Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library Named "Network Library of the Year"
Watertown, MA – On Friday, June 19, 2009, Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library was named 2008 Network Library of the Year at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. that featured remarks by Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA, 7th District).
Presented annually by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), this prestigious honor recognizes a library that demonstrates exceptional innovation in providing services, maintains a record of patron satisfaction, and exceeds the American Library Association Revised Standards and Guidelines of Service for the Library of Congress Network of Libraries for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library was represented at the award ceremony by Library Director Kim Charlson, Perkins School for the Blind President Steven M. Rothstein, and Commissioner of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners Irving Zangwill. Rep. Markey announced that he is introducing a resolution in support of the Braille & Talking Book Library before the U.S. Congress. Members of the staffs of Rep. Michael Capuano and Sen. John Kerry were also in attendance.
Award recipients are nominated by patrons, library staff, or their administering agency’s staff and chosen by committees that include representatives of patron organizations, librarians, and regional leaders of the NLS network. As a tip of the hat to Watertown’s BTBL, musical entertainment included “Old Cape Cod” and “Charlie & the MTA” at the luncheon held at the Library of Congress. For dessert? Boston Cream Pie, of course.
Perkins Library Patron Martha McDonald of Norton, Massachusetts, said, “I was an avid reader until diabetes made this impossible. Perkins has saved me. I don’t know what I would do without these talking books.”
Every day, thousands of patrons like Martha who cannot read traditional print rely on services from Perkins Library to keep informed and stay connected with their communities. For many who have a visual impairment or other disability, the library is the sole source of accessible reading materials for study, work, personal enrichment, intellectual development or leisure.
In 2008, Perkins Library launched exciting and innovative programs to engage patrons of all ages in fun and educational events. “Fenway at Perkins,” a book-and-author event featuring Red Sox baseball legends, delighted Boston sports fans. The library invited patrons to nominate mail carriers who provide exceptional service, and honored them in a celebration that brought guests from across the region. “The Harry Potter Extravaganza” celebrated the simultaneous release of braille and print editions of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. During the year, the library circulated 442,935 books and magazines and loaned 5,027 playback machines and accessories to 22,814 patrons.
Perkins Library is an ardent promoter of braille literacy and provides teachers, students, and community groups with braille awareness kits of embossed materials and handouts. Patrons borrow braille writers for short-term use through the Brailler Loan Program, or have their machines repaired through the Brailler Repair Program. In addition to serving patrons in Massachusetts, Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library loans braille books to readers in the District of Columbia, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library has served the reading needs of patrons who are blind or visually impaired since 1835. It is one of the oldest accessibility services in the country. Perkins School for the Blind, the nation’s first school for the visually impaired, provides education and services to help build productive, meaningful lives for more than 94,000 children and adults who are blind, deafblind or visually impaired with or without other disabilities in the U.S. and 63 countries worldwide. Founded in 1829, Perkins pursues this mission on campus, in the community and around the world. Learn more online at www.perkins.org
For more information on the Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library visit our website at www.perkinslibrary.org.
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