Current Newsletter: July and August 2024

CT LAB News 

CT LAB Book Club

The next CT LAB book club will meet virtually on July 17, 2024, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM.  The title that we are reading for July is The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese.  This title is available as a Talking Book on cartridge and from BARD as DB 114896.  A summary of the book follows:

Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time. From this unforgettable new beginning, the young girl—and future matriarch, known as Big Ammachi—will witness unthinkable changes over the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, her faith and love the only constants.

Please register for the book club by calling Paula McLean at 860-704-2216 or 800-842-4516. Participants will receive the Zoom meeting link or dial in phone number for the book club meeting following registration.

Update on Magazines in Audio Format

CT LAB is now filling patrons’ audio magazine subscriptions using the same Duplication on Demand System that is used to fill Talking Book orders.  This change was made by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS).  All NLS-network libraries, like CT LAB, are transitioning to this system. 

This change only impacts patrons who receive magazines on cartridges.  It will not affect BARD users who manage their magazine subscriptions through BARD or the BARD mobile app.

If you are subscribed to magazines on cartridges, your magazine issues will be sent to you on cartridge directly from CT LAB in Middletown.  These magazine cartridges will be identical to the book cartridges.  The same type of mailing container used for book cartridges will be used for magazine cartridges.  Like Talking Book orders, the address card for the mailing container will list the magazine titles on the back of the card.  Orders for books and magazines will be placed on separate cartridges. 

Patrons may continue to hear outdated announcements on magazine cartridges that refer to placing magazine cartridges in a red mailing container.  NLS is working with its magazine producers to update the scripts. 

Please contact CT LAB at (860) 704-2220 or (800) 842-4516 if you have any questions about magazines. 

Locally Produced Talking Books

Connecticut Talking Books are recorded by volunteers from Talking Books CT/CVSBH.  When books are completed, CT LAB transfers the Talking Books to BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download. BARD is a service offered by CT LAB and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress.

Connecticut Talking Books Now Available on BARD

• DBC 28386 En Avant with Our French Alliesby Robert A. Selig, et al.  Travel the byways of Connecticut where legacies of our French allies' roles in the struggle toward freedom await. Connecticut sites, markers, and contribution to American independence, 1780-1782. Access the catalog record for DBC 28386 or download DBC 28386 from BARD.

• DBC 28390 Carriages and Clocks, Corsets and Locks: the Rise and Fall of an Industrial City – New Haven, Connecticut by Preston Maynard.  Explores the origins, preservation, reclamation, and reuse of the extant industrial sites and firmly iterates a unique sense of place for modern citizens of post-industrial New Haven. Access the catalog record for DBC 28390 or download DBC 28390 from BARD.

• DBC 28394 Magician of the Modern: Chick Austin and the Transformation of the Arts in America by Eugene R. Gaddis. The story of Chick Austin is the story of a whole cultural movement. Becoming director of Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum at the age of 26, Austin immediately set about to introduce modern art to America and to transform this insurance capital into a cultural mecca that would become the talk of the art world during the two world wars. Access the catalog record for DBC 28394 or download DBC 28394 from BARD.

   

Updates from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) 

NLS Summer Reading

The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) has announced the events and activities for its 2024 Summer Reading program.  The NLS Summer Reading Program will take place from June 24 to August 9, 2024, and is a celebration of reading, learning, and fun for all ages.

Access the full listing of NLS Summer Reading events and activities at the NLS Summer Reading web page.  Please note that, if you would like to attend any of the scheduled events, you must register.  Registration links accompany each event's description on the NLS Summer Reading web page.

Upcoming NLS Programs 

Get to Know the Many Faces of BARD

NLS staff members offer tips, answer questions, and demonstrate new features of BARD, the BARD Mobile app, and BARD Express each month during The Many Faces of BARD. This online event is open to all patrons and is held at 7 p.m. eastern time on the second Thursday of every month.

The Many Faces of BARD program on Thursday, July 11, 2024, will be an Open Forum. This is a patron favorite during which our Tech Support team will take as many questions as possible for the entire program.

Get program details, login information, and recordings of previous programs at the Many Faces of BARD web page. 

Connect with CT LAB

CT LAB Contact Information

Phone: 860-704-2220 or 800-842-4516 (toll free in state only)

Email: csl.AccessibleBooks@ct.gov

Mailing Address: 786 South Main St., Middletown, CT 06457

Upcoming CT LAB Holiday Closings

July 4, 2024 – Independence Day
September 2, 2024 – Labor Day
October 14, 2024 – Columbus Day
November 11, 2024 – Veterans Day
November 28, 2024 – Thanksgiving Day
December 25, 2024 – Christmas Day
January 1, 2025 – New Year’s Day