Library patrons who are blind or physically handicapped can soon access selected audio magazines on the Internet thanks to new digital technology at the Library of Congress. In a pilot test to be launched in 2003, selected eligible readers will have access to periodicals produced by the national audio magazine program of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) in the Library of Congress.

The national audio magazine program currently produces 44 magazine titles in a special audio cassette format. These include Good Housekeeping, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated and U.S. News and World Report. Selected titles will be converted to digital audio files suitable for mounting on the NLS Web site. Eligible readers will be provided with electronic identifications and passwords.

"NLS continues to integrate digital technology into the national reading program in a structured, cost-effective and innovative manner," said NLS Director Frank Kurt Cylke. "Internet delivery of audio magazines is part of a long-range plan to incorporate digitaldistribution methods into all aspects of the program."

The production of audio magazines on the Internet will allow NLS to test the use of the national standard for digital talking books that was recently adopted by the American National Standards Institute and the National Information Standards Organization (ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2002).

Audio versions of magazines are comprised of relatively small digital files and will allow NLS to prepare for the more challenging task of producing digital talking books that will contain significantly larger files. NLS is in the midst of a full-scale transition from analog audio cassettes to digital talking books, a project that will involve converting approximately 30,000 titles (about 10 percent of NLS' collection) from analog tape recordings to master digital recordings and developing a digital playback device to replace the four-track tape player that has been in service for nearly three decades. NLS has approximately 730,000 audio cassette players in use worldwide today and maintains an inventory of 23 million cassettes containing audio books and magazines that it circulates free of charge to blind and physically handicapped readers. The digital talking book is anticipated to be nationally available by 2008.

NLS also distributes braille books and magazines on the Internet through its Web-Braille system. Today, more than 2,300 eligible individuals, libraries and schools can access more than 5,000 braille book titles for download or use online with a computer and a braille output device. NLS releases about 50 new braille book titles per month as well as current issues of 25 braille magazines, all of which are immediately available online to users. 

The winner of the $50 savings bond in the grand prize drawing for the summer reading program was Jordan Williams.  Our readers read over 431 hours this summer.  Congratulations to all!

IATP/TechConnect has a Low Interest Loan Program to help Illinois residents with disabilities  buy assistive technology and make home/vehicle modifications.  Loans, made at a 3.5% interest rate, can range from $500 to $40,000.  Read their July/Aug./Sept. newsletter for more information.

Two new books that may be of interest--check with your local library or the publisher.  Both are published by Reference Service Press (Phone: 916-939-9620).
    Financial Aid for the Disabled and Their 
    Families 2002-2004 by Gail Ann Schlachter & 
    R. David Weber. $40.  Funding for study,
     research, travel, training, career development,   
    emergencies, assistive technology,  
    specially-adapted housing, and more.

    Funding for Persons with Visual Impairments: Large 
    Print Edition, 2002.  $30.  Scholarships, fellowships,
    loans, grants, awards, and internships.  A disc
    version includes all of the above plus 300  additional
    funding opportunities for persons with any disability.

MITBC has a copy of a CD titled 2002-03 Student Aid Audio Guide with information on the U.S. Department of Education's federal student aid programs.  Contact your Reader Advisor if you would like to borrow it.  You can order your own copy by calling the toll-free number listed below.  You can also listen online. Braille versions of The Student Guide, Funding Your Education, and The Free Application for Federal Student Aid are also available.  Contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 to order any of these free publications.  Many other publications can be found at the Federal Student Aid Program's website. 

Voice of the Diabetic, a quarterly publication of the Diabetes Action Network of the National Federation of the Blind, is available free of charge in print, audio cassette or on-line.  Contact Voice of the Diabetic, 811 Cherry St., Suite 309, Columbia, MO 65201.  Phone: 573-875-8911.