Library Services in Tennessee

Through a national network of cooperating libraries, the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, NLS administers a free library program of braille and audio materials circulated to eligible borrowers in the United States by postage-free mail. The Tennessee State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped is an NLS cooperating library program of braille, recorded and large print materials that are available to residents of Tennessee who are not able to use standard print materials due to a visual or physical disability. The Tennessee Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (TLBPH) cooperates with the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress (NLS) to administer this free library service.

Tennessee State Library and Archives
403 Seventh Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: 615.741.3915 or 800.342.3308 Fax: 615.532.8856
Email: tlbph.tsla@state.tn.us Web Site:http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/lbph/index.htm

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic Oak Ridge Unit

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, (RFB&D) is a leading producer of textbooks and professional material recordedon audio cassette and in digital talking book format. This organization serves individuals who are blind or who have other print disabilities throughout the United States and in Tennessee. RFB&D has production units located around the country including their Oak Ridge Unit.

About the Tennessee Unit

The Oak Ridge unit of RFB&D was founded in 1952 by two local physicists, Francis Pleasanton and Robert Kernohan. The two contacted Anne T. Macdonald to express interest in starting the unit. The large number of scientists in Oak Ridge made this area a perfect fit for the organization. It is staffed by six full-time employees, and has a large number of volunteers who assist in all production phases of books for distribution to print-disabled readers in Tennessee, and the nation.

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, (Oak Ridge Tennessee Unit)
205 Badger Road
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Phone: 865-482-3496
Fax: 865-483-9934
Brian Jenkins, Executive Director
E-mail:bjenkins@rfbd.org
Web Site:http://www.rfbd.org/UNITS_TN_home.htm

Monday & Tuesday: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday and Thursday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic National Headquarters:

Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic® • RFB&D National Headquarters
20 Roszel Road
Princeton, NJ 08540
Telephone: Member Services, Individual and Institutional: 800-221-4792
E-mail: custserv@rfbd.org
Web Site: http://www.rfbd.org

On-Line Electronic Books

Below are several Web resources from which one may read and/or download electronic books in print, or E-Braille format. There are a number of these on-line depositories on the Internet some of which allow electronic texts to be read or downloaded free of charge. Others charge an annual subscription to gain access to part, or all of their on-line collections; particularly books currently protected by copyright. We will include additional such repositories in the future as we learn of their existance.

Www.bookshare.org

This is currently the largest on-line depository of electronic books in ASCII, HTML, and electronic Braille file formats with over 27,112 books available for subscribers to download in NISO DAISY or BRF electronic Braille Formats. Their online accessible etext library reflects the diverse interests and needs of the print-disabled community. Aside from the usual offerings of the latest best-sellers in fiction and non-fiction, computers and technology, sci-fi, romance, children's titles, K-12 and college-level textbooks, they offer books with topics such as LSAT test preparation, cooking, gardening and travel.

You can browse their collection by your favorite category or author. Simple or advanced searches can be done for authors and titles on Bookshare.org.

Bookshare.org offers more than 350 books in Spanish in accesible formats to subscribers. In addition to the classics of Spanish and Colonial Literature, they offer renowned works of contemporary Latin American authors, and works of other authors translated into Spanish.

Bookshare.org is proud to be able to bring to its subscribers all the books that have appeared in the top 10 on the New York Times® Best Sellers lists in fiction and nonfiction, hardback and paperback alike, from September, 2005 through April, 2006. As new titles appear on these lists, they will be purchased, and added to the collection. These titles are available now for download by bookshare.org subscribers in both DAISY and BRF formats.

Bookshare.org offers all its Public Domain books (books no longer under copyright) at no charge and without needing to register for access to all titles in the collection. Aside from DAISY and BRF formats, Public Domain titles are also available in TEXT (ASCII) or HTML formats. Downloading a Public Domain title from this Web site is a great way to become familiar with digital electronic books, and the Bookshare.org Web Site. This is a great way to familliarize yourself with how to use these file formats with your AT hardware or software before you pay for a subscription.

In partnership with the National Federation of the Blind Newsline® System, Copyrighted newspapers and magazines are available for download by Bookshare.org subscribers or school or group accounts. Access to NFB-Newsline® content is restricted to residents from states that fund the Newsline® service. Registered bookshare.org subscribers can download many local newspapers and the following national papers listed below

• Christian Science Monitor
• New York Times
• USA Today
• Wall Street Journal

For further information about Bookshare.org visit them at the following Web Address

http://www.bookshare.org

Project Gootenberg

Project Gutenberg is the brainchild of Michael Hart, who in 1971 decided that it would be a really good idea if lots of famous and important texts were freely available to everyone in the world. Since then, he has been joined by hundreds of volunteers who share his vision. More than thirty years later,Project Gootenberg's collection of electronic text, (E-Text) books has grown to include thousands of titles in many languages produced by volunteers from throughout the World. Many of Project Gootenberg's titles will include books you may have read as a child, or studied in a high school or college literature or English class. Their collection includes novels, dictionaries, historical books and documents,music scores, and many other literary works which have stood the test of time. E-texts from Project Gutenberg can be downloaded from their Web Site, or purchased on CD-ROM.

For more information visit the Project Gutenberg Web Site located at:

http://www.promo.net/pg

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