Previous Newsletter

Fall 2011

New Head Librarian

Please join us in congratulating Caroline Ashby in her new position as Chief of the Andrew Heiskell Library. Caroline began her career with the New York Public Library in 2008 at the Van Nest Branch in the Bronx, and has been the Outreach/Youth Services Librarian at the Andrew Heiskell Library since December 2009.

    "Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of the man. The biography of the man himself cannot be written." – Mark Twain

A good biography is like a good novel. It can transport you to a different place and a different time, and inspire the imagination. The following titles are biographies and autobiographies that have recently been added to our collection. BR = Braille, DB = Digital Book. This list has been adapted from one of our recent blog entries.

For Adults

    Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1 by Mark Twain – DB 72125
Anecdotal self-portrait of the American author and humorist, published 100 years after his death, as per his decree. 2010.
    Between a Heart and a Rock Place: A Memoir by Pat Benatar – DB 71480
Benetar's autobiography covers her blue-collar upbringing on Long Island through her rise to stardom, and the struggles along the way. 2010.
    Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff – DB 72130
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author portrays the last Egyptian pharaoh of the Greek Ptolemy dynasty, highlighting the men in her life and the culture of the time. 2010.
   The Elephant to Hollywood by Michael Caine – DB 72222
The British actor follows up his 1992 memoir, What's it All About? (RC 41025), by reminiscing about his later film career. 2010.
    Hand Me My Travelin' Shoes: In Search of Blind Willie McTell by Michael Gray – DB 71430
Gray recounts his odyssey through the Deep South to research this biography of the Georgia blues singer and guitarist, who was born blind in 1903. 2009.
     Life by Keith Richards – DB 72049
The Rolling Stones guitarist recalls his childhood in wartime London, his education, and the beginnings of the group in 1962. 2010.
    Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin D. G. Kelley – DB 71039
Kelley, a historian, chronicles the life of the jazz pianist and composer. 2009.
    Touch and Go: A Memoir by Studs Terkel – DB 67509
An autobiography of the oral historian who, at the age of 94, looks back at his life and the political events that affected it. 2007.
    True Compass: A Memoir by Edward M. Kennedy – BR 18485, DB 69538
The late senator from Massachusetts recalled his family, childhood, education, marriages, and five decades in politics in this memoir. 2009.
    Up from History: The Life of Booker T. Washington by Robert J. Norrell – DB 69894
A revisionist portrait of the African-American educator. 2009.
    Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow – DB 72132
A comprehensive biography of the first president, by an award-winning author. 2010.

For Teens

    Put on Your Crown: Life-Changing Moments on the Path to Queendom by Queen Latifah – DB 72186
The Grammy Award-winning singer shares her experiences overcoming challenges and achieving positive self-esteem. For senior high and older readers. 2010.

For Children

    Bylines: A Photobiography of Nellie Bly by Sue Macy – DB 70262
Biography of Elizabeth J. Cochrane (1864-1922), a pioneering female reporter who wrote under the name Nellie Bly. For grades 4-7. 2009.

Citizens Advisory Council

The Council meetings are an opportunity for patrons to give their feedback on library service. All library patrons are welcome to attend. Contact the library for the next meeting date.

Programs

Low-Vision Technology Fair

When: Saturday, October 29, 2011, 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Where: Andrew Heiskell Library, First Floor Community Room
    We are having a Technology Fair to highlight the many ways that are available to help people read information, documents, and books. A variety of vendors and organizations will be participating, providing the opportunity for anyone interested to see devices firsthand and ask questions. We will also be demonstrating the digital talking book players recently introduced by the Library of Congress and which Andrew Heiskell now distributes to registered patrons. Volunteers from the Computer Support Clinic, which provides computer help for library patrons, will be demonstrating how to download audio books and how to use the adaptive screen reading programs that can be found in the library's second floor computer training center.
The vendors scheduled to attend are: C-Tech, EnableMart, Vis-Ability Inc. - Freedom Scientic, Independent Living Aids, Maxi-Aids, Baruch College Computer Center for Visually Impaired People (CCVIP), Gatewave (radio reading service), and VISIONS - Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired Computer Training Services.

For more information, you can visit the library’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/nyplheiskell
or call the library at 212-206-5400.
Exhibitors are subject to change, the event is free, and light refreshments will be served.

Art Education for the Blind

Tuesdays at 2:30 p.m. in the library's first floor Community Room, admission is free.
•    October 11: McNulty’s Tea & Coffee Co. comes to the library to delight your senses! Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, McNulty’s has been a popular purveyor of coffees and teas since 1895. Discover aromas and flavors from around the world, and learn about the history and making of teas. What’s better than sipping a cup of tea and reading a good book?
•    November 15: New York Beyond Sight: Celebrating Manhattan’s Landmark Buildings & Historic Sites. Based on the online New York Beyond Sight program (http://www.nybeyondsight.org), we will feature verbal descriptions of 3 or 4 of New York City’s stately memorials, described by prominent New Yorkers. Join us in honoring America’s veterans by learning about the history of these monuments.
•    December 13: Singing and Songwriting workshop with Peter Davis. Davis is an original cast member of the Tony Award winning Broadway musical "City Of Angels," a top session singer, arranger and conductor with clients such as Martha Stewart, Verizon, IBM, and Chevrolet. For more information about his experience, see http://www.peterdavis.com.

Book Discussion Group

Our book discussion group meets every other month on Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. Register by phone (212-206-5400), email (ahlbph@nypl.org), or in person.
Schedule:
•    October 22: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – DB, 62431, RC 62431, BR 17409
•    December 17: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot – DB 70661

Computer Classes

NLS Digital Book Player and BARD Workshop

Take listening to digital books to the next level by learning how to use the advanced features of both the Standard and Advanced model players. The workshop includes a demonstration of downloading books from the BARD website and a discussion of commercial book players as well as the library-issued players.  Registered patrons who do not yet have a player will be able to take one home after the workshop.
    The workshop will be held in the library's second floor computer lab on Wednesday, October 5 at 2:00 p.m. and on Wednesday, November 16, at 2:00 p.m. Attendance is limited, so please register in advance by phone (212-206-5400), email (ahlbph@nypl.org), or in person.

One-on-One Computer Classes

The library offers classes on using MAGic, a screen enlarger, or JAWS, a screen reader, to navigate the internet, set up an email account, download books from the NLS BARD website, or use Microsoft Word. Contact the library to set up an appointment.

Upcoming Programs for Kids

Story Time for Babies and Toddlers

Wednesdays, October 5, November 2, and December 7 at 10:30 a.m. Children and their parents/caregivers can enjoy interactive and tactile stories, action songs, and fingerplays, while spending time with other babies and toddlers.
 

Questions Of The Season

We'd love to hear from you! And to help you provide us with feedback, we've included a tear-out sheet with just a few questions to help us see how we’re doing and what you might want or need. We may ask the same question from time to time, or over the course of several issues, to help us gauge our improvements. You can send in your answers by mail, fax, phone, or email. Do you follow us on Facebook or Twitter? You can send in your answers there, too.
    Naturally, we hope we’re giving you service that makes you happy, but we want honest feedback that can help us shape our focus and show us where resources are needed. So don’t pull any punches! We’ll share the results of each issue’s questionnaire in the following issue.

Results from NewsLion Survey about Telephone Service from the Summer 2011 Issue
Thank you, those of you who took part in our last survey! Forty-three people responded.

Question 1: How easy is it to speak to a Reader Advisor?
Unacceptable – 2. Unsatisfactory – 5. Satisfactory – 7. Fairly Easy – 10. Very Easy – 15.
Forty-three answers. Four people mailed back that they only get their service by mail, and that they simply never phone.

Question 2: What time of day do you telephone for service?
Early morning – 8. Late morning – 10. Mid-day – 12. Afternoon – 9. Late afternoon to evening – 8.
Forty-eight answers (some people selected more than one answer)

Question 3: How often do you intentionally call for voicemail?
Never – 19. Seldom – 6. Half the time – 2. Most of the time – 8. Always – 6
Forty-one answers (two people left blank)

Thank you all for your feedback!
 

Fall 2011 Questionnaire

Our survey this issue is about having books in more than one format. Most of you love your digital books. (And who can blame you? They’re awesome!) Some of you stand by your cassettes, and that’s fine, too. We want to send you books in the format you prefer. Help us understand if there are ever times when it would be okay to have a different format substituted for your favorite.

A:    If NLS has produced a book on both digital cartridge and on cassette, and the library does not have it available in the format I prefer, but does have it available in the format I do not prefer, I want the library to:
1.    Send me a cassette, even if I’d rather have digital.
2.    Send me a digital cartridge, even if I’d rather have a cassette.
3.    Send either the digital cartridge or the cassette, whichever is available first.
4.    Wait until a copy is available in the format I prefer.

B:    If the library were able to substitute one format for another automatically when only one kind is available to go out, I would want:
1.    The library automatically to substitute for any book I request.
2.    I would not want a substitution.

New from the Audio Book Studio

Adult Titles

    Azorno by Inger Christensen – RC 5640
An interplay of perception, language, and reality as the main character, a writer named Sampel, narrates the events of his novel — or are they his life? 2005.
     Blood Alley by Tom Coffey – RC 5629
In 1946, a tabloid reporter in New York City investigates the death of a society girl when he believes the police are framing an African-American watchman for her murder. 2008.
     From A to X by John Berger – RC 5634
The passionate voice of a lover who is imprisoned and has accepted his separation in body, but not in spirit, from his love A’ida. Xavier is serving two life sentences, one is his and one is hers. 2008.

New Telephone System

Back in July, the library installed a new telephone system to improve your call-in experience. Now we're able to have more than one staff member answer calls at a time. When you dial our number, the telephone system directs your call to the first staff member available to answer it. If there is a wait to speak with us, the system guesses how long it will be until we can answer, based on the number of staff members answering calls and the number of patrons ahead of you in the queue. During your wait, you can press any number key on your phone to be directed to our voicemail. But don't hang up! If you hang up and call right back, your call goes to the end of the line. Staying on the line is the fastest way to reach us.

NFB-NEWSLINE

What is NFB-NEWSLINE? A service of the National Federation of the Blind that provides audio versions of daily newspapers through a toll-free telephone number.  It is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and is free to anyone in the United States who is eligible to receive services from The Library of Congress. Patrons can contact NFB-NEWSLINE at 866-504-7300 or www.nfb.org for a application.

Computer Support Clinic

Volunteer tutors are available to assist new computer users and experienced users seeking to brush up on skills. You'll be able to get help with email, blogging, downloading audio books, learning accessible computer games, using the web for research, configuring and using accessibility software, and more.
    The tutors read with braille and print, use text-to-speech technology, and speak a variety of languages. 
    The clinic takes place in the second floor Computer Training Room on Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., except during holiday weekends and library closings.  The Tuesday evening hours have been discontinued.
    To ensure someone will be available to help with a specific question, please make an appointment by calling Chancey Fleet at 347-632-8383.

Planned Giving

The holiday time is a good time to consider the library. While the Library of Congress provides the reading materials you receive from us and our operating funds are provided by the city and state, donations enable us to improve and expand the services we are able to offer. Contributions in any amount are welcome and tax-deductible. You might even wish to consider including the library in your will.
    If you wish to contribute now or in the future, use the following name on your check or in your will: The New York Public Library. You can add "Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library" to the memo field on your check or in your will if you wish. Contact the library for more information.

Holiday Closings

The library will be closed Monday, October 10 for Columbus Day; Friday, November 11 for Veterans' Day; Thursday, November 24 for Thanksgiving; Saturday, December 24 through Monday, December 26 for Christmas; and on Monday, January 2, 2012 in observance of New Year's Day. You will still be able to leave a telephone message and someone will get back to you as soon as possible after the holidays.  

Reminders

•    This newsletter is available in large print, braille, audiocassette, online on our website, and via email. Please contact the library if you'd like to make a change in how you receive it.
•    Find us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/nyplheiskell) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/nyplheiskell).
•    For timely updates and items of special interest, you can also follow us on Tumblr blog, NewsLion Extra: http://nyplheiskell.tumblr.com/.
•    Read our blog: http://www.nypl.org/blog/library/8
•    Please do not put notes in the book containers or write on the mailing cards. If you have any questions, wish to make changes to your service, or need to tell us of an address change, please contact the library by phone (212-206-5400), email (ahlbph@nypl.org), or in person. That way, we'll be sure to get your message and be able to act on it promptly.
•    Planning a move? Let us know as much in advance as possible. If you are moving out of New York City, you may still continue your library service. Contact us and we'll arrange to transfer your service to the closest Regional Library to your new home.
•    In order to keep the Talking Book players and keep your service active, you must borrow at least one talking book or magazine per year. Downloading a book from BARD counts.
•    When returning books, be sure to turn over the mailing card in the slot on the container, so the library's address is facing out. The way to tell which side is which: when the small hole in the card is on the upper right, your address is facing forward. When the hole is on the upper left, the library's address is facing forward.