Legislative Alert - Urgent Action Needed to Protect Talking Books Program

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laundryshark

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Think of what it would be like (because of blindness or other physical limitations that prevent one from reading the printed page) to not have access to a recorded or electronic version of, say, a washing machine repair manual, home economics text, cookbooks, home management book, etc. After reading both relevant messages within this email, please take appropriate action and ask your friends and associates to do likewise. Thank you.--Laundry Shark

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David Andrews
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2007 9:28 PM
Subject: [Electronics-talk] House Subcommittee Vote Could End Books for the Blind

House Subcommittee Vote Could End Books for the Blind

Blind Americans Urge Congress to Restore Funds

Baltimore, Maryland (June 7, 2007): On Wednesday, June 6, the House of Representatives Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee voted to substantially underfund the Books for the Blind program of the Library of Congress.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “Since 1931, Congress has consistently supported on a bipartisan basis a national program of audio and Braille books for the blind, operated by the Library of Congress. The blind of America are shocked and disappointed that a House subcommittee has callously disregarded our literacy needs since literacy leads to independence. By appropriating only $7.5 million of the $19.1 million needed for transition from antiquated analog cassette tape technology to digital technology, the subcommittee has effectively voted to shut down the only public library available to blind Americans. The audio books produced by the Library of Congress will be useless unless the digital playback technology is provided for readers. The Talking Book program is at a crossroads because the analog tape used for the past thirty-six years has become obsolete and must be replaced for the program to continue. Virtually, all government programs, except Books for the Blind, have converted to state-of-the-art digital communication technology at a cost of billions of dollars to the taxpayers. Leaving the Books for the Blind program behind is unconscionable. Since it is early in the appropriations process, however, Congress still has time to correct this grievous error. We therefore urgently appeal to the full House Appropriations Committee, the members of the House of Representatives, and the United States Senate to provide the full $19.1 million requested by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress to begin production of digital talking books and players.”

The Talking Book program serves over 750,000 blind Americans, including blind children and an ever-increasing number of older Americans who are losing vision.
The incidence of blindness is expected to increase as the baby boom generation reaches retirement age. Therefore, the need for this essential program will only increase.

John G. Paré Jr.
Director of Public Relations
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
Telephone: (410) 659-9314, ext. 2371
Cell phone: (410) 913-3912
Fax: (410) 685-5653
Email: [email protected]

From: Hartle, Jesse
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2007 4:55 PM
Subject: Legislative Alert - Urgent Action Needed to Protect Talking Books Program


Fellow Federationists:

Urgent action is needed to respond to the Houses Legislative Branch Subcommittees proposed appropriations bill relating to the fiscal year 2008 budget request of the Library of Congress. As you all know the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) has been working on a plan to convert the Talking Books program to a digital format. The cost of this needed transition from analog cassette to digital technology is $76.4 million over a four-year period ($19.1 million for each of the next four years). The House Legislative Branch Subcommittee has only included $7.5 million for this project in the bill, which passed the subcommittee yesterday. The subcommittee also voted against an amendment raised by Congressman Ray LaHood of Illinois that sought to include full funding for the NLS upgrade. Not only is this amount just a third of what was requested by the Library of Congress, but the subcommittee further gave the Librarian of Congress the power to transfer all or part of the funds from the Books for the Blind program to other upgrades for the Library. Essentially, if the Librarian of Congress chooses to transfer funds from the $7.5 million allotted for the digital conversion program, the Talking Books program will be killed due to a lack of equipment to repair broken tape players and the simple fact that all aspects of cassette
technology will become obsolete in the next four years.

The Legislative Branch Appropriations bill will now be presented to the full Committee on Appropriations on Tuesday, July 12. It is imperative that we flood the offices of Committee members and the office of Subcommittee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz before July 12th to urge them to include the full funding for the digital upgrade and to protect these funds from being shifted within the Library of Congress to meet other needs. The Talking Books program is the largest and most essential available source of information for blind people as a whole, and we need to protect this information source with our greatest effort. Included below is a list of the members on the Appropriations Committee and their office numbers. Please contact their offices, and let them know how important the Talking Books program is to the blind. I will update you with further information on this initiative, but your calls should
start immediately.

Thanks in advance for all of your hard work.

Jesse Hartle

Government Program Specialist

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

(410) 659-9314, ext. 2233

[email protected]

House Committee on Appropriations

Full Committee - June 7, 2007

FL D, Schultz, Rep Debbie Wasserman, 202-225-7931

(alphabetical by state)

AL D, Cramer, Rep Robert E. Bud, Jr., 202-225-4801

AL R, Aderholt, Rep Robert B., 202-225-4876

AR D, Berry, Rep Marion, 202-225-4076

AZ D, Pastor, Rep Ed, 202-225-4065

CA D, Farr, Rep Sam, 202-225-2861

CA D, Honda, Rep Mike, 202-225-2631

CA D, Lee, Rep Barbara, 202-225-2661

CA D, Roybal-Allard, Rep Lucille, 202-225-1766

CA D, Schiff, Rep Adam, 202-225-4176

CA R, Calvert, Rep Ken, 202-225-1986

CA R, Lewis, Rep Jerry, 202-225-5861

CT D, DeLauro, Rep Rosa L., 202-225-3661

FL D, Boyd, Rep F. Allen, 202-225-5235

FL R, Crenshaw, Rep Ander, 202-225-2501

FL R, Weldon, Rep Dave, 202-225-3671

FL R, Young, Rep C. W. Bill, 202-225-5961

GA D, Bishop, Rep Sanford D., Jr., 202-225-3631

GA R, Kingston, Rep Jack, 202-225-5831

IA R, Latham, Rep Tom, 202-225-5476

ID R, Simpson, Rep Mike, 202-225-5531

IL D, Jackson, Rep Jesse L., Jr., 202-225-0773

IL R, Kirk, Rep Mark Steven, 202-225-4835

IL R, LaHood, Rep Ray, 202-225-6201

IN D, Visclosky, Rep Peter J., 202-225-2461

KS R, Tiahrt, Rep Todd, 202-225-6216

KY D, Chandler, Rep Ben, 202-225-4706

KY R, Rogers, Rep Hal, 202-225-4601

LA R, Alexander, Rep Rodney, 202-225-8490

MA D, Olver, Rep John W., 202-225-5335

MD D, Ruppersberger, Rep C. A. Dutch, 202-225-3061

MI D, Kilpatrick, Rep Carolyn Cheeks, 202-225-2261

MI R, Knollenberg, Rep Joe, 202-225-5802

MN D, McCollum, Rep Betty, 202-225-6631

MO R, Emerson, Rep Jo Ann, 202-225-4404

MS R, Wicker, Rep Roger F., 202-225-4306

MT R, Rehberg, Rep Dennis, 202-225-3211

NC D, Price, Rep David E., 202-225-1784

NJ D, Rothman, Rep Steve, 202-225-5061

NJ R, Frelinghuysen, Rep Rodney P., 202-225-5034

NM D, Udall, Rep Tom, 202-225-6190

NY D, Hinchey, Rep Maurice D., 202-225-6335

NY D, Israel, Rep Steve, 202-225-3335

NY D, Lowey, Rep Nita M., 202-225-6506

NY D, Serrano, Rep Jose E., 202-225-4361

NY R, Walsh, Rep James T., 202-225-3701

OH D, Kaptur, Rep Marcy, 202-225-4146

OH D, Ryan, Rep Tim, 202-225-5261

OH R, Hobson, Rep David L., 202-225-4324

OH R, Regula, Rep Ralph, 202-225-3876

PA D, Fattah, Rep Chaka, 202-225-4001

PA D, Murtha, Rep John P., 202-225-2065

PA R, Peter son, Rep John E., 202-225-5121

RI D, Kennedy, Rep Patrick J., 202-225-4911

TN R, Wamp, Rep Zach, 202-225-3271

TX D, Edwards, Rep Chet, 202-225-6105

TX D, Rodriguez, Rep Ciro D., 202-225-4511

TX R, Carter, Rep John R., 202-225-3864

TX R, Culberson, Rep John, 202-225-2571

TX R, Granger, Rep Kay, 202-225-5071

VA D, Moran, Rep Jim, 202-225-4376

VA R, Goode, Rep Virgil H., Jr., 202-225-4711

VA R, Wolf, Rep Frank R., 202-225-5136

WA D, Dicks, Rep Norm, 202-225-5916

WI D, Obey, Rep David R., Chair, 202-225-3365

WV D, Mollohan, Rep Alan B., 202-225-4172
 
Thanks for the info.

I too am aware of the "Talking Books" program and am dismayed that there is any entertainment of cutting back on the program.
Just want to do a little research on this though. Are they really cutting back on the program? Or are they cutting back funds temporarily until the technology dust settles? Example: Is it wise to invest in (example) CD burning equipment when electronic E-BOOKS are just getting off the ground? Personally I believe it is better to spend the money on tomorrow's technology (perhaps E-BOOKS) rather than yesterday's (CDs). However, I am not naive and know that once the money is gone -it is GONE.
Thanks for the heads up. I'm gonna check into this and see for myself what the problem is.
 
Laundryshark

It is tragic that the US government can spend billions and billions on a hopeless foreign war, but they can't even allot $100,000,000 to an essential service that benefits the blind and visually impaired. I have albinism and am therefor visually impaired, I am also a member of the CNIB, Canadian National Institute for the Blind. The CNIB library for the blind has been making the conversion to DAISY digital talking books since 2001. This process is now complete and we are now fully digital in Canada. I also received a permanent loan of a Victor Reader classic plus DAISY player from the CNIB loan program to listen to my books. The CNIB also has an online digital library, where you can download both talking books and ebooks as well as read current newspapers from around the country, order braille books and much more. I also receive the magazine disc once a month from the library, witch contains several popular Canadian magazines on one DAISY CD. I really hope the Library of Congress gets its full funding so you can have a digital talking book service in the US. Once you've used DAISY you never want to go back to the out dated 4 track cassette again.

Best of luck.
LIam
 
Keep the Books Talking

And here is a recent Washington Post editorial. As you can see, this is a most vital program for the blind. Ever since getting well into the computer realm for myself, I have no desire to mess with 4-track tape equipment, nor do I have any remaining dexterity for playing any kinds of vinyl or flexible discs. Furthermore, I also have a desire to someday use an official Digital Talking Book device that does not require the operation of a PC. In other words, as much as I use my computer, I would also like to do more reading *away from the computer* so the system can have a break.--Laundry Shark

 
Here's a link to humanware, manufacturers of the Victor Reader series of DASIY digital talking book players.

Liam

www.humanware.com

Home - HumanWare

HumanWare is the global leader in assistive technology and innovative products for people who are blind or have low vision.
www.humanware.com www.humanware.com
 
What Congress Doesn’t Know Could Damage the Talking Book Pro

Funny how this important basic service to blind Americans is under such scrutiny, yet, no problem throwing away tax payer dollars on this supposed "War on Terror," pork barrel projects, higher Congressional salaries, etc, etc. I tell it like it is and let the chips fall wherever they may. Talk about robbing Peter to pay Paul! The below article is from The Braille Monitor, June 2007. Again, you want some more research, here you go, along with all the previous messages within this thread.--Laundry Shark

 
Legislative Update

*The following is an email update from Michael D. Barber, President, National Federation of the Blind of Iowa.*--Laundry Shark

Below is a message from Jesse Hartle from the National office. I want to
thank all of the many people who made phone calls and sent e-mails to
Representative Latham and others yesterday. I heard from more than one
source that they were flooded with phone calls, and that's what we needed.
As you can see, we're moving in the right direction, but there's much more
to be done. Please start contacting your House Representative immediately
and let's get them behind us so we can get full funding for this most
important program!!!! Do it now!!!!! Do it now!!!!!

Michael D. Barber
-----Original Message-----
From: Hartle, Jesse [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 4:36 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: Legislative Alert - Update on Talking Books Funding



Fellow Federationists:





Thanks to your hard work over the last week, we have taken a step forward in
obtaining full funding for the Talking Books program in the fiscal year 2008
Legislative Branch appropriations bill. As you know, originally the
Subcommittee included $7.5 million of the $19.1 million requested to support
the conversion to digital technology for the Talking Books program. Today
the House Committee on Appropriations amended the Legislative Branch
appropriations bill to include an additional $5 million for this program.
While this is a victory for us, we still have work to do. We must now
contact our own individual representatives in the House and urge them to
support any amendment that will include full funding when this bill moves to
the House floor. We believe that the committee will bring this legislation
to the floor for a final vote sometime next week. As more information
becomes available on the time of this final vote, I will pass it along to
you all. This is a top priority and an essential program for blind
Americans which now requires us to exert our best efforts to achieve passage
with full funding. You may be connected to your Representative's office by
calling the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 225-3121. Please contact me
if you have any questions. Thank you all for your diligence on this matter.



Jesse Hartle

Government Programs Specialist

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
 
Bump

I know this is an off topic thread, but I think every one should take note of it. As a legally blind individual myself, I know how important it is to have access to a good viable talking book service in ones country.

Liam
 
Talking appliance Related Books

Not that far off the beaten path, especially when we consider the fact of someday being able to access more and more appliance related or general home economics/management books in this sort of a fashion, without the reliance on sighted readers. As stated most emphatically throughout this thread, plenty of Web resources and testimony in here well worth your research.--Laundry Shark
 
As a matter of fact...

I just heard an ad on the radio today for the Perkins Institute Library. I didn't catch all of it, but they were talking about access to their library, including being able to call in and hear your newspaper over the phone.

I wonder if the two campaigns are tied-in to each other???

Chuck
 
Perkins School for the Blind

You are probably refering to two separate *but cooperative* entities, first here is the Perkins School for the Blind (www.Perkins.org), in which it's library is a part of. Although now accessible online to patrons outside of Massachusetts, I'm sure this private library has priority for in state residents. Furthermore, you also have state library services for blind and handicapped residents. The NFB Newsline® part closely partners with regional and state libraries for the blind.--Laundry Shark

 
Getting Back to Focus - Digital Talking Books

As originally discussed in this thread, we are learning mainly about the blinded American citizen's version of a "public library," and how important this is to us. For more information, visit the LOC.gov/NLS Web site. Below is a direct link describing the happenings of the new Digital Talking Book conversion program.--Laundry Shark

 

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