[blParent] finding textbook resources

[Robin]

There’s also a service called Learning Ally. I believe there is a fee to use this service 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 2, 2021, at 4:58 PM, Deborah Kent Stein via BlParent <blparent at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> Dear Dawn,
> 
> This all sounds very frustrating. Have you tried Bookshare? You can download
> books in many file formats and read them on a Braille device or get them
> printed out in hard copy Braille. Because they work with many students they
> have an extensive collection of textbooks on all subjects. 
> 
> Debbie
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlParent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of dawn
> stumpner via BlParent
> Sent: Monday, August 2, 2021 2:42 PM
> To: blparent at nfbnet.org
> Cc: dawn stumpner <dawn205120 at gmail.com>
> Subject: [blParent] finding textbook resources
> 
> Hi
>     I have once again run into difficulties finding material in braille for
> what I would think would be a popular subject: a Spanish textbook.  I have
> been teaching my teenage son Spanish, and although I speak Spanish well, I
> am at a point where I feel like a textbook with organized grammar points and
> vocabulary topics would be very useful.  I contacted my NLS library, which
> is currently in Utah, but they had only one textbook, which I tried but
> which was more of a long list of grammatical features than a set of lessons.
> They did say that another textbook, also decades old, might be available
> through inter-library loan, so I thought that would be a good start and
> waited to receive it that way.  When I hadn't heard anything for a couple of
> weeks, I asked if I could contact the agency from which it was coming.  They
> said library patrons could not do that, and that the NLS library could, but
> that they'd prefer to wait a few more weeks before contacting them and that
> it likely was not available and there were no other titles.
>     I asked them whether it might be possible to borrow books through an
> inter-library loan or any other way from another state's NLS library as I
> think some states such as California, Texas, Arizona, etc.  which have many
> Spanish speakers would be a good resource to find a textbook.  I also asked
> if there is a repository somewhere that might have braille books that have
> been produced for blind high school and college students and that can lend
> them out or make them available somehow as it would seem odd for such a
> valuable resource of books to just be destroyed or put into indefinite
> storage.  They didn't respond to either of those two questions in the email,
> but just responded that if I had the title of a specific book, I could
> request it.
>     I know there are some resources in recorded format, but I need braille
> textbooks to see spelling, accents, etc.
>     This is not the first time I have run into difficulty finding braille
> books on seemingly popular topics such as workout routines, health issues,
> popular fantasy authors, etc.  It's also common that I ask two or three
> related questions and have all but one question ignored.  I am always very
> polite in my requests, but they don't even sign their names in their emails,
> so it's hard to know from one time to the next if I'm even talking to the
> same person.
>     Does anyone know if there is a repository (or repositories) of books
> high school and college students have had brailled and then not taken
> afterward? What happens to them? Do you know if you can borrow books from
> other states in or out of the NLS system? Also, do you know if it is
> possible to request to belong to a different NLS library? My recorded books
> come from Milwaukee, and I used to get my braille books from Chicago, which
> worked out very well as I am in Wisconsin.  Then several years ago, I was
> switched to Utah for my braille books, which is much farther away and has
> not been as pleasant of an experience.  Has anyone else had these kinds of
> difficulties?
>     I would appreciate any suggestions.
>     Thanks a lot!
>               Dawn Stumpner
> 
> _______________________________________________
> BlParent mailing list
> BlParent at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blparent_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> BlParent:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blparent_nfbnet.org/dkent5817%40att.net
> 
> 
> -- 
> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> BlParent mailing list
> BlParent at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blparent_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlParent:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blparent_nfbnet.org/rgmayr%40gmail.com