Sightlines from Central Rappahannock Regional Library
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What’s New in Access Services?
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Following Beth Solka’s retirement at the end of June, Access Services is pleased to introduce her successor in the position, Access Services Librarian Babak Zarin. Babak has worked in a range of libraries, including university and law libraries, and is a member of the Friends of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library.
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A Brief Message from Babak
Hi everyone! I’m Babak. That’s pronounced BAH-BACK. I’m honored to be your new Access Services Librarian, and I look forward to getting to know you all better as time goes on.
A little bit about me: I’m a native of Fredericksburg, Virginia, from a family of teachers, and grew up surrounded by readers, writers, artists, and musicians. My favorite part of the library were the fantasy and science-fiction sections, and though I still love those genres, these days I read a little of everything. I currently don’t have a pet, but I love animals.
I’m generally here at Access Services Monday through Friday, 9:00-5:00, though sometimes I’m out of the office assisting with staff training and presentations. So you’re welcome to visit me, but please call me first so I can make sure I’m here to meet you!
Finally, I know many of you wanted to thank Beth for her amazing years of service. If you’d like me to pass on your wishes--or phone number--to her, just let me know.
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Babak Zarin
540-372-1144 extension 7054
Toll Free: 1-800-628-4807
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National Library Service Has a New Name
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The Library of Congress’s National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, which provides braille and audio materials to the Fredericksburg Subregional Library, has changed its name. It is now known as the
National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. The new name addresses some outdated language and more clearly communicates the breadth of those served. NLS sought input on this name change from stakeholder groups and gathered data through various public channels, including its users.
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We’ve been considering a change for some time, so we’re happy to see this day arrive. We are very pleased to share our new name and accompanying graphic identity with the public and feel that the new name, as with all of NLS’s work, puts the emphasis on the people we serve.
NLS Director Karen Keninger
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This name change will not affect the acronym by which the program is known generally, so NLS will still be NLS.
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Friends of the Library Bookshop is now open!
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This past summer the
Friends of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library opened their bookshop next door to Access Services at 125 Olde Greenwich Drive, Suite 150. Everyone who receives Sightlines is welcome to shop the collection, which has Large Print books, audiobooks, CDs, and movies with AD captioning. Those with library cards from Central Rappahannock Regional Library can also select the Friends of the Library Center and Bookshop as a place to get holds. If you have any questions, you can contact the Friends by emailing
friends@crrl.org or by calling 540-372-1144, extension 7001.
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Reminder from CRRL about
@Your Library Magazine
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Everyone who receives
Sightlines is welcome to attend Central Rappahannock Regional Library programs at any of our branches in Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Westmoreland.
You can find listings of events in the library’s quarterly
@Your Library Magazine, which can be found at any library branch, in hundreds of community locations, and can be downloaded as a PDF from
librarypoint.org/at-your-library.
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Recently there have been a lot of questions about how cartridges work and how Access Services sends out new books.
Talking Booking cartridges are a light peach color and arrive in a clear white box. Some cartridges may arrive in red boxes. These are sent every two months and they’ll have a listing of newly available books on them. Some cartridges are also white and come in blue boxes. These are older cartridges, and we are slowly replacing them with the peach-colored ones.
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Cartridges can hold up to eight books. You don’t have to get eight, but please get in touch with us if you’d prefer a smaller quantity of books. Otherwise we will send eight books on one cartridge.
There are no late fees for keeping cartridges, but you won’t get a new one until you return your old one. Otherwise, we have no way of knowing when you’re done reading it. Holding onto cartridges for over a year can also make the system put a hold on your account because it thinks you aren’t reading anything anymore. So if you think you aren’t getting the books you’re supposed to, please make sure you’ve sent a cartridge back to us!
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When we receive a cartridge, we run it through our Gutenberg machine to put on your next set of books. Any book you’ve asked for goes on first, and if you’ve given us permission, we then add books we think you might enjoy based on what you’ve told us about your reading interests. If a book you’ve asked for isn’t in our system, we try to add a similar book.
Once everything’s added, we mail the cartridge out, and it is in the hands of the United States Postal Service until it gets to you. According to the post office, cartridges can take up to seven to ten days to reach you, but they try to get them to you sooner.
If you have any questions, or want to let us know that you’ve mailed a cartridge back so we can get started on making you a new one, then please get in touch by calling 540-372-1144, extension 7054, or by emailing us at
talking-books@crrl.org.
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Talking Book Group: Book and Call
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We didn’t get much feedback on our Summer Read,
Where the Crawdad Sings by Delia Owens (DB92245), but what we did hear told us it was a good book worth trying out.
Our Fall Read will be
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter (DB 37043).
Good Omens is a comedy fantasy novel written by Sir Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Set in England in the 1990s, the book focuses on the efforts of an angel and a demon to stop the End of the World. Very well-received, Good Omens was recently adapted as a TV miniseries on Amazon Prime, to rave reviews
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We will also be trying something new this fall: a group phone call, where anyone reading
Good Omens can call in and talk with others about the book. You don’t have to finish reading the book by then, but it can be a big help.
The Talking Book Club Phone Call will be on Wednesday, December 4, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. You can call in by dialing 605-313-6072 and then dialing access code 345003#
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by Chuck Gray
Fall is always an exciting time of year for me as a tech nerd, since it usually brings with it the latest releases of both iOS, the operating system that powers Apple’s iPhone and iPad, and Android, the operating system that powers 99.9% of every smartphone that isn’t an iPhone, like those from Samsung and Motorola. I love to get into the nitty-gritty of these systems, and I am always pleased to see when they’ve added new accessibility features.
The latest release of Android, Android 10, has a brilliant, impending feature called Live Captions. With the push of a button, Live Captions will automatically caption videos, podcasts, and audio messages and even stuff you record yourself. Whatever content you want to caption doesn’t even need to be pre-programmed, it all happens in real time on the device itself. Unfortunately this feature is not yet active in Android 10.When it is, it will be slow to roll out and probably be available only on higher-end handsets initially.
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One app that is available right now that should work on most Android phones, regardless of model or Android version, is Live Transcribe. Live Transcribe performs real-time transcription of speech and sound to text on your screen, so you can more easily participate in conversations going on in the world around you. You can also keep the conversation going by typing your response on the screen.
iOS 13 introduces some vastly improved voice controls. The ease and quality of dictation is always being improved, however the standout feature is Numbers Selection. Rather than trying to press the often small and awkwardly placed buttons on an app, all you have to do is say “Show Numbers.” A numbered tag will appear next to each button and every other interactive portion of an app and you just say the number of the element you want to “tap” with your voice. Or, if you are so inclined, iOS 13 will support Bluetooth mice, where a click emulates a tap on the screen.
Every year brings newer and better accessibility features for both iOS and Android. I can’t wait to see what iOS 14 and Android 11 will bring with them.
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Fiction Bestsellers
- Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane (DB 95483)
- Fall by Neal Stephenson (DB 95990)
- Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand (DB 95859)
- Under Currents by Nora Roberts (DB 95764)
- Window on the Bay by Debbie Macomber (DB 95908)
Nonfiction Bestsellers
- Alone at Dawn by Dan Schillling (DB 95949)
- American Carnage by Tim Alberta (DB 95881)
- Justice on Trial by Mollie Hemingway (DB 96112)
- The Man Who Sold America by Joy-Ann Reid (DB 95932)
- White by Bret Easton Ellis (DB 95746)
Adult List:
Youth List:
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Holidays and Next Sightlines
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Our department will be closed on November 28 and 29 for Thanksgiving; December 24 and 25 for Christmas; and December 31 and January 1 for New Year’s. While we are open the rest of the time, our hours can be strange around Thanksgiving, and in the week between Christmas and New Year’s, so please hold on to anything you want to read during that time!
The next Sightlines will come out mid-January 2020.
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For book reservations, sharing a review, or information on Talking Books, contact:
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Reminder: If you receive
Sightlines
on a cartridge, please return the cartridge after listening to
Sightlines
.
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Inspiring lifelong learning for everyone in our community.
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Serving Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Westmoreland, Virginia.
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