad, but each is the plain truth...preserved here for future generations.

  • The Music Box by T. Davis Bunn SD004236
    Angie Picard has returned to her home in the hill country with a passion for teaching. But Angie has also come home as a young widow whose sorrow runs deep. Melissa Nealey moves to the hill town after the death of her mother, and in the lonely girl’s face Angie recognizes a mirror image of her own haunting mask. Angie’s attempt to intervene in Melissa’s life draws her into conflict with the girl’s father. But the key to their happiness lies with the secret hidden within Melissa’s most precious gift from her mother, a lovely little music box. SD004236





The Prairie Trails Memorandum, published quarterly, is our means of communication with our patrons. The Prairie Trails Newsletter is available in Braille, cassette, large print, and is also posted on our website.

If you wish to request this newsletter in an alternative format, please contact the Braille and Talking Book Library at 1-800-423-6665.

If you have any questions or comments that you would like to share with us about the library program, please contact us.
  • Write:
    South Dakota Braille & Talking Book Library
    800 Governors Drive,
    Pierre, SD 57501
  • E-mail: talkbkreq@state.sd.us
  • Call: 1-800-423-6665 (SD only)
The Braille & Talking Book Library does not endorse any product or service listed in this newsletter.