Open Door
Newsletter of the Library
Iowa Department for the Blind
524 Fourth Street
Des Moines, IA 50309-2364
515-281-1333
800-362-2587
library@blind.state.ia.us
Summer 2003
Vol. 3 No. 2
Beth Hirst, Editor
Karen Keninger, Library Director
This newsletter is available in large print, on cassette tape, and in Braille. If you wish to receive Open Door in a different medium, please so advise.
MAGAZINE SERVICE
How long has it been since you saw a list of magazines available on cassette or in Braille? For many of you, it was when you first signed up for library service. Since that could have been anytime in the last 43 years, it may be that the latest changes have taken place without your knowledge. You didn't know we offered magazines? Well, you are in for a treat.
The National Library Service provides 31 Braille magazine titles and 45 cassette magazine titles which are sent without charge and are intended for you to keep. Several other agencies produce free periodicals, and our library acts as your agent to submit your subscriptions and address changes. All of these items are sent directly to you from the producer. They are not physically handled by our library staff and should not be returned here. The NLS titles are listed in Talking Book Topics and Braille Book Review.
We circulate 22 cassette magazines, 13 of
which are recorded by our volunteers. Circulating copies arrive in brown or
black plastic boxes and have an address card on the outside which you can turn
over. These issues are on loan for four weeks and should be sent back as soon as
you have finished listening to them. Other borrowers may be waiting for the same
issues.
Late-breaking News
1.
Flower and Garden has ceased publication. This was a circulating title.
NLS has added a gardening magazine called Horticulture, and all Flower
and Garden subscribers have been added to that list automatically. If you
would rather not receive Horticulture, please call your reader's
advisor.
2. Moody Magazine will cease publication after the July/August 2003 issue. We are looking for a suitable religion magazine for a replacement, but have not yet decided on a title.
Circulating Titles
There is space on the enclosed order form for you to request a magazine or have a complete, annotated list of titles sent to you.
Annals of Iowa
Arizona Highways
Better Homes and Gardens
Birds and Blooms
Capper's
Country Music Magazine
Country Woman
Good Old Days
Healthy Exchanges Food News
Iowa Heritage Illustrated
The Iowa Lion
The Iowan
Journal of Rehabilitation
Organic Gardening
Parents' Magazine
Popular Science
Redbook
Retirement Life
Smithsonian
Time Magazine
Wild West
Woman's Day
NEED TO REACH US BY PHONE?
If you need to get in touch with us, just dial 1-800-362-2587. The operator for the Department for the Blind will direct your call to the person in the Library who can help you order books, get your cassette player repaired, have a textbook Brailled, etc.
If, by chance, you get a recorded message
stating that we are answering other calls or are away from our desks, please
leave your name (first and last) and your telephone number, including area code.
We will return your call as soon as possible, because we want to serve you! That
is why we are here!
WINDOW TO THE LIBRARY
These Library Associates are often the first
staff you meet. Cindy processes applications and new patron files. Lynne, Darin,
and Gail are Reader's Advisors. They answer questions about library services and
receive your requests for books and magazines on cassette, in Braille and in
large print. They look forward to serving you Monday through Friday from 8:00 am
to 5:00 pm. Call, write, or come in for a visit!
CASSETTE TIPS
...Please...
1. Listen to one book at a time, so you won't get the tapes mixed up.
2. Rewind each cassette.
3. Make sure the correct number of tapes is in each box before returning it.
4. Put a rubber band around any tape that has a problem or does not belong in the container.
5. Keep all of your books in a specified location in your home, so they won't be misplaced.
Thank You!
The Library's 2003 Summer Reading Club is in full swing! This six-week event is open to library patrons ages 3-17. Our theme, "Laugh It Up @ Your Library," lends itself to plenty of fun, as our enthusiastic members have discovered! Time really passes quickly when you're reading, and just one hour with a good book will bring you a free Adventureland pass or Living History Farms ticket. Report your minutes in at least 15-minute blocks.
Some special contests highlight our summer activities. If you have a joke or an original tale to share, just drop us a note. Or if you're in the Des Moines area, you can meet us in person! Weekly drawings, prizes for registration and contests, grand prizes, and trophies to top readers are some of the rewards you can expect to receive. This year's corporate sponsors include Lions Clubs, Living History Farms, Adventureland Park, Coca Cola, Cosi Cucina Restaurant, Wild Birds Unlimited, Woodlink, McDonald's, Earl May Nursery, Learning Post, and Wal-Mart.
For more information, call Carol Eckey at
1-800-362-2587 or 515-281-1271. Hope to hear from you!
LIBRARY PRESENTATIONS
Library staff can provide a speaker for groups
of all ages and sizes. We are available to talk about library service, host a
workshop on a topic of your choice, or participate in events where we can
provide a booth or display. Marilyn Jensen will coordinate the arrangements. Let
us know how we can be of service to your organization by contacting Marilyn at
515-281-1348 or 800-362-2587; or e-mail: jensen.marilyn@blind.state.ia.us.
HOLIDAYS
when the library will be closed
Labor Day
Monday, September 1, 2003
Veterans' Day
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
Thanksgiving Thursday & Friday,
November 27 & 28, 2003
Christmas Day
Thursday, December 25, 2003
New Year's Day
Thursday, January 1, 2004
Summertime
and the Reading is Easy...
BRAILLE BOOKS
BRD18707 At the Altar: Matrimonial Tales, by L. M. Montgomery.
Nineteen romantic and funny short stories which feature couples making it to the altar in spite of all kinds of obstacles, from mistaken identities to meddling gossips.
BRD18722 Evans Above, by Rhys Bowen.
Evan Evans, the newly assigned North Wales constable for the village of Llanfair, is searching for two missing hikers who are later discovered murdered. While hunting for a possible serial killer, Evans also contends with two local ladies who are vying for his attentions, as well as with competing ministers' wives.
BRD18742 The Book Club, by Mary Alice Monroe.
Five friends, all members of a monthly book
club, face turning points in their lives. Eve's husband dies suddenly,
shattering her comfortable lifestyle, while Midge's mother makes an unannounced
and unwelcome reappearance. Annie finally feels ready to have a child, only to
find her health and her marriage in jeopardy. Gabriella strains to make ends
meet after her husband is laid off. Doris slides into depression as she tries to
deny signs of her husband's infidelity.
BRD18744 Legendary
Lighthouses; the companion to the PBS television series, by John
Grant and Ray Jones.
A tribute to lighthouses and those who live in them and help preserve them. A companion to the PBS television series of the same name. 1998.
BRD18776 Along the Road, collected by the Hawkeye Valley Area Agency on Aging.
A collection of writings by people over the age of 60 in Black Hawk, Buchanan, Bremer, Butler, Chickasaw, Grundy, Hardin, Poweshiek, Marshall, and Tama counties. Most of the entries are stories about something that happened to people in their past -- usually childhood memories. Some of the entries are poems and a couple are short stories.
BRD19601 The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks.
An elderly man reads from a notebook to his wife, who has Alzheimer's disease. Gradually he unfolds the story of a couple who fell in love the summer after high school and were reunited by a fluke fourteen years later. But will his wife recognize her own story? Some explicit descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 1996.
BRN20014 For Eternity, by Val Whisenand.
Adam Gaines hadn't expected to find his former adversary Kate Faraday vacationing at the same resort. Their brief acquaintance couldn't explain the eerie sense of familiarity that arose each time his eyes met hers. But their past arguments were forgotten as Mexico's steamy jungles sent temperatures rising and passions flaring. Some descriptions of sex.
BRD20294 Germany's Regional Recipes; foods, festivals, folklore, by Helga Hughes.
Collection of recipes and folklore of Germany.
BRD20335 Nerve Endings, by William Martin.
James Whiting receives new kidneys from a man who was killed mysteriously. Wanting to know more about the donor, Whiting meets the dead man's widow, who suspects her husband was murdered. Trying to solve the mystery, they become fugitives from the killers. Strong language and violence.
BRD20487 Amethyst Dreams, by Phyllis A. Whitney.
Tension abounds in the household of wealthy Nicholas Trench, whose granddaughter, Susan, vanished two years ago. He has brought Susan's best friend, Hallie Knight, to Topsail Island, North Carolina, hoping she can unravel the mystery of Susan's disappearance. As she searches, Hallie is forced to reexamine her own life.
CASSETTE BOOKS
RCO12103 Rodale's Successful Organic Gardening: trees, shrubs, and vines, by Bonnie Lee Appleton; plant-by-plant guide by Alfred F. Scheider.
A guide to choosing new landscape plants and caring for the ones you already have. 1993
RCO12124 Nice Guys Finish Last, by Leo Durocher and Ed Linn.
Vivid tales of Durocher's life in baseball from 1927, his rookie year as a Yankee, to the early 1970's, when he managed the Astros.
RCO12741 A Stone's Throw from Paradise, by Linda O. High.
Thirteen-year-old Lizzie searches for memories of her mother while spending a summer with her grandmother among the Amish in Pearly Gates, Pennsylvania. For grades 5-8. 1997
RCO12540 Queen Victoria's Highland Journals, edited by David Duff.
Selections from Queen Victoria's diaries, which describe her deep appreciation of the Highland scenery and her love for the people of Scotland.
RC41760 Dances with Trout, by John Gierach.