PerKIDS Newsletter 2008 Fall

Vol. 3, No. 1

Hi PerKIDS! The fall newsletter is here, and it's just for you! We are writing to you twice a year about the newest and coolest things happening at the Perkins Library.

Please let me know if I can send you books, or if I can help you with anything else! Email Rachel.Gould@Perkins.org, call 617-972-7242, or send an AOL IM to BTBLRachel.

Wild Reads

This year, 77 readers participated in the Wild Reads Summer Reading Program. Together, they read a total of 963 books – an average of 13 books per person!

We sent participants an accessible activity packet, bibliography, and reading log in large print, cassette, or braille on the state-wide theme. An accessible website featured activities and a database to register and track books online.

Younger readers received a prize after every five books reported on, and older readers after three. Prizes included water bottles, described videos, door signs, flying discs, stuffed animals, and grand prizes from Adaptive Technology, a Division of Perkins Products.

Congratulations to everyone who participated! Although the program has ended, I still love hearing about the books you are reading. Please keep in touch, and let me know if you would like to participate in the Summer Reading Program next year!

Wild Reads Party

Over 80 Library patrons and Perkins students and staff turned out for an afternoon of fun and learning at the Wild Reads Summer Reading Party on July 24.

The "wild" crowd enjoyed a very fuzzy and scaly hands-on program from Zoo New England. After listening to animated storytelling about wild creatures, students got to pet zoo animals and listen and learn how they get their food, water, space, and shelter.

As part of the Wild Reads accessible summer reading program, students got up close and personal with a Madagascar hissing cockroach, a snake, and a white ferret.

Zoo New England staff let students touch and feel the animals and listen to the sounds they make. The instructors answered questions about habitats and how animals use their senses.

Captivated students gathered round to listen to BTBL narrator Fred Griffeth, who recited an adaptation of a Masai tale called Who's in Rabbit's House?. Griffeth gave the storybook characters life with his animal sounds and lively voices.

Students munched on pizza and snacks while creating their own creatures with crafts including origami cats, dogs, snakes, and butterflies made from clothespins and coffee filters. Balloon animals added more fun to the wild party.

Grand Prize Winners

Congratulations to these Wild Reads grand prize winners! The following winners in their reading level categories read over 300 books!

Young Adult: 48 books read
Lauren Madruga, New Bedford

Braille Prize: 30 books read
Daniel Dintzner, Feeding Hills

Grades 6-9: 21 books read
Wilson Shie, Acton

Grades 5-8: 18 books read
Syed Rizvi, Longmeadow

Grades 3-7: 19 books read
Jacob Pine, Pocasset
Gabrielle Svoboda, Mansfield

Grades 2-4: 33 books read
Ben Elwy, Wellesley
Shannon Molloy, Methuen

Grades K-2: 52 books read
Kayla Biagiotti, Franklin

Preschool : 30 books read
Alec Bulmer, Billerica

New Science Fiction

Contact the Library to order these great new books, or any other books!

Aliens Ate My Homework by Bruce Corville (RC 40831, BR 11547)
Rod Allbright is building a volcano for a school project when a small spaceship crashes through the window and lands in the papier-mache. The aliens are on Earth to catch a notorious criminal, and Rod is surprised to learn who it is.

The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau (RC 62892, BR 16948)
Nickie figures out how to identify both good and evil when she witnesses the townspeople's reactions to the apocalyptic visions of their neighbor, Althea Tower.

The Angel Experiment by James Patterson (RC 61892, LT 5568)
Max and her adopted family are human-bird lab experiments pursued by mutant predators. When the youngest is kidnapped, Max leads the flock on a mission to rescue her, find their parents, exact revenge, and save the world.

This is My Funniest by Mike Resnick (RC 65600)
Short stories chosen by twenty-nine science fiction writers with brief explanations of their choices.

SFScope.com is an accessible online magazine which provides news about science fiction, fantasy, and horror. To keep up with the science fiction community, visit www.sfscope.com.

NLS Downloadable Books

The Library is offering orientation sessions for NLS's Downloadable Talking Book program. Learn how to access your online account, search the catalogue, download your selections, and transfer them to your playback device.

RSVP to James.Gleason@Perkins.org to attend a session from 4-6pm on either December 17, January 21, or February 18.

Victor Reader Stream Loan Program

The Humanware Victor Reader Stream can be used in conjunction with the NLS Digital Download Pilot Program. The Friends of the Library have purchased 20 Streams to be loaned to patrons for 30 days. If you want to check one out before making a purchase, our Stream Loan Program is for you!

Once the NLS digital talking book machine has been made available for free loan, purchasing the Stream will no longer be required to access digital talking books via the download.

Any interested patron can request to borrow a Stream. Library staff will pre-load the flash card in the machine with several digital talking books. The unit will come with operation instructions, a Quick Start Guide, and an instructional manual on CD.

Contact the Library to borrow the Stream or Perkins Products at www.perkinsstore.org to purchase the Stream.

Adaptive Technology

The staff of Adaptive Technology, a Division of Perkins Products can help introduce you to a total range of products, support, and training for people who are blind, have low vision, or are learning disabled.

On December 2, ATC will present A Day of Duxbury to teach the braille translation software. The presentations will be held at Perkins. Visit www.perkinsproducts.org for more information.

Fenway at Perkins

The Library's September "Fenway at Perkins" book and author event gave Red Sox fans a fun way to celebrate their hometown team spirit!

Carl Beane, the voice of Fenway Park, emceed a panel discussion. Beane serves as a Library volunteer narrator right in our own Perkins recording studio.

Johnny Pesky, whose long career with the Boston Red Sox spans 56 years, and Maureen Mullen read from their recent book, Diary of a Red Sox Season (RCM 1019) and shared many Fenway anecdotes during their talks. Author Melinda Boroson read from her book 86 Years: The Legend of the Boston Red Sox (RCM 997, BRM 1385). This poetic book celebrates the team's spectacular comeback to win the 2004 World Series.

Brian Charlson and Rick Morin spoke about their "Seeing Eye Single Tour." They travelled the East Coast visiting several baseball parks to spotlight accessibility for people with disabilities.

After the presentations, guests had the opportunity to be photographed with the 2004 and 2007 Red Sox World Series trophies. Guests enjoyed snacks while donning their new Perkins baseball caps and authors signed books.

Contact the Library to order the featured Red Sox books, or for a copy of our Red Sox bibliography.

Next Generation™ Perkins Brailler®

Fifty-seven years after the Perkins Brailler® was introduced, a newly designed version of the most widely-used braille writing machine in the world, the Next Generation™ Perkins Brailler, is being launched by Perkins Products and the American Printing House for the Blind (APH).

With its Easy-Grip handle, the Next Generation Perkins Brailler is 25% lighter, smaller, easier to carry and quieter than the Classic. Its Gentle Touch keys require a lighter stroke, and the Easy-Erase Button makes corrections a breeze. The stylishly colored, tactile-friendly, virtually indestructible polycarbonate shell houses a metal frame and the same durable inner workings of the time-tested Perkins Brailler. For more information, visit www.perkinsbrailler.org.

New DVD Service

Patrons can now borrow audio described DVD movies in addition to VHS format!

Described videos provide narration of key visual elements heard during the pauses in dialogue, resulting in a finished soundtrack that enables you to understand the film through listening. Contact the Library to register for the DVD program.

See the World By Touch

A cool variety of media celebrates the exciting Next Generation™ Perkins Brailler®! Visit www.perkinsbrailler.org to listen to Raul Midon's song The Next Generation and three ringtones. You can also download Facebook and Myspace widgets or send an e-card to spread the word!

Braillers and Dictionaries to Baghdad

When Perkins heard about the Al Noor School for the Blind in Baghdad, a school with 60 students and only 10 braillers, we knew we had to help.

In September, the Library donated a 72-volume English braille Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, and Perkins Products donated 20 Perkins Braillers® and four reams of braille paper to the school. American Harley-Davidson of Leominster also donated 75 pairs of new sunglasses.

About the donation, David Morgan, general manager of Perkins Products, said, "Learning is critical to any child's well-being, self-esteem and independence. Now, it's hard to imagine the challenges that children in a war zone face. If a gift from Perkins Products can help the students at the Al Noor School overcome some of those challenges, we felt we had to step up."

Bookshare.org Free Trial Membership

The website Bookshare.org enables people with visual and other print disabilities to legally share and read scanned books. The collection has over 34,000 titles available to download in DAISY (Digital Audio Information System) or BRF (braille formatted file) formats.

If you are registered with the Library, you are eligible for Bookshare.org! Schools and students under 18 with qualifying disabilities have free access thanks to an Office of Special Education Programs grant of the U.S. Department of Education. Use the code "OSEP" when signing up for Bookshare.org.

Library staff can also download Bookshare books for registered borrowers to use. If you're not quite sure you are ready to try downloading, we can help. Library staff can assist you in selecting some great books and help you sign up.