[NFBNJ] the friends fall 2020 newsletter.

Thu Oct 29 04:10:12 UTC 2020

Greetings to all!
Received from Ken Lawrence.
Please read and share with others.

Joe

From: ken lawrence
Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2020 12:57 PM
To: joe ruffalo
Subject: the friends fall 2020 newsletter.

Hi joe here is the friends of the library newsletter.  Please share to our 
distribution list.  Message follows ****                greetings fellow 
federationists. Here is the fall 2020 newsletter of the friends of the NJ 
library for the blind and physically handicapped.  It does contain complete 
info on how to join.  Newsletter follows.  ****

THE FRIENDS OF THE NEW JERSEY LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND AND HANDICAPPED, INC.

FALL 2020 NEWSLETTER

The mission of the Friends shall be to support and promote the services and 
programs of the NJ State Library Talking Book and Braille Center.

Message from the President

Greetings members and perspective members,

This amazing year continues.  While the library remains closed for in person 
work the business of the support system that is the Friends of the NJ 
Library goes on.  All the officers were reelected in our June meeting which 
took place via teleconference.  Folks are still able to download from the 
BARD site and folks can participate in and are partaking in library 
services.  I have my BARD account going thanks to a bit of help from our 
director Adam.  All is a go for the start of my second term as your 
President.  During this time, our primary and biggest concern is of course 
building up our membership and the outreach to all of the blind in NJ and to 
all of the different organizations that serve the blind and who are 
contributors to blindness organizations.  We want to see a big turnout on 
our conference line the day after my birthday when I gavel things to order. 
The complete info of how to join appears later in this newsletter.  Our golf 
event is likely as of this writing off so we will likely discuss the fund 
raising and outreach efforts the Friends will be doing in this quite 
different time, but that effort does go on.  As your President, I can say I 
am ready for the challenge and hope all our regular members and the new ones 
that hopefully will be coming in are ready to step up to the plate.  Looking 
forward to seeing you all virtually at our meeting on Saturday December 5, 
2020.  Respectfully submitting, Ken Lawrence, President of the Friends of 
the NJ Library for the blind.

Meeting Information

The next meeting of the Friends will be held on Saturday, December 5, 2020 
from 10:00 AM until 12:00 PM.  With respect to our safety, we have decided 
to conduct this meeting via conference call.  We hope you will consider 
joining us for an informative and important meeting.

Please note that this is not a toll-free number.  Please dial 605-468-8005. 
Enter the access code 425 373#.  You will be asked to press 1 after the 
access code is repeated correctly.

Annual Dues are due

Our new fiscal year started on July 1, 2020. If you have not already paid, 
please do now.  Dues should be mailed in. A membership form is attached to 
this newsletter.  Individual member dues are $10.00 and $25.00 for a family. 
For those that normally pay at the meeting please pay by mail.

TBBC Update by Adam Szczepaniak

The Capitol Complex remains closed to state workers.  All state workers 
continue to work offsite.  This includes the State Library and TBBC.  TBBC 
has received permission for a limited presence in the library since early 
September.

While staff has been working offsite, all services offered by the library 
are available.  Staff are returning all telephone and email messages usually 
in a few hours depending upon the volume of calls.  Staff can remotely 
access patron accounts and perform all needed services such as ordering 
books.

Audiobooks are duplicated and mailed each day.  While incoming mail is 
quarantined for health reasons, TBBC can send out additional digital 
cartridges without waiting for a cartridge to be returned.

Since TBBC has been placing multiple books on a cartridge, patrons can have 
as many or as few titles as they wish.  Also, since last August no patron 
has to wait for a book to be returned.  TBBC can produce as many copies of 
an audiobook as is requested.

Digital talking book players as well as other equipment requests have been 
fulfilled.  NLS has not reported on the next generation of digital players 
but TBBC continues to have a supply to meet demands.

NLS’s program on the Braille eReader Pilot Project began over the summer. 
TBBC was placed in the second phase of this pilot.  With staff on site, we 
hope to begin our participation in November.

TBBC’s golf tournament has been postponed and rescheduled for June 2021 at 
the request of the Bedens Brook Country Club.

CONTACTING TBBC

The building may be closed, but they are still working! If you want to get 
in touch with TBBC, please call the 800 number, 800-792-8322, and dial 
extension 861 to leave a message.

Because returning calls to you are coming from staff working outside the 
library, they will be marked as "private" or "anonymous." If you block 
private or anonymous numbers, we will be unable to call you back.

All returning calls will only be made by staff on weekdays from 9 AM until 3 
PM.

Or you can email TBBC at tbbc at njstatelib.org

Options for Reading the Friends’ Newsletter

The newsletter is available in Large Print, E-Mail, on our website 
http://friendsnjlibraryfortheblind.org and for those who do not have 
computers, by telephone on Newsline. You can access these Newsletters with a 
Newsline subscription and a touch-tone telephone. If you do not have a 
Newsline subscription, contact Reader Services at the New Jersey Talking 
Book and Braille Center at 1-800-792-8322 to get signed up for a Newsline 
subscription.  If you have a Newsline subscription, but do not remember your 
login information, contact Christian Riehl at the above number extension 
821. Once you have secured your login information, dial in to the service by 
calling 1-888-882-1629, or the local dial up number provided to you for 
accessing the service. Follow the prompts for logging in and reading the 
Newsletters. Choose option 2 off the main menu for your state’s information 
channel, followed by option for the blindness groups, then the option for 
the Friends Newsletters. Happy reading.

Please check out our website for information on community services as well 
as present and past copies of our newsletters at 
http://friendsnjlibraryfortheblind.org/

THE FRIENDS OF THE NJ LIBRARY for the BLIND MEMBERSHIP FORM

Name: ___________________________________________________

Address: _________________________________________________

City, State, Zip: ____________________________________________

Telephone (with area code): __________________________________

E-mail address: ____________________________________________

Preferred Media Format:

LP____  E-mail_____ or None I will read online_____

I am eligible for TBBC Services: Yes ___ No ___

Individual Member $10.00 ___   Family Membership $25.00 ___

Donation $ _________

Donation in Memory or Honor of Name: __________________________

Send acknowledgment for memorial gift to:

Name: ____________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________

City, State, Zip: ______________________________________________

I have made a bequest in my will _____

Please return this form together with your check payable to:

The Friends of the NJLBH

PO Box 434, Woodbridge, NJ 07095

EM 10/20

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

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