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NARRATOR: Often times library service is the first contact
that people have with the whole department
and the Library services are unique.
We have the largest Braille collection in the United States.
But most important of all, we are able to provide public library services
to Iowans who can’t read standard print.
We also provide educational and vocational materials to our patrons,
and we provide transcription services for people who want materials
that aren’t currently available.
SARAH: Here we are in the embossing room.
We get electronic Braille on floppy disks in the mail from our volunteer transcribers.
I copy it to the computer’s hard drive,
and then I can send it to one of these embossers.
NARRATOR: We transcribe educational materials of all kinds: science books, math books,
training materials that somebody has to read for their job,
medication inserts or other personal materials, bank statements, almost everything.
VOLUNTEER: "What I’m going to be doing is binding the book… "
I’ve both benefitted from the services of the Department for the Blind,
as a student and as a person who really loves to read.
And so, anything I can do to help people have a richer life by enjoying these books
is something I really want to be a part of.
VOLUNTEER 2: In the army they used to say don’t volunteer for nothing.
Well, I don’t feel that way at all about this business.
VOLUNTEER 3: I like to volunteer because it gets me out of the house
and people care about what we do down here.
NARRATOR: Digital talking books are the wave of the future.
TRACEY MORSEK (Library Director): It’s been very exciting to be amongst
the first libraries in the nation to distribute the new Digital Talking Book Players.
Iowans have responded with great enthusiasm for this new format. It brings an enhanced sound quality…
PLAYER: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn...
TM: …and an enhanced ability to navigate through the book.
PLAYER: New location. Chapter One: You don’t know about me…
TM: I think that makes a difference for the quality of the experience for our borrowers.
People are able to listen longer when the quality of the audio is good.
TIM WEST (Digital Recording Specialist): We are one of the better recording studios in the nation.
The material that we produce is actually on par with some of the best
talking books or narrated books that you can see or get on a CD.
TM: Sometimes people think digital means technical.
But actually, in the case of the digital talking books at any rate, it just means more convenient and easier to use.
LIBRARY STAFFER: What we’re doing this morning is getting books out for
individuals who have requested books.
We send out nearly a thousand books a day.
Every day I get a call or a note from someone who tells me that
without this service, their life would be far emptier.
PATRON: Without having this service, I could be very tempted to give up reading books
because it’s a case of holding a book with one hand and holding a magnifier with my other hand.
I really prefer the talking book. It’s such a relaxing way to read.
I can have my eyes open or closed and
I will have to admit, sometimes I fall asleep I’m so comfortable.
LIBRARY STAFFER: The whole key is that we are patron-oriented.
The bottom line is that we want to serve them and that we will do whatever it takes in a day
to make sure that they get what they want.
And that philosophy is not just ours in the stacks,
that is the same philosophy that you’ll hear over and over again
throughout The Iowa Department for the Blind.