Talking Book News Bulletin
Fall 2017

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Director's Report
Helpful Contact Information
Holiday Closings
Reminder: TBP Poetry Contest Deadline
Native American Heritage Month Book Reads
Disability News

Survey Info

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Director's Report

Greetings! Here is the latest news:

Customer satisfaction survey is available with this newsletter: We have included a copy of the customer satisfaction survey in this newsletter. The survey, consisting of five basic questions, is being sent to all patrons, based on your correspondence preference (email, large print, or Braille). For those who would like to call in their answers or have the survey read to them, please call 1-800-252-9605 and ask a reader consultant to assist you with the customer satisfaction survey. You also may respond by marking your answers and sending the paper survey back to us, or completing an electronic survey by following the link in the email message. Survey answers need to reach us by December 31, 2017. We report the results to the Legislative Budget Board, so your participation is very important to us!

Evacuees from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria: Because of the recent hurricanes, we have a lot of Texas residents who are displaced from their homes and now living in a different part of the state; we also have people from Florida and the U.S. territories in the Caribbean who now find themselves living in Texas. If you or someone you know is enrolled in a talking book program and has lost their books and machines or cannot contact their home talking book library, please contact us at 1-800-252-9605. We can help our displaced patrons get back to reading, and we can temporarily enroll other states’ patrons until they can get back home. Please contact us for handling instructions for books or machines that that have been in flood waters.

The Texas Center for the Book and “Texas’ Great Read”: The Texas Center for the Book at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission has selected News of the World by Texas author Paulette Jiles as the 2017 “Texas’ Great Read.” Each year, states are asked to highlight a book that is representative of the region’s literary landscape. These books are then featured in each state’s booth at the National Book Festival, which is sponsored by the Library of Congress and took place September 2, 2017 in Washington, D.C. The festival showcases the importance of books and reading. If you would like to read more about this year’s Texas selection, please go to the following link on the agency’s web site: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/greatreadtexas. If you would like to read this book, it is available for BARD download, on digital cartridge (DB 86668), and in Braille (BR 21741). Please call 1-800-252-9605 to request the book.

Until next time,
Ava Smith, Director, Talking Book Program

Helpful contact information for the Talking Book Program

To order books or report a problem with your machine: 1-800-252-9605
To request an application or ask about enrollment: 1-800-252-9605
To access the toll-free information line: 1-866-388-6397
To contact the Disability Information and Referral Center: 1-800-252-9605
To contact the Public Awareness Office: 1-512-463-5452 or 1-800-252-9605
To send email to anyone in the Talking Book Program: tbp.services@tsl.texas.gov
To ask for assistance using BARD: 1-800-252-9605 or tbp.bard@tsl.texas.gov
To ask a librarian for reading advice or reference assistance: 1-800-252-9605 or tbp.ral@tsl.texas.gov
To access the TBP blog: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/texastalkingbooks/
To see the TBP book club schedule: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/tbp/tbpbookclub/index.html

Texas Talking Books will be closed for these holidays

Thursday - Friday, November 23-24 ~ Thanksgiving Holiday
Friday – Tuesday, December 22-26 ~ Christmas Holiday
Monday, January 1 ~ New Years Day

Of course, you can leave a voicemail message or send e-mail on a holiday.

Don’t forget the TBP Poetry Contest Deadline is October 31!

The winners will be featured in the TBP Newsletter, and have their poems recorded in the TBP Volunteer Recording Studio, uploaded to the TBP website, and featured on the TSLAC Facebook page. For more information go to TexasTalkingBooks.org under the TBP News link and click on TBP Poetry contest or call 512-463-5452.s:

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Native American Heritage Month Book Reads

November marks Native American Heritage Month and TBP has some books you may find interesting.

Indian Shoes by Cynthia Leitich Smith DB 55593
Ray Halfmoon, a Seminole-Cherokee boy, lives in Chicago with his grandfather, who grew up in Oklahoma. Together they find creative and amusing solutions to the challenges that come their way. For grades 3-6. (2002)

Wonderful Sky Boat and Other Native American Tales of the Southeast by Jane Louise Curry DB 54394
Collection of twenty-seven stories from the Catawba, Cherokee, Choctaw, and Seminole tribes among others, retold in modern English. A Hitchiti tale, "Heron and Hummingbird," explains why hummingbirds drink nectar rather than water. Includes notes about the original storytellers and their languages. For Grades 4-7. (2001)

Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King DB 37393
His past false arrest for being a dangerous Indian activist would be funny to Blackfoot Lionel Red Dog if it hadn’t cost him his government job and turned him into a television salesman. Unbeknownst to Lionel, his professor girlfriend wants to have a baby but not necessarily with him or with her other beau. On top of everything, the appearance of four ancient Indians is about to impact the lives of Lionel and his family and friends. Some strong language. (1993)

House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday DB 12198
A Kiowa Indian poet and scholar traces the experience of an unassimilated Indian who cannot adjust to the white world or identify with the dying culture of the American Indian. (1966)

Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac DB 55161
A strange "great-uncle" takes charge of Molly after her parents disappear. She doesn’t trust him and must rely on her dreams about an old Mohawk story for her safety--and maybe even for her life. For grades 5-8. (2001)

The Woman Who Watches the World by Linda Hogan DB 53253
Reminiscences of Native American novelist about her spiritual journey through physical pain to the triumph of love. Combines her struggles with abuse, illness, and affliction with meditations on the natural world and wisdom in traditional culture. Discusses the healing properties of love and compassion. (2001)

Disability News

Do you need an accessible telephone? A state agency in Texas will assist qualified individuals with visual, hearing, and mobility disabilities in paying for either a landline or a mobile telephone, and certain related accessories. Payment would not include any monthly expenses for the telephone. For more information and to request a copy of the application, contact the Disability Information & Referral Center: 800-252-9605 (toll free in Texas), 512-463-5458, tbp.services@tsl.texas.gov

Call the Disability Information and Referral Center toll-free at 1-800-252-9605 for information
about disabilities and health conditions.

Talking Book Program Customer Satisfaction Survey 2017

We would like to know how we are doing and what we can do better. Patrons, please call TBP toll free at 1-800-252-9605 by December 31, 2017 and a Reader Consultant will help you.

End of Texas Talking Book News
Fall 2017

Talking Book Program
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
PO Box 12927
Austin TX 78711-2927
1-800-252-9605 (in Texas)
512-463-5458 (in Austin)
512-936-0685 (fax)
tbp.services@tsl.texas.gov

Talking Book News Bulletin Fall 2017