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Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center
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CONTACT Sandy Albrow concerning any information on this page.

Teen Newsletter Now Available Online!

Tuesday, March 02, 2010 - MITBC 
  

Available now at www.uslbdteens.com is a new online newsletter for library patrons ages 13-19. Young readers can now have 24/7 access to information regarding emerging digital services.

Check it out!



NEW PLAYAWAYS!

Monday, March 01, 2010 - MITBC 
  


Check out the newest additions to our PLAYAWAY selection!


(PL 000232) Arabic For Dummies by Dr. David F. DiMeo
(PL 000231) Chopping Spree by Dianne Mott Davidson
(PL 000233) Cold Pursuit by Jefferson T. Parker
(PL 000234) The Voice of the Night by Dean Koontz
(PL 000235) Black Friday by Alex Kava
(PL 000236) Blindside: An FBI Thriller by Catherine Coulter
(PL 000237) Say When by Elizabeth Berg
(PL 000238) Commitments by Barbara Delinsky
(PL 000239) Reap the Wind by Iris Johansen
(PL 000240) Pawleys Island by Dorothea Benton Frank
(PL 000241) The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
(PL 000242) True Compass: A Memoir by Edward M. Kennedy
(PL 000243) The Touch of Fire by Linda Howard
(PL 000244) In the President’s Secret Service by Ronald Kessler
(PL 000245) Riders of the Silences by Max Brand
(PL 000246) Southern Lights by Danielle Steel
(PL 000247) Flying Drunk by Joseph Balzer
(PL 000248) Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage by Christopher Anderson
(PL 000249) Man Train by P.T. Deutermann
(PL 000250) Cold Paradise by Stuart Woods
(PL 000251) Shem Creek by Dorothea Benton Frank
(PL 000253) Fairy Tale Weddings by Debbie Macomber
(PL 000254) Lost and Found by Jayne Ann Krentz
(PL 000255) Hollywood Moon by Joseph Wambaugh
(PL 000256) Death Match by Lincoln Child
(PL 000257) No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
(PL 000258) Storm Runners by Jefferson T. Parker
(PL 000259) My Remarkable Journey by Larry King
(PL 000260) Soft Focus by Jayne Ann Krentz
(PL 000261) Amethyst Dreams by Phyllis A. Whitney
(PL 000262) The Witness by Sandra Brown
(PL 000263) The Prize by Julie Garwood


Hot Off The Press

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 - MITBC 
  

Stay ahead of the curve with these fresh titles! These cassette books have recently been added to our collection and are not yet listed in the Talking Book Topics catalog.

*UPDATED 2/23/10*
(RC 68347) Tsar: An Alex Hawke Thriller by Ted Bell
(RC 68378) Forever Princess: The Princess Diaries, Book 10 by Meg Cabot
(RC 68515) Dylan: Montana Creeds, Book 2 by Linda Lael Miller
(RC 68383) Western Weddings by Jillian Hart and others
(RC 68384) The Hunger Games, Book 1 by Suzanne Collins
(RC 68389) American Prince: A Memoir by Tony Curtis
(RC 68504) Logan: Montana Creeds by Linda Lael Miller
(RC 68513) A Lifetime of Wisdom: Embracing the Way God Heals You by Joni Eareckson Tada
(RC 68346) The Witches' Kitchen: Corban Loosestrife, Book 2 by Cecelia Holland
(RC 68348) A Dangerous Climate: A Novel of the Count Saint-Germain by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
(RC 68368) How to Be Single by Liz Tuccillo
(RC 68207) The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng


Previous List
(RC 69355) Vision in White: The Bride Quartet, Book 1 by Nora Roberts
(RC 69539) The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
(RC 68885) The 8th Confession: A Woman's Murder Club Mystery by James Patterson
(RC 68699) My Man, Michael by Lori Foster
(RC 68514) One Day at a Time by Danielle Steel
(RC 68397) Lucky Charm: The Corwin Curse, Book 1 by Carly Phillips
(RC 69381) South of Broad by Pat Conroy
(RC 68143) Black Out by Lisa Unger
(RC 68091) Friday Nights by Joanna Trollope
(RC 68084) Testimony by Anita Shreve
(RC 68240) Cruel Intent : An Ali Reynolds Mystery by J.A. Jance
(RC 68260) Good Luck by Whitney Gaskell
(RC 68092) Hess: The Man and His Mission by Bernard J. Hutton
(RC 68356) Computers for Seniors for Dummies by Nancy Muir
(RC 68006) Summer Blowout by Claire Cook
(RC 68191) Full Cleveland: A Milan Jacovich Mystery by Les Roberts
(RC 68415 A&B) Champlain's Dream by David Hackett Fischer
(RC 68360) The Widening Gyre: A Spenser Novel by Robert B. Parker



*UPDATED 2/23/10*
Digital Book Titles:
(DB 69335) Pursuit by Karen Robbards
(DB 69030) The Ex-Mrs. Hedgefund by Jill Kargman
(DB 69325) Afraid by Jack Kilborn
(DB 68844) Love Letters from a Duke by Elizabeth Boyle
(DB 68826) Where Memories Lie: A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery by Deborah Crombie
(DB 68465) The Cure by Athol Dickson
(DB 68490) Chances by Pamela Nowak
(DB 68635) Deadly Night: Flynn Brothers Trilogy, Book 1 by Heather Graham
(DB 69327) The Lost Witness: A Lena Gamble Mystery By Robert Ellis
(DB 67166) Between Sundays by Karen Kingsbury
(DB 68803) Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery by Joanne Fluke
(DB 68122) Stealing Home: The Sweet Magnolias, Book 1 by Sherryl Woods
(DB 68645) Nothing to Fear: FDR's Inner Circle and the Hundred Days That Created Modern America by Adam Cohen
(DB 68676) The Perfect Distance by Kim Ablon Whitney
(DB 68471) Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd

Previous List
(DB 68477) Island World: A History of Hawai'i and the United States by Gary Y. Okihiro
(DB 68153) Vendetta: An Aurelio Zen Mystery by Michael Dibdin
(DB 68015) Triumph over Darkeness: The Life of Louis Braille by Lennard Bickel
(DB 68157) White Night: The Dresden Files, Book 9 by Jim Butcher
(DB 67208) Death Song by Michael McGarrity
(DB 67959) Brida by Paulo Coelho
(DB 67530) The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism by Andrew J. Bacevich
(DB 68396) Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
(DB 66807) The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes
(DB 68012) Call Me Ted by Ted Turner
(DB 68812) The Reaper's Song: Red River of the North, Book 4 by Lauraine Snelling
(DB 68337) Cabal: An Aurelio Zen Mystery by Michael Dibdin
(DB 68452) The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes by Bryan Burrough
(DB 68456) The Rain Before it Falls by Jonathan Coe
(DB 68479) The Numerati by Stephen Baker
(DB 68464) A Dance with the Devil: A True Story of Marriage to a Psychopath by Barbara Bentley
(DB 68483) I see you Everywhere by Julia Glass
(DB 68767) The Charlemagne Pursuit: A Cotton Malone Novel by Steve Berry
(DB 68790) A Face at the Window: A Home Repair is Homicide Mystery by Sarah Graves
(DB 68314) Rigged: The True Story of an Ivy League Kid Who Changed the World of Oil, from Wall Street to Dubai by Ben Mezrich
(DB 68306) The Bell at Sealley Head by Patricia A. McKillip
(DB 68450) My Heart Remembers by Kim Vogel Sawyer
(DB 68771) A Cold-Blooded Business: A Kate Shugak Mystery by Dana Stabenow
(DB 68378) Forever Princess: The Princess Diaries, Book 10 by Meg Cabot
(DB 66754) Supermob: How Sidney Korshak and His Criminal Associates Became America's Hidden Power Brokers by Gus Russo
(DB 66855) Bitter Sweets by Roopa Farooki
(DB 66862) The Elephanta Suite by Paul Theroux
(DB 66863) Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein
(DB 66865) Yum-o! The Family Cookbook by Rachel Ray
(DB 66875) Passage: The Sharing Knife, Volume 3 by Lois McMaster Bujold
(DB 67205) The Bicycle Book: Wit, Wisdom, and Wanderings edited by Jim Joyce
(DB 66867)Once upon a Time (She Said) by Jane Yolen
(DB 67217) Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman and Rom Brofman
(DB 66877) The Bad Girl by Mario Vargas Llosa
(DB 66915) The O. Henry Prize Stories, 2008 edited by Laura Furman
(DB 67053) The Quiet Girl by Peter Hoeg
(DB 67329) Our Savage Neighbors: How Indian War Transformed Early America by Peter Silver
(DB 67196) Obsidian Butterfly: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter by Laurell K. Hamilton


*UPDATED 2/1/10*
Young Reader Titles:
(RC 67840) The Sky Inside by Clare B. Dunkle
(RC 68027) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
(RC 67848) Found: The Missing, Book 1 by Margaret Peterson Haddix
(RC 67690) Brisingr; or, The Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular: Inheritance, Book 3 by Christopher Paolini
(RC 68286) Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
(RC 67728) Give Me Shelter: Stories about Children Who Seek Asylum edited by Tony Bradman


Previous List:

(RC 67930) The Wild Year: Joshua's Oregon Trail Diary, Book 3 by Patricia Hermes
(RC 68203) Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
(RC 68180) Dragon Road: Golden Mountain Chronicles, 1939 by Laurence Yep
(RC 68166) Akimbo and the Snakes: Akimbo, Book 4 by Alexander McCall Smith
(RC 68525) Hope in My Heart: Sofia's Immigrant Diary, Book 1 by Kathryn Lasky
(RC 67947)Toy Dance Party: Being the Further Adventures of a Bossyboots Stingray, a Courageous Buffalo, and a Hopeful Round Someone Called Plastic by Emily Jenkins
(RC 67943) Dead Letter: A Herculeah Jones Mystery by Betsy Byars
(RC 67878) Doomwyte: Redwall Abbey by Brian
(RC 65945) Attack of the Turtle by Drew Carlson Jacques
(RC 65941) Ferret Island: A Rollicking Adventure for Brave Young Readers by Richard W. Jennings
(RC 66373) Nacky Patcher and the Curse of the Dry-Land Boats by Jeffrey Kluger
(RC 68345) Oddest of All: Stories by Bruce Coville
(RC 65946) Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury
(RC 67876) All the Lovely Bad Ones: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn
(RC 68072) Balls! by Michael J. Rosen



*UPDATED 12/15/09*
Young Reader Braille Titles
:
(BR 18044) Tsunami by Kimiko Kajikawa
(BR 18219) A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg
(BR 18283) The Adventures of Sir Givret the Short: The Knight's Tales by Gerald Morris
(BR 18307-18311) Annie and Snowball (series) by Cynthia Rylant
(BR 18323) Heart of a Shepherd by Roseanne Parry
(BR 18331) The Houdini Box by Brian Selznick

Previous List
(BR 018197) Our White House: Looking in,Looking Out by The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance
(BR 018204) Dragon Flight by Jessica Day George
(BR 018267) The Tales of Beedle the Bard: Translated from the Ancient Runes by Hermione Granger by J.K. Rowling
(BR 18012) The Prince Won't go to Bed! by Dayle Ann Dodds
Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn & Huldren

CIL Titles:

(CIL 2176) The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism is Harming Our Young by Christina Hoff Sommers
(CIL 2102) Shoot, Don't Shoot: The New Joanna Brady Mystery by J. A. Jance
(CIL 2163) The Beast in the Garden: A Modern Parable of Man and Nature by David Baron


Be sure to check back weekly as new titles continue to arrive.



Free Book Downloads and Resource Sites

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 - MITBC 
  

This is a list of websites which offer free audio or text book downloads. There are also some great resource sights with articles and news on the latest in assistance technologies.


www.Librivox.org (highly recommended)
www.Fullbooks.com (text format only-can be read with screen readers)
www.Freeclassicaudiobooks.com
www.Forgottenbooks.org (text formats only)
www.Peopletalk.com (recorded by volunteer actors)
www.Podiobooks.com
www.bachelorsdegreeonline.com
www.free-books.org
www.overdrive.com (searches for libraries in your area that offer e-book downloads)
www.fearyoucanhear.com (radio shows, free if you are disabled or a veteran)
www.fredshead.info (an excellent blog)
www.archive.org (this site is Massive and has many different formats)
www.manybooks.net
www.radiooutofthepast.org
www.daisy.org

Blank Cartridges For Sale

Thursday, February 11, 2010 - MITBC 
   As many of you may know, the blank digital cartridges offered by the Independent Living Aids Company has been discontinued. Just recently American Printing House began selling their version of the cartridge. They are cheaper at $11.00 each and have 2 GB of memory (the discontinued cartridges only held 1GB of memory).
Here is the Link APH Digital Cartridge Product Page. Keep in mind that you will still need to purchase a cable to link the cartridge to your computer. Independent Living Aids, LLC still sells the cable.
You can also search for a USB to USB port cable on the internet; just be sure one end of the cable is female (to attach your cartridge) and the other is male (to plug into your computer).

Blank Cartridge Discontinued

Monday, January 25, 2010 - MITBC 
   The Blank Digital Cartridges offered by the company "Independent Living Aids, LLC" have been discontinued. Only the connecting cable is available for purchase. USB thumbdrives work just as well in the digital machine and are inexpensive. When purchasing a Thumbdrive be sure it does not have any pre-installed software (such as U3 technology) and that the memory capacity is no larger than 8 GB. The cheaper, more simple thumbdrives seem to work best.

Free Digital College Textbooks

Monday, December 21, 2009 - MITBC 
   Flat World Knowledge publishing company has partnered with Bookshare to offer free downloads of its digital college textbooks to students with qualifying disabilities. Check out this article for more information and visit the Flat World Knowledge Website to see if you qualify.

National Federation of the Blind Announces 2010 Scholarship Program

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - MITBC 
  

The National Federation of the Blind, the oldest and largest organization of blind people in the United States, announced today that applications are now being accepted for the 2010 National Federation of the Blind Scholarship Program. Thirty scholarships totaling $100,000 will be awarded to blind students from the United States and Puerto Rico. The scholarships are available to blind students who will be enrolled in college or a graduate program beginning in the fall of 2010, including incoming freshmen. Scholarships range in value from $3,000 to $12,000.


Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "The National Federation of the Blind Scholarship Program is the Federation’s way of recognizing outstanding academic achievement by blind students and spreading our positive philosophy of blindness to these students and to the general public. Because of the collective efforts of blind Americans, blind people today are achieving greater academic success and entering fields of study once thought closed to the blind, and celebrating their achievements is always a highlight of our national convention. I join the Scholarship Committee in inviting every eligible blind student to submit an application, and I look forward to meeting the dynamic individuals that will make up the 2010 National Federation of the Blind scholarship class."



Information on the NFB scholarship program is posted online at www.nfb.org/scholarships. The deadline for applications is March 31, 2010.

Questions may be directed to the NFB Scholarship Committee Chairman, Mr. Anil Lewis, by e-mail at Scholarships@nfb.org, or by phone at (410) 659 -9314, extension 2415.

Sixth Annual Statewide Winter Reading Program

Monday, November 30, 2009 - MITBC 
   We have applications for the 2009-2010 Winter Reading Program. Contact your reader advisor or CLICK HERE to download an application today! The program begins January 1st and continues until March 31st. This year’s theme is "Laugh Out Loud at Your Library". Laugh away those winter blues and sign up today!

See What’s Available in Digital

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - MITBC 
   Have a Digital Player? Wondering what titles we have in digital? Check out this website for a list of digital titles available in Illinois. Still waiting for a digital player? You can also see what’s available in any of our other formats (such as cassette and Braille ). To change between formats such as digital and cassette, make your selection in the "media" scroll menu on the site's search page.
http://www.klas.com/ilbph

Upgrade Your Digital Talking Book Machine

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - MITBC 
   Here is a website for those of you with Digital Book Machines. This site provides upgrade software that can be downloaded onto your machine. Increase your machine's capabilities with these downloads! Includes a "Bookshelf" upgrade which allows you to store and access multiple books from your flashdrive. www.loc.gov/nls/DTBM