Update April-June 1996, Vol. 19, No. 2 ISSN 0160-9203 National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped The Library of Congress NLS launches repair training nationwide A new NLS training program, the Volunteer Repair Project, for machine-repair volunteers began in January and is expected to reach most--if not all--of the estimated 1,200 machine-repair volunteers during 1996. The program is being pursued by NLS, the Telephone Pioneers of America, the Elfuns, and other repair volunteers. Launched on January 17 in Daytona Beach, Florida, and extended at training sessions on February 21 in Phoenix, Arizona; March 21 in Los Angeles, California; and April 17 in Columbus, Ohio, the program will continue throughout 1996 with a training session somewhere in the United States each month. "The training sessions are geared toward helping the leaders of repair facilities standardize and improve repair operations in their shops," explains Brad Kormann, NLS Materials Development Division chief, who heads the project. The training, he says, covers repair standards NLS is initiating nationwide to ensure that repaired machines perform at levels acceptable for patron use. The standards are explained and volunteers are trained in using them to evaluate a machine. The primary focus of the training is on three cassette-machine repairs that NLS identified through an independent contractor study as the ones most frequently needed. Sessions use "train the trainer" concept "Because it would not be possible for NLS trainers to visit all 288 repair facilities within a reasonable time," Kormann explains, "we and the Telephone Pioneers have designed a `train the trainer' project that will reach all but the smallest groups within one year." The plan, he says, is to train twelve repair volunteers per session and equip them to go out and train others, with their trainees also extending the training in an expanding pyramid that will reach all of the machine-repair personnel this year. "One representative from each repair group of three or more members (a total of 135 facilities) will attend a one-day training session at a network library, then return home and pass on the information to the rest of the repair group," Kormann says. He stresses that the success of the "train the trainer" effort rests on the follow-through by local repair groups. "The strength of the pyramid we are creating depends on the individual volunteer," he says. "It is our hope that this training will lead to a better product for our readers and to a better use of the volunteers' time." Sessions focus on hands-on practice The training sessions focus on hands-on practice. Sessions begin with a review of the machine-repair program and an explanation of NLS's new machine-repair standards. Work sessions follow, addressing the three targeted repair areas: head replacement, torque, and speed. Trainees learn by assuming one or more of three roles: trainer, student, and evaluator. First, trainees are asked which of them can already successfully perform head replacement and alignment. Those who "test out" become assistant "trainers." Then the NLS trainer and assistant "trainers" show individual "students" how to change a head, and students follow along, each actually changing the head of a machine. Next, students practice until they are ready to be tested. Meanwhile, participants designated as "evaluators" observe the training process. When a student is ready, he or she is given a different machine and asked to change the head. After the head is changed, the trainer checks the machine against the machine-repair standards--"go" or "no go," says Kormann--and the process continues until the student successfully repairs the machine. The evaluator provides constructive feedback to the trainer on his or her training procedure. The same process is repeated for the other two problem areas. NLS equips new trainers Trainees who successfully complete the session receive certificates of accomplishment and baseball caps with machine-repair insignia and are ready to train others. Each new trainer receives structured lesson plans outlining the task, condition, and standard for each of the common repairs, along with a kit containing meters, test tapes, strobe disks, and other parts. "This is the first time we have been able to offer the machine-repair volunteers the equipment really needed to check the machines and ensure they are adequately repaired," Kormann says, adding that he expects the training and new equipment to significantly boost the number of repaired machines that can be successfully returned to service. (For more information about the Volunteer Repair Project, see _Update,_ October-December 1995 and January-March 1996.) (NLS trainer team: Brad Kormann: heads the team and organizes the overall effort; Michael Moodie: handles the research, budgeting, and logistics; Al Lakomyj and Kevin Watson: provide repair training; and Bob Kost and Tom McLaughlin: explain the repair standards and train volunteers.) (photo caption: Arizona library staffers Wayne Blivens and Lynda Hutchison learn to train machine-repair volunteers. Photo by Jeanie Pawlowski.) (photo caption: Robert Hansen and Robert Voss of Columbus, Ohio, practice their skills in testing repaired cassette machines. Photo by Al Lakomyj.) (photo caption: Port Charlotte Pioneer Roy Martin scrutinizes a capstan strobe disk during a VRP session in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo by Dorothy Minor.) (photo caption: NLS's Tom McLaughlin lends a hand to a southern California trainee. Photo by Carl Nelson.) ### Schedule of VRP Sessions Date Training location Geographic area covered* Jan. 17 Daytona Beach, Florida Florida Feb. 21 Phoenix, Arizona Arizona, New Mexico Mar. 20 Los Angeles, California Southern California Apr. 17 Columbus, Ohio Ohio, northern Kentucky, lower Michigan, Indiana May 22 Trenton, New Jersey Connecticut, New Jersey, downstate New York June 20 Watertown, Massachusetts Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, upstate New York, Rhode Island, Vermont July 17 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Northern Illinois, upper Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin Aug. 21 Denver, Colorado Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming Sept. 18 Jefferson City, Missouri Arkansas, southern Illinois, Kansas, southern Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska Oct. 16 Atlanta, Georgia Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina Nov. 20 Sacramento, California Northern California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington Dec. 4 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas * A training session for the mid-Atlantic states of Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania will be scheduled later in 1996. Other states not listed either were covered - during the pilot phase of the project or have no repair groups of three or more members. ### Libraries honor Telephone Pioneers Regional libraries in Arizona, California, and Ohio honored Telephone Pioneers at ceremonies early this year. The events are part of the ongoing series of Pioneer recognition activities that NLS expects to extend to all libraries during 1996. Recognition plaques will be placed at fifty-seven regional libraries, and an outreach campaign with coverage in newspapers will also be developed. With ceremonies like these, NLS plans to honor all Pioneers for the sustained support they have given in repairing talking-book machines. Arizona The Arizona regional library hosted more than seventy Pioneers and their spouses at a buffet luncheon in February. Also attending were state librarian Arlene Bansal; Pioneer Region 3 coordinator Jim Wilson, executive director and chief operating officer Jarrel Boatright, and director of marketing and finance Walt Armijo; and NLS Materials Development Division chief Brad Kormann and other NLS staff who were in the area for "train the trainer" sessions. (See article above.) Regional librarian Linda Montgomery emceed the event. Kormann spoke on the Pioneers' contribution to the talking-book program and presented a "Commendation for Service" plaque to Boatright, who accepted it on behalf of the Pioneers. "With this and other ceremonies that will be held around the country this year, we at NLS hope to honor this special national relationship with the Pioneers," Kormann said. "Specifically, today, we thank the Arizona Pioneers for their zealous service and look forward to a continued and fruitful association in the future." Kormann announced that during 1995, seventy-eight Arizona Pioneers repaired more than 4,942 cassette machines and 162 record players. He also cited their contribution to a major reclamation project, which has been operating since 1990. The Reclamation Center, housed in a former AT&T cable plant, is designed to reclaim usable components to be returned to repair operations and to recycle the scrap components using environmentally approved methods. In 1995, Pioneers worked 1,702 hours and shipped both reclaimed and unique parts to not only Arizona but fifteen other states as well. More than 740 machines have been recovered. Regional librarian Linda Montgomery adds that during 1995, volunteers also repaired 5,814 cassette books for the library and assisted in a project to "weed out" damaged recorded discs. Volunteers helped review about twelve thousand RDs between August 1992 and February 1996. California Pioneer machine-repair volunteers of southern California were honored at a morning ceremony at Braille Institute of America on March 21. The ceremony included words of thanks from library patrons, from the oldest, a 105-year-old woman to the youngest, a 4-year-old girl. Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg and County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky also thanked the volunteers for their contributions. Leslie E. Stocker, president of Braille Institute, added words of appreciation. Director of library services Henry C. Chang noted that the library's machine-repair program ranked among the best in the nation in a recent study of repair quality. Ohio The two Ohio regional libraries (Cleveland, Cincinnati) combined their recognition event with a conference on machine repair and with the area's Volunteer Repair Project training session. The activities took place in Columbus under the auspices of the Ohio State Library, which serves as the machine-lending agency for both regionals. The appreciation plaque was presented to the Pioneers at a banquet on April 15, the first day of the three-day event. (photo caption: Henry Chang, director of Braille Institute Library Services; Brad Kormann, NLS Materials Development chief; and Leslie Stocker, president of Braille Institute, present appreciation plaque to Jarrel Boatright, executive director of the Telephone Pioneers of America. Photo by Braille Institute.) ### National Audio Equipment Advisory Committee Advisory group considers products and planning Reports on equipment production, machine repair, and proposed product changes, and updates on technology projects highlighted the three-day National Audio Equipment Advisory Committee meeting at NLS on March 25-27. The committee, composed of consumers, librarians, and repair volunteers, also made thirty-nine specific recommendations for NLS to consider. Status reports Before formulating their recommendations, committee members received briefings from NLS staff about the status of current projects. Reports covered the production of the standard cassette machine (C-1 and C-2) and contract repairs; the planned production of batteries, solar chargers, and extension levers; the cassette-machine availability strategy; the national Volunteer Repair Project; and equipment inventory. NLS staff also provided an overview of proposed equipment changes involving bar coding, case cleaning, and an adjustment to keep dirt out of the volume-control mechanism. They also reported on the production status of the new braille container and discussed the proposal to phase out flexible discs and transfer magazines to cassette format. John Cookson, head of the NLS Engineering Section, reported on the work of the Technology Assessment and Research Program (TARP). Staff also reviewed developments in the digital talking-book model, digital audio coding, and time-scale-modification research. Bill West, NLS audio book production specialist, gave a review of digital original mastering and duplication experiments. Recommendations Among the committee's top recommendations are the following: --- NLS should not withdraw the older-model disc players (A-80 talking-book machines) from service. Some patrons find the newer A-1 model hard to use, largely because the tone arm is removed from the record by pushing down rather than lifting up. --- NLS should expand the repair program to include the E-1 (easy) cassette machine, which will remain in service for many years. These machines are currently repaired under warranty or contract. --- NLS should redesign the cassette-book machine case for easier cleaning. --- NLS should keep libraries informed about the time schedule for barcoding machines and the technical requirements for implementation. The committee understands that NLS will begin testing production samples in June. --- NLS should encourage the recruitment of new Pioneers, Elfuns, and volunteers from other organizations to work in repair shops located in library facilities. --- NLS should pursue the establishment of more amplifier board reconditioning centers. The committee also voted to commend NLS for the Volunteer Repair Project and to express appreciation for the valuable service provided by the Telephone Pioneers, Elfuns, and other volunteers in the machine repair program. (Committee members Consumer representatives Carolyn Garrett, American Council of the Blind; Gerard McDonnell, Blinded Veterans Association; Ron Whaley, Midlands Region; C.E. "Ed" McDonald, National Federation of the Blind; Douglas Hall, Southern Region Network library representatives Judy Bow, Midlands Region; Gordon Reddic, Northern Region; Rebecca Sherrill, Southern Region; Doyle Johnson, Western Region Volunteer repair representatives Telephone Pioneers of America: Jerry Adamson, Midlands Region; Carl Gingrich, Northern Region; J. Walter Alfred, Southern Region; Richard Iverson, Western Region. Richard A. Meyer, Elfuns national representative) (photo caption: (l. to r.) J. Walter Alfred, Richard Meyer, Jerry Adamson, Richard Iverson, Carl Gingrich, Kevin Watson, and Tom McLaughlin confer on audio equipment topics. Photo by Jim Higgins.) ### Profile Georgia transcriber dies Dorothy McCarthy Nugent, transcriber for the Atlanta Braille Volunteers (ABV), died July 31, 1995. Since moving to Atlanta in 1984, she had contributed more than 3,780 hours of service to ABV. "Dorothy spent many hours structuring and proofreading textbooks needed by the local schools," says Evelyn McMains, ABV newsletter editor. "The night she died, she was proofreading until 10:00 p.m." "Dorothy's vast wealth of information and dedication to braille inspires us to keep aiming for the highest goal of achievement," she adds. Mrs. Nugent was a member of the National Braille Association since 1967 and received its Noteworthy Award for 1,095 hours in 1990 and its Meritorious Award in 1993 after volunteering 2,884 hours. Her career as a volunteer began in 1962, when she started working for the Xavier Society for the Blind in New York City. After she earned her certification in literary braille transcribing in August 1964, she became the supervisor of braille transcription at Xavier, a position she held until she moved to Atlanta. ### New transcribers' guides compiled _Braille Code for Columned Materials and Tables,_ recently adopted by the Braille Authority of North America, is now available in print and braille from the NLS Braille Development Section. Certified transcribers who work extensively with tables and columned materials may request a free copy from Braille Development Section, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20542. The code is also available for purchase from the American Printing House for the Blind, 1839 Frankfort Avenue, Louisville, KY 40206, for $3.20 in print and $28.17 in braille. A comprehensive index for _English Braille American Edition 1994_ is being compiled. Along with the completed index, clarifications to Rule VII and any additional clarifications approved at that time will be prepared for distribution. The availability of this material will be announced in a future issue of _Update._ (Recent clarifications to "Rule VII--Numbers and Roman Numerals" are discussed in this issue's Student-instructor dialog, below.) The revision of the _Instruction Manual for English Braille_ (blue book), the manual for the literary braille transcribing course, is expected to take several more months. ### Braille student-instructor dialog The Braille Development Section (BDS) receives numerous questions concerning a variety of problems in braille transcribing. This article is intended to clarify Rule VII of the official code, _English Braille American Edition 1994._ The dialog format is used to help present the questions and answers clearly. Student: I am transcribing some material that contains a lot of fractions. I have a number of questions about how to write them in braille. First, when two fractions or a fraction and a whole number are connected by a dash in print, should the dash be changed to a hyphen in braille? Instructor: No. Follow the print. Student: When two fractions or a fraction and a whole number are connected by a hyphen or a dash, should the number sign be repeated after the hyphen or the dash? Instructor: Yes. Regardless of sequence, when two fractions or a fraction and a whole number are connected by a hyphen or a dash, the number sign must be repeated after the hyphen or the dash. This is a clarification to Section 28C of the official code. Examples: #1/3-#2/3 #5/8--#3/4 #1/2-#1 #10--#1/10 Student: I understand that when one is brailling a mixed number, the fraction is joined to the whole number by a hyphen, and the number sign is not repeated before the fraction. However, should the number sign be repeated when two mixed numbers, a mixed number and a whole number, or a mixed number and a simple fraction are connected by a hyphen or a dash? Instructor: Definitely. Examples: #1--#1-1/2 #2-5/8-#3-3/8 #1-1/2-#2 #1/2-#1-1/2-#2-#2-1/2 Student: In a mixed number such as 3-1/4, can the fraction 1/4 be carried over to a new line? Instructor: No. Student: In print, a whole number is often shown separated from a fraction by a space, as in stock quotations. How is this situation treated in braille? Instructor: A whole number that is shown separated from a fraction by a space in print should be treated as a mixed number in braille. Example: #85-5/16. Student: Are decimal fractions transcribed in a similar manner? Instructor: Yes. I will discuss decimal fractions in more detail in the next issue of _Update._ ### Volunteers master new skills During the months of January, February, and March 1996, certificates in literary braille transcribing were awarded to twenty-nine persons. LITERARY BRAILLE TRANSCRIBERS Arizona Robert J. Sterrett, Douglas Arkansas Nathanial J. Banks, Wrightsville M. Helen Vargo, Conway Terry W. Varner, Wrightsville California Peg Bolinger, Claremont Mary Sumiyoshi Doi, San Juan Capistrano Oscar E. Fonseca, Coronado Martha A. McDowell, Ventura Donna Monroe, Concord Colorado Patricia Traggiai, Colorado Springs Connecticut William Henry, Cheshire Delaware Donald Justin Simmons, Smyrna Florida Leonard O. Hilder Jr., Ormond Beach Gwen G. Rogers, Sarasota Illinois Vileen O. Shah, Chicago Iowa Harry Bernard Johnson, Anamosa E. Duane Kellar, Anamosa Kansas James A. Ellison, El Dorado Maryland Christina Marie Strachan, Hyattsville Michigan Lawrence C. Rochon, Northville Nevada Donald Layton Stamey Jr., Indian Springs Richard A. Stephens, Indian Springs New Mexico Gail N. McAssey, Alamogordo New York Margaret B. Davidson, Fairport Kimberly A. Mietus, Rochester Charles J. Natoli, Cortland South Dakota Emerich Chromcik II, Yankton Texas Timothy Ray Gerhardt, Seguin Wisconsin Judith Sherry, Twin Lakes ### Meetings National Braille Association (NBA) Friday, October 25-Saturday, October 26, fall meetings and workshops, Ramada Plaza, Minnetonka, Minnesota. Thursday, April 24-Saturday, April 26, 1997, twentieth National Conference, Wyndham Hotel, Austin, Texas. For information on these meetings, contact National Braille Association, Three Townline Circle, Rochester, NY 14623-2513; (716) 427-8260. California Transcribers and Educators of the Visually Handicapped (CTEVH) Thursday, April 17-Saturday, April, 19, 1997, CTEVH XXXVIII Annual Conference, Cathedral Hill Hotel, San Francisco, California. For information about this meeting, contact Mike Cole, 400 Adams Street, Albany, CA 94706; (510) 559-1101. ### Nevada recording program celebrates one year The Nevada Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped began its recording program in March 1995 and currently has twenty-five volunteers who narrate books about Nevada and by Nevada authors. Titles being recorded include _The Basque Hotel, The Governor's Mansion,_ and _Violent Land_ by Robert Laxalt; _Life among the Piutes_ by Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins; and _Warrior Bride_ and _Saxon Bride_ by Tamara Leigh. Volunteers also record articles from the bimonthly _Nevada_ magazine. The combined winter-summer 1996 issues of _SilverLining_ will be the first Nevada regional library newsletter to be available on cassette for clients. It will be included as side 3 of _Nevada_ magazine. Sixteen locally produced titles were available for circulation as of April 1996. All books have a prefix code of NVA, and information has been submitted to NLS for inclusion in the _Union Catalog._ These titles are available to other network libraries through interlibrary loan. Regional librarian Keri Putnam thanks all who helped the library design and set up the two-booth studio. "If it weren't for the guidance and support of NLS Audio Book Production Specialist Bill West in deciding what equipment to purchase and how to design the actual recording area, I would have been lost," she says and adds, "The feedback from other libraries and a trip to Arizona to see their program were an essential and very valuable part of getting Nevada's program online." One of the studio booths is set up for narrator-monitor recording using an Otari MX-50-II reel-to-reel tape recorder, and the other is used for reviewing or self-recording using a Tascam 22-2 reel-to-reel tape recorder. The reading room is used for tracking titles in process and for reviewing on another Tascam. The duplication equipment is a Telex RCX 6120 Type 2 system with an additional master-to-slave module. The library purchased recording, reviewing, and duplicating equipment and furniture and accessories for the two booths and reading room with LSCA funds. (This article was submitted by Nevada librarian Keri Putnam.) ### _Update_ is published quarterly by: National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped Library of Congress Washington, DC 20542 Correspondence should be addressed to Publications and Media Section. Coordinating editor: Freddie Peaco Publication editor: Ruth Nieland Braille student-instructor dialog: John Wilkinson ### *** 5/29/96 (gft) *** Comments to: lcmarvel@loc.gov