[Nfbn-announce] The Braille Monitor and the lastCassette Edition

[Amy Buresh]

Hello folks. I particularly need your help in spreading this message. Please
see that it gets to chapter meetings and affiliate gatherings. We do not
want people to do without the Braille Monitor so please make what follows
widely known.

 

At the convention and in the August/September Braille Monitor we announced
that the December issue 2011 will be the last one produced on cassette.
There are, of course, optional ways for cassette readers to continue to get
the Monitor. If you have access to the Internet, the Monitor can be read or
downloaded in Microsoft Word, as an audio MP3 file, or as a Daisy recording,
meaning that it can be easily navigated by article. If you want to read the
magazine in print or Braille, we continue to provide it in these formats.

Starting with the January issue, however, the Monitor will also be available
on NFB-NEWSLINER. Just access NEWSLINE using any of the options available,
and the Monitor will appear in the magazines section.

            If you prefer reading by listening to high-quality human
narration, we can still ship the Monitor to you by mail, but instead of a
cassette tape, you will receive a USB drive. These are sometimes called
thumb drives or memory sticks. The digital player provided by the National
Library Service has two slots for playing recorded material. The most
familiar one is on the front of the unit. It accepts the special cartridge
used by the Library. The second slot is found on the right side of the unit
near the headphone jack, and, unless you have removed it or it has become
dislodged, the slot is covered by a protective rubber pad. Removing this pad
reveals an indentation in the unit where the USB drive is inserted. It will
go into the unit in only one direction, so, if you encounter resistance,
flip the drive over and try inserting it again. The main cartridge slot used
to play books from the Library must be empty before you insert the memory
stick in the right side of the player. If the main slot has a cartridge in
it, the digital player will ignore the USB drive.

Once the USB drive has been inserted, the player should function just as it
does when you are reading a book. Pressing the rewind or advance keys moves
back or ahead by five seconds. Pressing the previous element or next element
keys moves from article to article or, in some cases, moves to the next
section in an article in which divisions are present. If you remove the USB
drive to use the player for other material, when you again insert it,
reading should resume from the place you stopped reading.

The USB drive will be every bit as functional as the cassettes we have been
providing. The audio quality should be improved, along with the navigation,
and the drive should last many years. If you think you will want to refer to
an issue again, you are welcome to keep the drive, but, because they cost
more than cassettes and can be used hundreds of times, readers willing to
return the USB drives are requested to use the return address label that
will be sent along with your drive. This will save money that we can use for
other programs.

Current cassette readers who wish to continue receiving the Monitor after
December must contact Marsha Dyer. She can handle subscription requests for
print, Braille, email, or USB drive. Call her at (410) 659-9314, ext. 2344.
If you do not reach her directly, please leave your information on the
Publications line voicemail. Please be assured that all voicemail messages
will be received, and your information will be updated prior to each month's
issue being mailed out. She can also receive your request by email when you
write her at <mdyer at nfb.org> or by postal mail at 200 East Wells Street at
Jernigan Place, Baltimore, MD 21230. Be sure Marsha has your first and last
name (if leaving her a voicemail, please spell both), your address, and the
format in which you want to receive the Monitor. If you currently receive
the Monitor in another format, you need do nothing; your subscription will
continue. But please understand that, if you are currently a cassette
reader, doing nothing will mean you will stop receiving the Monitor, so
please think about the new options and let us know how to keep you informed.


 

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