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Turning up the volume on reading

Great Lakes Talking Books available to community

James Armstrong, of Marquette, uses a Talking Book device to listen to novels pertaining to a variety of subjects. He is helped through Great Lakes Talking Books. (Journal photo by Christie Bleck)

MARQUETTE — James Armstrong, 75, of Harvey, used to read books voraciously.

“I was an avid reader,” Armstrong said. “I read anything.”

Now that he suffers from macular degeneration, which effectively has taken away his sight, he can’t read — but only in the traditional sense.

Talking books are a way of allowing him to enjoy that pastime.

How cool is a talking book machine? Apparently cool enough that hundreds of people in the region use it.

However, it’s not a toy but a device that allows people with visual and physical disabilities to enjoy audio books.

The Library of Congress provides audio book services for people with those disabilities, which began through an act of Congress in 1931 to provide books in an embossed format to visually impaired adults. It was amended in 1934 to include sound recordings — talking books — and was expanded in 1952 to include children.

However, many qualified people don’t know about the program, said Lynn Buckland-Brown, reader adviser for Great Lakes Talking Books. She is based at the GLTB’s Reader Advisory and Outreach Center at 1615 Presque Isle Ave., Marquette.

Through a network of coordinating libraries, loan materials are sent to adults and children who cannot read regular print because they are legally blind, visually impaired, unable to hold a book or turn pages, or unable to read because of a reading disability resulting from an organic dysfunction.

GLTB, an affiliate of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, in Washington, D.C., offers reading materials in several formats: braille or recorded format, mailed to patrons for free or downloaded online or through a mobile app.

Not only do talking books help people with disabilities, it’s convenient.

“You have two to three months to listen to a book,” Buckland-Brown said. “There’s never any overdue fines. Everything is free, and a lot of the books we have are from the publisher, so they’re recorded by professionals.”

There is no charge for the services or to mail materials to and from the Braille and Talking Book Library in Lansing, where the audio books and machines are located.

The Braille and Audio Reading Download is available to library patrons who have an internet connection and an email address. Books can be downloaded after signing up for the service at www.nlsbard.loc.gov.

Buckland-Brown said that in her area, which includes the Upper Peninsula and downstate Crawford and Alpena counties, about 580 people take part in the program.

The talking book machine itself resembles a child’s toy, with buttons for “talk,” “volume,” “play/stop,” “speed” and “tone.” However, an adult can listen to “The DaVinci Code” and other novels.

Great Lakes Talking Books also can be customized.

Armstrong said his favorite books are mysteries and anything related to the Upper Peninsula. However, he also gets recommendations from GLTB, which have allowed him to read about topics like World War I, a subject he might not have previously considered.

“It’s really more that they select things so you can pick what you really want,” Armstrong said.

It also helps that talking books options include choices with or without “bad language,” which comes in handy for Armstrong since he babysits his grandchildren.

Buckland-Brown said institutions, including regional dialysis centers, may register for the program.

“They qualify because you can’t hold a book when you’re having dialysis,” Buckland-Brown said. “You’re all hooked up to machines.”

Seniors also are prime candidates for the program.

“Macular degeneration is a really serious problem with older people,” Buckland-Brown said.

To learn more about the registration procedure, call 800-562-8985 extension 0 or 906-228-7697. Application forms, which are available at the Great Lakes Talking Books Advisory and Outreach Center, can be mailed there. The email address is tb@greatlakestalkingbooks.org.

Buckland-Brown wants more people to know about Great Lakes Talking Books, and hopes to set up demonstration sites for the program in regional libraries.

“People that have been avid readers, and then they can’t read anymore, it’s really filled a niche in their lives,” Buckland-Brown said. “And they have something to talk about with their family and friends.”

Christie Bleck can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.

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