Interchange Newsletter for Nebraska Talking Book & Braille Services
Access past issues and alternate formats of Interchange here at the Interchange Newsletter Archive
Interchange Newsletter
Summer 2024
From Your Readers Advisors
This issue of Interchange contains the results of our triennial Patron
Engagement Survey. We want to thank everyone who mailed in their
survey, called in to respond over the phone, and who completed the survey
online. We also wanted to address a few concerns that were voiced to us.
Our goal as your Readers Advisor is to make sure that you are receiving
books that interest you. We also want to make sure that you are receiving
enough books.
The most popular concern patrons mentioned was the amount of time that it can
take to get new books. If you share that concern, please call us! We can’t control
the speed at which mail is delivered, but it is very easy for us to increase the
number of books you are getting. As a general rule, you are allowed to borrow up
to 5 book cartridges at a time. Each cartridge can hold about 15 books. We also
encourage you to contact us when you are almost finished with your books,
especially before a weekend or holiday. We can get new books in the mail to you
before you send back your old books.
We also want to encourage you to contact us if you are not interested in the
books you are currently getting. It’s our job as Readers Advisors to connect you
with books that you might enjoy! Talk to us about adding or removing an author
or narrator, adding filters for explicit content, or about new and popular books.
We can be reached by phone at 402-471-4038 or 800-742-7691. If you prefer to
email, we can be reached at nlc.talkingbook@nebraska.gov.
2024 Patron Engagement Survey Results
145 patrons responded to our survey. Here is they told us:
- Almost half of respondents were over the age of 85, and more than half
have been patrons of TBBS for five or more years.
- Nearly all respondents receive audiobooks. One respondent receives
braille magazines.
- More than half of respondents prefer to call the library and speak with their
reader advisor to order more books.
- Respondents reported enjoying these three subjects the most:
○ Mysteries/Suspense
○ Westerns
○ History/Historical Fiction
- Most – 89% of respondents – are Very Satisfied with the Talking Book
Service. Most – 90% – told us that the Talking Book Service is Very
Important to them.
- Most respondents were not BARD users. Of those, more than half said that
they do not have an email address or a home internet connection, which
are necessary for BARD.
Patrons who responded to the survey overwhelmingly reported that bringing back
print catalogs would be a great improvement to the service. Respondents also
would like the service to create an online catalog and ordering system that is
easier to use. We will pass this feedback on to the National Library Service.
We wanted to thank patrons who used the survey to send us wonderful
comments! There were too many to include, but here are some of our favorites:
- “I have greatly appreciated this service. It provides much knowledge and
enjoyment for me. Thank you so much!”
- “Your excellent service has been a lifesaver.”
- “The talking book program has improved my quality of life!”
- “Keep up the great work!”
- “The talking books are for my [mother-in-law] who is legally blind. She
enjoys the independence of having the machine and being able to use it
without help. She VERY much enjoys the player and books, as she used to
be an avid reader and this helps pass her time. We thank you for this
service and the hours of enjoyment she gets. It has helped her more than
you will ever know!”
Magazine Updates
Three new audio magazines are being added to the NLS collection. Please
contact your readers’ advisor if you would like to subscribe to any of these.
Best Friends - “Best Friends magazine is the nation's most uplifting
magazine for pet lovers. Full of engaging stories, happy tales of rescue and
gorgeous photos, the magazine is the official publication of Best Friends
Animal Society, a national nonprofit membership organization dedicated to
saving the lives of homeless pets.”
Magnolia Journal - “The Magnolia Journal is a quarterly magazine by Chip
and Joanna Gaines containing inspiration for life and home. Useful as a
resource and a guide to living well, the Magnolia Journal contains stories,
recipes, tips, and useful information you will refer back to again and again.”
Mother Jones - “Mother Jones is a nonprofit American progressive
magazine that focuses on news, commentary, and investigative journalism
on topics including politics, environment, human rights, health and culture.”
The following magazines have ceased publication, and so our producers
can no longer narrate them: Magazines of the Month, Outdoor Life, Popular
Science, Vanidades, and The Writer. Patrons who are subscribed will not
receive any additional issues. Past issues will remain available for loan and
for download on BARD.
New Books Added to Our Collection
DBC02027 Four Blue Stars in the Window: One Family’s Story of the Great
Depression, The Dust Bowl, and the Duty of a Generation by Barbara
Eymann Mohrman. Fifty years ago, a young girl opened a cardboard box in
her basement containing her father's World War II uniform and keepsakes.
The box started the author on a personal journey to trace her family history
and family secrets. Describes the Swiss immigrant family’s hard-scrabble
life in rural Nebraska starting in the heyday of the 1920s. Chriss Eymann
and his wife, Hattie Mae, raised ten children on the Dust Bowl-ravaged
plains during the 1930s in the depths of the Great Depression, then sent
their four young sons off to war in the South Pacific and Europe. This story
traces the anguish, danger, and everlasting hope of 1930-1947 with some
surprising family news that brings the story full circle. Some strong
language. Some violence. Adult Nonfiction.
DBC02040 Prayer and Peanut Butter by Shirley Lueth. A collection of
short, humorous essays about home life with a family of seven children,
appearing originally in the author's column in the Grand Island Daily
Independent. Adult Nonfiction.
DBC02042 The Old-Time Cowhand by Ramon F. Adams. The American
cowboy emerges from these pages as a recognizable human being with
little resemblance to the picturesque inventions of the horse opera. Ramon
F. Adams, a highly respected authority on the Old West, talks straight about
what the cowhand really did and thought. His cow-punching, bronco
busting, trail driving; his rodeo riding, poker playing, socializing; his horse,
guns, ripe, clothing, sleeping bag; his eating and drinking habits; his
attitude toward God, women, bosses; his unwritten code of
conduct--everything about this vanished breed is told with absorbing
authenticity, in the rich and varied lingo of the range. Adult Nonfiction.
DBC02053 My Story by Janice Firth. The story and poems of a young
woman who has cerebral palsy. Adult Nonfiction.
DBC02054 Poems and Sketches of Nebraska by Addison Erwin Sheldon.
Poems and short stories about early 20th century Nebraska and the United
States. Adult Nonfiction.
DBC02057 Secrets on the Wind (Pine Ridge Portraits #1) by Stephanie
Grace Whitson. Two cavalry soldiers come upon a burnt-out settler's
dugout and discover a lunatic woman hiding under a trap door. They carry
her to Fort Robinson, where a kind old woman nurses her back to health.
She has suffered a great deal and distrusts all men. Though she seems
indifferent to all who try to help her, eventually she begins her journey to
faith. Adult Fiction.
DBC02058 Watchers on the Hill (Pine Ridge Portraits #2) by Stephanie
Grace Whitson. Charlotte Valentine was once a flirtatious beauty in search
of an army officer for a husband. But the events in her life have changed
her into a person in desperate need of a safe haven, which she hoped to
find upon her return to Fort Robinson. With the unexpected appearance of
two former beaus, she can only trust God to heal her wounds and to move
forward in faith. Adult Fiction.
DBC01908 Footprints on the Horizon (Pine Ridge Portraits #3) by
Stephanie Grace Whitson. Nebraska, 1945. Josephine, daughter of the
Reverend Hale, spends the summer on her aunt's ranch. There she
encounters Dieter Brock, a German prisoner of war being held locally at
Fort Robinson. Dieter takes an interest in both Jo and her father's sermons,
though the town and Jo's mother disapprove. Adult Fiction.
DBC02064 Country Love by Bev and Dick Kimbrough. These short feature
stories, all about life in the Midwest, have previously appeared as
syndicated newspaper columns. Adult Nonfiction.
DBC02014 The Inventions of Mr. Tinkers-A-Lot by Garnett Tremain Bond;
song composed by Donald E. Marsh. An inventor loves to make people
happy. He borrows the song of a wren to communicate his greatest
idea--love. For preschool-grade 2.
DBC02015 The Good Green Witch from Ipswitch by Garnett Bond.
Children's story about a good witch who safeguards the earth from
pollution. For preschool-grade 2.
These locally-produced audiobooks, and more, can be found
here. A complete listing of audio
magazines – including new subscriptions! – can be found here.
Order Form and Mailing Instructions
Mark the books and magazines you wish to order, then put this page into an envelope and mail to:
Nebraska Library Commission
Talking Book and Braille Service
The Atrium, 1200 N St, Ste 120
Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-2023
(402) 471-4038 | (800) 742-7691
You can also order online by going to https://forms.gle/VPkHcXP4tnxYPMas7.