PerKIDS Newsletter Winter 2011

Volume 6, Number 1

Summer Reading Program Update

BTBL patrons had fun with the One World, Many Stories Summer Reading Program. 91 readers participated and reported a total of 37,380 minutes or 623 hours of reading! This year, readers had the opportunity to think more globally and were given the option to have their accumulated reading minutes count toward the adoption of an endangered animal from the World Wildlife Fund. Fourteen readers selected the horned puffin. Sixteen participants sponsored the purchase of braille books for children who are blind in Africa. A shipment of braille books was sent out to the Uganda School for the Blind in October. Our grand prize winner, Kaylene Sheran of East Boston, read 731 minutes and won a Kindle. Please join us next year for our Dream Big Read! Summer Reading Program 2012 for lots of good reading, fun and prizes!

Good Luck Rachel & Hello from Jo!

At the end of July, Rachel Gould left the Perkins Library for a new job working as a survey programmer for Communispace. We wish her the best of luck on her new adventure!

As for the new Children and Youth Services Librarian …

Meet Johanna Umana, but you can call her Jo. She’s a big fan of Harry Potter, Arthur the aardvark, The Hunger Games series as well as the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. She also enjoys the classics you read for school and would love to discuss those with you anytime. Jo would like to get to know you and your favorite books and hear about the books you want to read.

Jo has a Library Science degree from Simmons College and a degree in Spanish Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She learned book and paper conservation techniques in Italy and has taught courses for children in South Korea and Haiti.

Jo grew up speaking Spanish and learned French while living in Paris. In her spare time, she likes to hike, listen to music, cook, jog and travel. She recently visited the trails of North Vancouver and walked the 500-mile Spanish trail known as “The Way of St. James.” Jo is currently reading A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway.

You can reach Jo at the Perkins Library in the following ways:

• Email: Johanna.Umana@perkins.org
• Call: 617-972-7242 or 1-800-852-3133
• Send an AOL IM to: BTBLJo

The BTBL Needs You!

Will you help us make our services even better for children and teens? We need library patrons between the ages of 12 and 20 to serve on our new Youth Advisory Committee. Meetings will take place 3 times a year using online and telephone conferencing. Email us for more information.

New Audio Described Movies

Did you know that the BTBL offers descriptive DVDs? Described videos have a second audio track with a narrator’s voice describing the action on the screen during the breaks in the dialog and sound effects.

Let us know if you’d like to check out DVDs. Here’s what’s new on the shelf:

Rango (DVD 939) A kooky pet chameleon, accidently winds up in the gritty, gun-slinging town of Dirt, a lawless outpost populated by the desert’s most wily and whimsical creatures. Welcomed as the last hope the town has been waiting for, new Sheriff Rango is forced to play his new role to the hilt, until he starts to become the hero he once only pretended to be.

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (DVD 940) Follows pop singer Justin Bieber during 10 days counting down to his August 31, 2010 concert at Madison Square Garden. Includes footage from his “My World Tour,” interviews with family and friends, a visit to his original home town in Canada and some of the stories and videos of his childhood.

Rio (DVD 941) A comedy-adventure that centers on Blu, a flightless macaw who acts more human than bird. When Blu, the last of his kind, discovers there’s another, and that she’s a she, he embarks on an adventure to magical Rio. There he meets Jewel and a menagerie of vivid characters who help Blu fulfill his dream and learn to fly.

Tron: Legacy (DVD 928) When Flynn, the world’s greatest video game creator, sends out a secret signal from an amazing digital realm, his son discovers the clues and embarks on a personal journey to save his long-lost father. With the help of the fearless female warrior Quorra, father and son venture through an incredible cyber universe and wage the ultimate battle of good versus evil.

The Perkins SHELF Project

You can now download Perkins studio-produced titles as well as studio titles from Idaho, Colorado, Missouri, and Maryland through the Perkins SHELF project. Access the listings of SHELF titles through the Library’s online catalog (www.perkinslibrary.org). Login with your library user code and password under Patron Information. Go to the Perkins SHELF link to browse the collection. Click the title link to learn more about a title. To download it, click the Download Locally Recorded Title link. Extract the files (just like you do with BARD), and listen to them on your digital player by transferring the book to a blank cartridge (available through Perkins Products: www.perkinsstore.org) or by using a flash drive. For more information, email download-support@perkins.org or call the Library.

BARD for Schools

BARD (Braille & Audio Reading Download) is now open for public or private schools interested in assisting students who are eligible to use the Perkins Library services in downloading talking books. Contact the Library for more information about institutional BARD accounts.

Order Books through the Online Catalog

If you don’t have time to call or email the Library, you can order books through the online catalog and they will come to you through the mail!

Here are the steps to search the catalog:

• Go to webopac.klas.com/mrl
• Log in by clicking on Patron Information
• Select Keyword, Author, Title or Subject and enter a search term
• Select the format you want from the media drop-down menu
• Select reading level from the drop-down menu and click Submit Search
• Click Add to Book Basket for mail delivery and proceed to checkout

Perkins, the Boston Public Library and Overdrive

Want to find even more downloadable books? Perkins is now collaborating with the Boston Public Library to allow patrons to access the Overdrive downloadable collection. Many books are available from the Boston Public Library holdings for download with a BPL/Perkins ecard number. Keep in mind that Overdrive materials will not play on your NLS player. You’ll need your own accessible player to be able to play books in the Windows Media Audio (WMA) format. Contact us to obtain your ecard to download Overdrive books from the Boston Public Library!

Stay in Touch Online!

Keep up with the newest books and videos, audio described performances, and other news. Follow @PerkinsBTBL on Twitter for the latest library happenings! To stay connected with our monthly PerKIDS e-newsletter, make sure we have your email address. Email library@perkins.org to subscribe. Also, stay connected with Perkins on Facebook: www.facebook.com/OfficialPerkins

New Digital Audio Magazines

The Library has added two new audio magazines on cartridge for children and young adults. These shared subscriptions play on your NLS player and should be returned to the Library when completed. Contact the Library to request either of these magazines.

Seventeen is a magazine for young women full of fashion tips, entertainment news, as well as fitness information. Additional articles focus on college life, careers, celebrities and personal and global issues.

Humpty Dumpty is a magazine geared for children ages 4 to 8 filled with a variety of games, stories, poems, projects and helpful tips to inspire imagination.

The Wonder of Winter

Winter and more snow are just around the corner. Sit back, stay warm and enjoy the wonder of the winter season with these recommended books. Contact the Library to order these and any other books!

Snow Is Falling by Franklyn Branley (RC 40379)
A simple description of the beauty, dangers, and usefulness of snow, including an experiment that proves snow retains warmth. For grades K-3.

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats(RC 43471 / BARD download)
Young Peter is thrilled to wake up to snow piled high. He spends the day crunching, sliding, building a snowman, making snow angels, and having a great time. For grades K-3.

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Martin (BR 12032)
The biography of Wilson Bentley, who loved the beauty of nature and wanted to share that loveliness with others. Especially intrigued by snowflakes, he taught himself how to photograph them, and that became his lifelong project. For grades K-3.

New Sudoku Touch Game

Perkins Products has launched Sudoku Touch, with large bold numbers and braille puzzles for ages 10 years and older. The birchwood game comes with 40 large print / braille puzzles, an instruction and solutions guide book, a plastic puzzle grid to hold tiles in place, and playing and placeholder tiles with bold numbers and braille. To order, call Perkins Products at 617-972-7308 or visit www.perkinsstore.org.

New Studio Books

There are new locally produced digital books waiting to be checked out. The recording studio produces books by Massachusetts authors, about local personalities, celebrities, regional histories, and sports. Contact us to check out these digital books, or any other books from the Library!

Arthur and the Recess Rookie by Marc Brown (DBM 708)
Francine always picks George last for her team - she thinks that being athletic is the only way to be good at sports. When Arthur and George’s team loses the kickball game, it seems that Francine is right. How can George prove he is a valuable player, too? For grades 2-4.

Coota and the Magic Quilt by Haywood Fennell Sr. (DBM 814)
Eleven-year-old Coota’s mother sends him from Roxbury to stay in North Carolina. There, he discovers a slave’s diary, and learns from his civil-rights activist grandmother about the Underground Railroad. He also becomes a friend of Cheryl, a young girl who is blind but can see the importance of respect and dignity. By the time Coota returns to the "Bury" he is rapping about Harriet Tubman. For grades 5-8.

A Smile from Andy by Nan Holcomb (DBM 807)
Andy, who has cerebral palsy, is very shy. His sister is quite friendly, and people talk to her. Andy would like some of the attention, but it doesn’t happen. Then he meets a little girl who helps him discover something he can do to reach out to others in his own special way. For grades K-3.

T.J.’s Story: a Book About a Boy Who is Blind by Arlene Schulman (DBM 592)
T.J., who is blind, tells his story. He describes how he lives with his family, attends public school and plays with his friends. Information about blindness, a glossary, and a list of resources follow his story. For grades 3-6.

Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library
175 North Beacon Street
Watertown, MA 02472

Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30 - 5:00
Phone: 800-852-3133 or 617-972-7240
Fax: 617-972-7363
TTY: 617-972-7690
Web: www.perkinslibrary.org
Email: library@perkins.org