[AI] Fw: Recording Library of West Texas has new name, services

[Pradeep banakar]

----- Original Message ----- 
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To: <BlindNews at BlindProgramming.com>
Sent: Monday, May 28, 2007 6:13 AM
Subject: Recording Library of West Texas has new name, services


> MyWestTexas.com, TX, USA
> Sunday, May 27, 2007
>
> Recording Library of West Texas has new name, services
>
> By Stephanie Miller, Staff Writer
>
> Radio reading service to launch next year, authorities say
>
> With a new name and more services to provide its listeners, the Recording 
> Library of West Texas offers a variety of free services with more on the 
> horizon.
>
> The Recording Library of West Texas' mission is to provide print material, 
> translated into audio form, to any child or adult with a visual or 
> physical impairment or reading disability, in order to improve the quality 
> of their lives and allow them to participate more fully in the community, 
> according to its Web site.
>
> Some of its programs include professional quality recorded books, the 
> Texas Talking Book Program, church outreach and the Tape Lending Library.
>
> The services are available to anyone who cannot read print due to visual 
> impairment, physical disability or reading disability, executive director 
> Trish Speight said.
>
> Services are free and are available on a temporary or permanent basis, she 
> added. "We have had listeners who have been receiving cancer treatment and 
> found themselves too weak to read traditionally," Speight said.
>
> The organization was formerly known as the Recording Library for the Blind 
> & Physically Handicapped and was founded in 1963 by Midland resident Mayme 
> Martin, who founded the Tape Lending Library, according to documents.
>
> The name was changed in 1985 to the Recording Library for the Blind and 
> Handicapped Inc. Its recent name change was done to differentiate it from 
> other agencies that have similar names, Speight said.
>
> The Recording Library for the Blind and Dyslexic, which has offices in 
> Austin and in West Texas, is one example, Speight said.
>
> "The second reason would be to emphasize our location. We want people to 
> know we're located in West Texas," Speight continued. "We want people to 
> know we're not a subsidiary of a national organization." The third reason 
> for the name change is to emphasize the local service to West Texas, she 
> added. Recording Library of West Texas currently serves approximately 
> 7,000 listeners in Midland and Ector counties, Speight said.
>
> McDaniel heard about the Recording Library of West Texas through the Texas 
> State Commission from the Blind and said the Recording Library helped her 
> in pursuing her higher education.
>
> "After I went blind, I decided to go to college and they assisted me with 
> my textbooks," McDaniel said. She said the Recording Library either had 
> them or recorded them for her. McDaniel completed her undergraduate 
> studies at Odessa College and earned her master's degree from Sul Ross 
> State University in Alpine. Today she is a motivational speaker and a 
> domestic engineer.
>
> "When I went blind, I used to tell people 'I'm blind. that's it. I can't 
> be a surgeon. I can't be a postman. Other than that, I can do anything," 
> McDaniel said with a laugh.
>
> New services
>
> The Recording Library has recently undergone some changes, such as 
> upgrading from its analog reel-to-reel recording equipment to digital 
> recording.
>
> In April 2006, the Recording Library was given a $65,000 challenge grant 
> from the Abell-Hanger Foundation for the upgrade, Speight said. The 
> challenge grant was matched by the Recording Library, several local 
> foundations and a Dallas foundation. The process began in Oct. 2006 and 
> the equipment was in operation this past April, she said.
>
> The upgrades are "wonderful," Recording Library listener Rick Broughton 
> said. "It's absolutely delightful because now we get our recordings on CDs 
> instead of cassettes. It's a lot less storage space for the books and 
> easier to listen to."
>
> Broughton has been a listener since around 2001 when he went back to 
> school and the Odessa Commission for the Blind office recommended the 
> Recording Library.
>
> Broughton attended the University of Texas at the Permian Basin and, like 
> McDaniel, the Recording Library of West Texas recorded his textbooks for 
> him, thus becoming instrumental in helping him complete his education, 
> which he did in May 2006.
>
> Future plans
>
> A radio reading service is another addition the Recording Library will be 
> adding hopefully by January 2008, Speight said. It will be a broadcast of 
> local newspapers and area publications that will be accessed by the 
> Recording Library's listeners, she explained. There will be at least four 
> to eight hours of local programming and program sharing will be featured 
> during the remaining 24 hours, Speight added.
>
> "I think it will have a huge impact on the lives of our listeners by 
> providing them with access to information that all citizens have access 
> to," she said.
>
> The radio reading service currently is in the developing stages and the 
> Recording Library is seeking an FM station to broadcast in HD radio to 
> carry the program, Speight said. The radio broadcast will be available by 
> fall on the Recording Library's Web site, she added.
>
> 'Keeps you on level ground'
>
> Jeanne Guichard has been a Recording Library volunteer for about 20 years 
> and has gained much while serving.
>
> "I think it does more for us than the people we serve. We get a lot out of 
> it. It's a wonderful, positive place to work because all the people who 
> work there are interested in things beyond themselves," she said.
>
> "They're interested in words, in reading and current events and there's 
> the satisfaction of helping somebody in an unselfish way."
>
> McDaniel encourages others to consider the Recording Library as a resource 
> to help keep them connected.
>
> It's like school, she said. "It keeps you on level ground. You get the 
> same information that the sighted people are getting (through textbooks, 
> handouts and everything)."
>
> Broughton tells everyone about the Austin and Midland offices of the 
> Recording Library.
>
> "If they enjoy reading, whether it be a magazine, a book, a newspaper, 
> contact them. Midland can provide a lot of things that the state is slow 
> to provide, a lot quicker. Twelve to 15 months with the state as opposed 
> to four or five months in Midland is a major difference when you're an 
> avid reader," Broughton said.
>
> "We really appreciate the services that they provide at the Recording 
> Library and encourage everybody to take advantage of them and to help out 
> any way they can."
>
>
> http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18393016&BRD=2288&PAG=461&dept_id=475626&rfi=6
>
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