Texas Talking Books Goes Digital

Introduction
Even before the construction and passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which made provisions for individuals with disabilities of all types to have access to places, opportunities and information, the National Library Service (NLS), a part of the Lobrary of Congress System, was offering recorded books and magazines for those with visual and other reading disabilities. Today the program and its many state affilliates provide materials to millions of individuals of all ages, professiona and economic status. There motto "So All May Read", encompasses their mission and goal.

The Texas Talking Book Program - through NLS and the Library of Congress, was established to provide citizens of Texas with visual and reading disabilities with access to books magazines, journals and other printed material in braile and recorded format. I became a member of TTB in the 1990s while at Texas A&M University. At that time all recordings were on 4-track digital tapes. Members receive an audiobook player, on loan from the Library of Congress as well as access to recorded collection books, magazines, journals or other documents. The following web page gives a description of the various types of recorders that are available - including the price, should an individual wish to purchase a unit. http://www.loc.gov/nls/reference/factsheets/audiobkplayers.html.

Recently TTB has launched a massive program to digitize its collection.
As with libraries around the world, the Library of Congress Talking Book Program began thinking about converting its collection to a digital format. The following resources and links are just some of those chroicling the path of this endeavor.

My special thanks to Dina Abramson at Texas Talking Books, who has helped me tremendously with this project and has inspired me to continue improving my skills and eventually pursue a career in library and information science.

Dina Abramson
Disability Information and Referral Coordinator
Talking Book Program/Texas State Library and Archives Commission
800-252-9605
dabramsn@tsl.state.tx.us


I want to reiterate how important and beneficial the Talking Book Program and the RFB&D have been to me. I would never have been able to achieve am MBA nor to now pursue a MLS degree, nor would I have enjoyed "reading" the wide variety of literature that I have. The programs are truly a blessing and I encourage any individual who has a visual or reading disability to become a member and reep the mass of rewards.


Moving Toward Digital