SPRING 2021 LOOK Again OTBS Book Friends Mondays: April 5, May 3 & June 7, 1 p.m. Until we can safely meet in-person, this group will meet via telephone. To join the call, dial 888-916-5522. No pin number or password is needed. April 5: The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis (DBC 17656) May 3: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by Victoria Schwab (DB 100901) June 7: Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (DB 100166) OTBS BOOK DISCUSSION GROUPS Please join us for one of our monthly book discussion groups to talk about great books and network with other Oakland Talking Book Service patrons! Book groups meet over the phone and discussions usually run 60 to 90 minutes. To join the call, dial 888-916-5522. No pin number or password is needed. If you have questions or would like to order a book, call 248-650-5681. Note: there will be no meetings in July and August. Phoney Friends Book Club Wednesdays: April 14, May 12 & June 9, 1 p.m. If you prefer not to travel, join our virtual book group with only a phone call! To join the call, dial 888-916-5522. No pin or password is needed. April 14: The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline (DB 100662) May 12: Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law by Haben Girma (DB 96188) June 9: Be Frank with Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson (DB 84263) DIAL-IN TECHNOLOGY CLUB Each quarter we will help you navigate a different kind of adaptive technology over the phone. Please register before the program by calling 248-650-5681 or sending an email to otbs@rhpl.org. Dial 888-916-5522 to join the program. Amazon Alexa Q & A Monday, April 19, 1 p.m. The Amazon Echo (a.k.a. “Alexa”) is an affordable and easy-to-use smart-speaker that can make life simpler -- from setting a kitchen timer to playing your favorite music or turning a light on and off. If you would like to learn more about what Alexa can do for you, join us for an informal question and answer session. Smartphone Apps Monday, July 19, 1 p.m. There are many free and low-cost apps for people with visual impairments. Join us to learn about some of the most useful apps available, or tell us about your favorite! BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) Listen to your books without waiting for the mail! If you have wi-fi access and a smartphone or tablet, you can use the free BARD mobile app to download your audiobooks directly to your device. There is no waiting, and you can keep the book as long as you want to. In addition to over 100,000 books, many magazines are available to download. You can also use BARD on your personal computer to download audiobooks to cartridges for use in your talking book machine. Call us at 248-650-5681 to get your BARD account set up today! Large Print Books & Audio-Described Videos by Mail OTBS patrons can receive large print books and audio-described videos by mail. Rochester Hills Public Library owns thousands of fiction and nonfiction large print books. Audio-described videos are DVDs that contain an additional audio track that describes the film's visual elements. The action, characters, locations, costumes, and sets are audibly described without interfering with the dialogue or sound effects. Note: only DVDs that contain an audio track designed to enhance the experience for those with visual impairments are eligible for mail service. Call us at 249-650-5681 to start using large print books or audio-described video! Duplication On-Demand Cartridges It has been just over a year since we introduced our new multiple book cartridge system! We hope you are enjoying borrowing many books at one time without having to keep track of a pile of cartridges. Contact us if you need to increase or decrease the number of books you are receiving on each cartridge or if you need to change the frequency of your book delivery. Once you have three cartridges checked out, you will not receive another one in the mail until you return one. The supply of cartridges is limited, and we need enough for all patrons across Michigan. We encourage you to return each cartridge as you finish so that you do not experience a gap in service while waiting for the delivery of your next cartridges in the mail. Get Your Newsletter by Email Send an email to otbs@rhpl.org if you prefer receiving your newsletter by email or if you want to receive periodic updates about OTBS news and programs in your email inbox. Find us on Facebook Connect with us on Facebook at OTBS at RHPL.