Hi, Lillian.
For a while, I had a Handi-casette recorder from APH. I loved that machine but
it accidentally got thrown out during a massive cleaning project. I don't
regularly read books on tape but I have a ton of recordings of older books and
lectures, as well as stuff I recorded as a kid, that I wanted to digitize and
so really needed a 4-track machine for that purpose. I contacted my local NLS
library, which, for me, is in Baltimore and they had a C1 player which they
sent to me. It works well and I should be able to use it for most of the
digitizing I need to do to convert those tapes into mp3 files.
David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist
WWW.David-Goldfield.Com<http://WWW.David-Goldfield.Com>
On 12/2/2017 11:59 AM, Lillian Way wrote:
Hi, David;
It's my understanding that the Philadelphia branch has retained many books on
cassette and large print for low vision patrons who need those. I believe the
cassettes will remain in their archives until all those titles have been
digitalized. Then they'll likely be discarded, unless folks still possessing
those NLS players wish to keep those books. Often, if a patron is friendly with
a librarian, that individual might be offered books the library no longer wants
to keep taking up shelf space. Like you, I prefer the convenience of electronic
books. I doubt I or John still has a cassette player. If we do, it may not work
and the library isn't repairing them any more. That's what I was told several
years ago, when the digital format was in its infancy. I agree with Jan about
this milestone. Got to go. My writers' meeting begins at noon. Take care.
Lillian
-----Original Message-----
From:
blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
[mailto:blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Goldfield
Sent: Saturday, December 2, 2017 10:08 AM
To: blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-philly-comp] Big Milestone for the NLS BARD Service
When I first signed up with BARD, I remember reading that their collection
contained around 22,000 books. I just read a posting from NLS via Facebook,
which announced that their collection now has 100,000 titles. They have been
continually adding more titles to the collection, including many of their older
titles, giving us even more reading choices without the need to pull out our
4-track tape machines. That being said, anybody who still has a 4-track player
should hold onto it if possible, since there are still titles which are only
available on cassette. I'm not certain as to how easy it is for libraries to
actually locate books on tape for their patrons and so I'd be interested in
hearing any anecdotes you might want to share about this. It's been many years
since I ordered a book on tape and pretty much every book I want to read is now
available electronically.
