<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)">
<style>
<!--
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:Arial;
color:navy;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>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.<br>
</span></font></b><br>
<br>
<br>
At the convention and in the August/September <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Braille
Monitor</span></i> 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 <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Monitor.</span></i>
If you have access to the Internet, the <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Monitor
</span></i>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.<br>
<br>
Starting with the January issue, however, the <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Monitor</span></i>
will also be available on NFB-NEWSLINE<sup>®</sup>. Just access NEWSLINE using
any of the options available, and the <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Monitor</span></i>
will appear in the magazines section.<br>
<br>
If you
prefer reading by listening to high-quality human narration, we can still ship
the <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Monitor</span></i> 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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
Current cassette readers who wish to continue receiving the<i><span
style='font-style:italic'> Monitor</span></i> 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@nfb.org> or by postal mail at 200 East Wells Street <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>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.</span></i>
If you currently receive the <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Monitor </span></i>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 <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Monitor,</span></i>
so please think about the new options and let us know how to keep you informed.
<br>
<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'> </span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
</body>
</html>