Look Again Winter 2023 OTBS Book Discussion Groups Looking for an opportunity to discuss great books and network with other Oakland Talking Book Service patrons? Consider joining one of our book discussion groups. If you have questions about our book discussion groups or would like to receive one or more of the books, call 248-650-5681. OTBS Book Friends This group meets at 1 p.m. on the first Monday of each month. To join the call, dial 888-916-5522. No pin or password is necessary. February 6, 2023 – Left on Tenth by Delia Ephron (DB107810) March 6, 2023 – Solito by Javier Zamora (DB110163) April 3, 2023 – Measure by Nikki Erlick (DB109475) Phoney Friends This group meets at 1 p.m. on the second Wednesday of every month. To join the call, dial 888-916-5522. No pin or password is necessary. February 8, 2023 – One Two Three by Laurie Frankel (DB103857) March 8, 2023 – I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend by Martin Short (DB 89451) April 12, 2022 – Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams (DB 104434) Dial-In Discussion Club Each month we will gather to discuss various topics over the phone. This group meets on the third Monday of each month. Dial 888-916-5522 to join the program. No pin or password is necessary. For updated information about monthly topics, call 248-650-7150. February, 20, 2023, 1 p.m. – Topic TBD March 20, 2023 , 1 p.m. – Topic TBD April 17, 2023 , 1 p.m. – Topic TBD Braille On Demand The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) is now offering a Braille on Demand program that will allow Braille readers to request and keep one Braille book per month. These personal copies of Braille books will be yours to keep. There are over 16,000 eBraille titles currently available on BARD and any of these titles can be selected to be printed on demand and sent to your home. You may order your one Braille book per month by filling out a short form at surveymonkey.com/r/NLSbrailleondemand, or you may contact OTBS staff at 248-650-5681 or otbs@rhpl.org for assistance in ordering your book. After your request has been processed, you will receive a hard copy of your chosen Braille book, bound with a soft cover and comb binding, through the mail. Requests are limited to one book per month. Please note that you may continue to request Braille books as usual, and that books belonging to the Braille and Talking Book Library must still be returned. Only Braille books requested using the On Demand system may be kept. Please call 248-650-5681 if you would like more information. Newsline - Free Audio News Service Patrons of OTBS and other persons who are blind, deafblind, have low vision, or are otherwise print disabled have access to NFB-Newsline, an audio news service providing access to over 500 publications, emergency weather alerts, job listings and more. Available content includes national, state, and international newspapers, news from cable television networks, magazines, tv listings, weather alerts, job listings and more. Content can be delivered via a mobile device, on the telephone, on an Amazon Alexa enabled device, on the website, via email, or on Victor Stream devices. For more information or to apply for this free service, visit nfbnewsline.org or call 866-504-7300. CCTV Donations OTBS accepts donations of CCTVs, desktop magnifying units that project magnified images of printed documents onto a video screen. If you or someone you know has a CCTV unit that you are no longer using, please continue donating it. We will make sure that the device is given to someone who could benefit from its use. Likewise, if you might be interested in receiving a donated unit, please contact us at 248-650-5681 to be added to a waiting list. BARD - Braille and Audio Reading Materials - Updates and Improvements BARD Mobile - the free application for smartphones and tablets - provides patrons with immediate access to our complete selection of talking books and magazines. Using this app, you may download up to 100 items in a 30 day period. You may keep the books you download on your device as long as you need. In late 2022, significant improvements were made to the searching and downloading process. Search results are now more accurate and easier to navigate, and the process of adding a book to the wishlist and then downloading it has been eliminated for those using Apple devices. These improvements will be implemented for other operating systems (Android) as well. The BARD mobile app must be updated on your device for these changes to be activated. The written descriptions of books will now come directly from the publisher, providing the user with more detailed information. If you don’t have a BARD account, or have struggled to use BARD in the past, we encourage you to give the app a try. If you would like more information or assistance, please contact OTBS staff at 248-650-5681 or otbs@rhpl.org. NLS Patron News Right to Your E-mail Want to get the latest news and updates from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled? NLS’s Patron Engagement Section now hosts an announce-only listserv that will include announcements about NLS programs, services, and products that might be of interest to patrons. New announcements will be posted to the list a few times a week. If you are interested in signing up for this listserv, please send your name and email address to the Patron Engagement Section at NLSPES@loc.gov. You will be able to unsubscribe yourself from the list at any time. So email NLSPES@loc.gov now! Contribute to the newsletter! If you have a book you’d like to recommend or a topic you’d like to see covered in a Dial-In Discussion, please let us know! Call 248-650-5681 or email to otbs@rhpl.org. Get your newsletter by e-mail! If you prefer to receive your newsletter by e-mail, or if you would like to receive periodic updates about OTBS news and programs in your inbox, please send us an e-mail to otbs@rhpl.org.