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Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
The Talking Book Program (TBP), a division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) has announced a milestone achievement by its Volunteer Recording Studio. TBP has contributed 2,000 Texas-related titles to the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) audio download collection.
These titles, including books and magazines on Texas topics and/or by Texas authors, are available to NLS patrons nationwide via the BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) service, which provides materials free of charge via BARD machines or digital download.
“We are all very proud of the work our volunteers and studio staff do to contribute to the NLS collection on BARD,” said TBP Director Ann Minner. “These folks put so much of themselves into bringing information and access to patrons all over the world. It is a privilege to work with them.”
Most of the 2,000 books have been recorded in-house at the Texas Talking Book Program’s Volunteer Recording Studio, located inside the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building in Austin. Some titles were recorded at independent studio partners from around the state, including studios in Houston, Dallas and Midland.
Texas has contributed more locally created books to BARD than any other state. Two of the titles, Evil Eyes by Corey Mitchell and Paper Hearts by Debrah Williamson, have the distinction of being in the NLS’s top ten most popular downloads of all time—with 26,000 and 17,000 downloads, respectively.
The State Library began providing services to the blind in 1918, when the Texas Legislature appropriated $1,000 to purchase raised-lettering books. TSLAC has been a regional library of the NLS since 1931, providing free library services to qualifying Texans with visual, physical or reading disabilities. Its collection consists of more than 100,000 titles in digital audio, Braille and large print, and the program currently has more than 16,000 registered patrons of all ages and backgrounds throughout the state.
Since 1978, volunteers in the TBP Recording Studio network have produced more than 5,000 books and more than 1,500 magazines total for distribution to TBP patrons and inclusion in the NLS collection. Volunteers primarily record Texas titles, including materials in Spanish, working as narrators, session monitors and reviewers. Seventy-five volunteers contribute approximately 340 service hours to the Austin studio each month, with 58% volunteering for three years or longer. Some volunteers have been with the program for as long as 25 years.<
For more information about the Talking Book Program, visit www.TexasTalkingBooks.org or call 1-800-252-9605 (toll free).For more information about volunteering, call (512) 475-4605 or email tbp.services@tsl.texas.gov.
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission provides Texans access to the information needed to be informed, productive citizens by preserving the archival record of Texas; enhancing the service capacity of public, academic and school libraries; assisting public agencies in the maintenance of their records; and meeting the reading needs of Texans with disabilities. For more information, visit www.tsl.texas.gov.