[NFBMT] Bard Express

[James Aldrich]

Hi all,

I read about getting Bard Express a few days ago from the Montana State 
Library Newsletter!  I didn't think I would need it since many of us 
can download books with our Victor Reader Streams and other 
recorder/pplayers through their unique apps.  I thought the PC was 
going to be out of the picture before long!  I didn't have much hope 
for it since I'm still not totally sold on Windows ten! All my doubts 
quickly vanished! I was pleasantly surprised!     Enter Bard Express!

Follow the instructions in the State Library newsletter.  Go to the NLS 
Bard Site and log in as usual with your Email address and password.  
Once in, arrow through the options till you see the Bard Express 
option.  Press enter on it!  You will read a brief explanation about 
this app!  You then have the option to download!  There is no need to 
go through the microsoft store.  Press enter on the download option, 
the wizzard takes you through the download process. Once downloaded you 
will need to accept the agreement! Once done you are good to go!  I 
closed the app for a bit and came back only to find there was an 
update.  I entered onto it and my Bard Express App was updated to the 
latest version. The wizzard placed the app onto the desktop so I 
entered on the desktop icon to go into the app. One is confronted with 
the main menu. The bookshelf is near the top of the menu.  All 
downloaded books go to the bookshelf.  There is no need to fiddle with 
folders as one did in the past. I searched for books directly through 
the app and I went through some of the recently added titles.  After 
selecting a title, I tabbed till I heard download and pressed enter.  I 
could hear the progress of my download until it completed.

I did this process of getting books to my devices in two ways with two 
devices.  I sent books to either my Victor Reader Stream or my Book 
Port plus.  I placed my SD card in the card slot on my PC or I 
connected either device to the USB port. It didn't seem to make any 
difference how I sent the books to either device.  The program knew 
where to send the book and I could read what I downloaded with no 
problem! Placing books on multiple devices couldn't be easier!  I 
downloaded Gone with the Wind through the app and it took 2 to three 
minutes.  Transferring the title to the SD card took about the same 
number of minutes and maybe it was a bit faster.  I downloaded another 
book but Spectrum Internet was busy so the download of this particular 
book was slower. Transferring the book to the SD card was much faster.

This app is for NLS Bard books only!  One will need to use the other 
programs for Bookshare and those daisy books from other providers.

I highly recommend the Bard Express app.  If one needs to place a 
number of NLS books on a cartridge, thumb drive or SD Card, this is 
your app for downloading any number of books quickly to your favorite 
reading device! There is no need to download from the NLS site itself!  
The app is much faster!

Jim