Craig's Desk - episode 23 Show Intro and Disclaimer ********************************* Hello and welcome to Craig's Desk, a program from the State Library of North Carolina Accessible Books and Library Services, SLNC-ABLS. I'm your host Craig Hayward, the technology librarian at SLNC-ABLS. This show is all about sharing and learning about the library's reading technology, online resources and some insider information and announcements from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, known as NLS. On this show we'll see what's on my desk, Craig's Desk. We'll see what kinds of questions and feedback that are worthwhile to share. We'll throw in some NLS news and some resources you can find right now on our library's website. All in the name of helping you read more and learn more. Whether it's to hear a technology question answered or some other bit of news and information about our library or NLS or for whatever reason you're listening, I'm thankful you're here, as is our library. We all want to serve you and help you. I take notes and remember things. I also learn things daily from the interactions with patrons. You teach me everyday. It's a gift I get to receive from you. Let me be your guide and help you navigate the changes in our service. I'll do my best to help you use the technology better and take your reading experience farther. If you don't already know where to email your questions, comments and feedback, send it to ABLS.Help@ncdcr.gov. ABLS for Accessible Books and Library Services, the name of our library and what we provide as a library. Help because that's the purpose of the email box. We want to help you. So ABLS.Help@ncdcr.gov is the place to send in your technology questions or other feedback. Keep that around and use it when you need it. A final note before we start this program, sharing is caring. We'd like to get the word out and share this show so that we can help whoever wants help. If you have friends, family or anyone else that want to listen to the show, tell them to search Apple Podcasts or Spotify for Craig's Desk or go to the Craig's Desk podcast webpage on Podbean - https://nccraigsdesk.podbean.com/ Enough talk, let's get this episode of Craig's Desk started. ************************************* Fade out, use transition "music" then fade in to next section ************************************* Your Technology Questions How do I add a Victor Reader Stream so I can listen to BARD? Or adding a 3rd party purchased player to your BARD account. Recently we've had some support calls asking about how to use a Victor Reader Stream to listen to books on BARD. I mention this is really just about how to add 3rd party purchased player to your BARD account. Third party players like the Victor Reader Stream work really well with BARD. They store you user name and password have good tools that make them easier than ever to use. The Victor Reader Stream in particular has a nice setup now to make adding it as a reading device even easier. So how do you add a Victor Reader Stream to use with your BARD account? It's a step by step process. The first thing you want to do it log in to your BARD account. After log in you will be on the BARD Main page. Here is where you usually start your search for books and magazines, but it's also where you can update your account and add things like a third party player. To add the player go to the fifth main section on the page. The one called My BARD. From here go to the 4th link down, the one that says Account Settings. Click on this link and you will be taken to your account setting page. Then go to the Third link on this page that says add a purchased player. You will be shown a form with your name and address information to verify your identity and also so you can check to make sure your information is correct with NLS. Tab through the fields until you get to the bottom dropdown list labeled "please select the type of player you will be using". Here choose the player by first letter of manufacturer from the list. In this case we would press H for Humanware to get to that part of the list. Note there are 2 options from Humanware. The Victor Reader is choice two. Once selected, click on the Next button to go to the next screen. The next screen is the Register New Players - Second Screen. Starting at the top read the instructions for how to find your player's serial number. The serial number is required by the manufacturer for them to create something called a key to unlock the books and magazines downloaded so you can play them on this player. A hint, Press the INFO (key 0). The serial number is announced at the end of the "About Victor Reader" message. Take this information and enter it in the form box labeled Serial number or key code that follows these instructions. Once all are entered go to the Submit player request button. This will send in your request to the library so we can make sure we have all information correct for your account. Then we will approve things and this information will be sent to NLS for tracking of your new player and to the player's manufacturer, in this case Humanware, to tell them we approve of the player and for them to make a key for you. One nice change to things with the addition of wifi connectivity on the Victor Reader Stream is that now once you have received the confirmation email from HumanWare that contains the NLS key for your Stream, it will be downloaded and installed automatically the next time the Stream is connected to a wireless network. It makes this process easier. I recommend you save that file somewhere secure or memorable so that if it's needed, for example if the player has be reset for repairs, it can be reinstalled so you can listen to your reading materials again. That's this episodes technology question. I hope I've answered it well and it helps you. If you have any other comments or other questions related to BARD Mobile, BARD itself, using our online catalog or any other kind of reading tech, email them to ABLS.Help@ncdcr.gov. One other quick note, a patron asked about getting podcasts on their home computer or laptop. They wanted to know about accessible podcatchers to help them get podcasts. This will be covered on this show in the section after next, the library's online resources section. So be ready, because that's coming up. Thanks again **************************************** Fade out, fade in music, fade out to next section ***************************************** NLS News A couple of stories out of NLS On The Move newsletter. One of the first stories from the NLS On The Move newsletter involves the NLS Department of Veteran's Affairs, or VA for short, Rapid Sign up partnership. It helps expand our committment to veterans in the program. To help veterans NLS has partnered with the VA Blind Rehabilitation Services or BRS to instantly sign up veterans for service. The program started as a pilot in a handful of places to now being rolled out as more a service expanding the program to having more than 100 trained people who can certify across 38 states, plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. This means a more streamlined experience for veterans with the potential for use across the program. As of late March, over 360 veterans have been enrolled this way. Veterans enrolled this way still receive service from their local library to help build the relationship with local libraries and veterans in the program. Over the coming year, NLS is exploring more ways to roll this out to other groups. In the second story, The March-April 2023 issues Talking Book Topics and Braille Book Review are the first with mostly publisher-provided book descriptions. If you've been on the online catalog or BARD searching for books, since May 2022 these have already been used, but now this addition to these publication means more patrons who get their books in many other ways, besides BARD and downloading, are seeing this richer descriptions in a publication. One advantage is this may make it easier for patrons to identify more titles of interest for their own reading. Be forewarned that many of these works don't offer information about strong language and such. On that front many network library's work with NLS as a network to provide a system of rating unrated books to benefit patron choice and help staff in book picks. It's not a perfect system and some titles may be made available unrated until they can get a rating in order to offer faster access to titles that patrons want most. As always, if you have comments about things like this or you maybe want to more about what NLS has in store and upcoming, you are welcome to email me at the email address ABLS.Help@ncdcr.gov. Thanks so much again for listening. **************************************** Fade out, fade in music, fade out to next section ***************************************** The Library's Online Resources The Library Website's Helpful Information Section. Helpful Information from the library's website, means you can help yourself and let staff work harder for other parts of your reading adventure. As it's name suggests, the library website's helpful information section is intended to provide you with all kind of answers, particularly for frequently asked questions. The ones we get asked lots. Enough so that we can write out an answer to offer you it openly so that you can resolve many of your own issues without the need of staff. That's the point of providing this information. Topics represented in this section are all about digital talking books, BARD, the NLS Digital Player, about third party players, using the library's online catalog and some things to get you started using digital braille. Highlights we have included in the Helpful Information section are how to sign up for BARD, how to use BARD, how to use BARD Mobile, how to search for books in the online catalog, how to use a braille display with BARD and more. Just check out the section. I would recommend that you take a look at the site when you have a question just to see if we've already answered it before you contact us. Take a look around and see what we have to offer first. Then if you can't find a good answer contact us. If what you ask it asked often enough we will add it to our Helpful Information section. To find the Helpful Information section check out the library's homepage. From the top move down the home page until you come to the 7th section on the home page. You can also find it at the top of each page inside the site navigation menu in the drop down list, the third link down is called Helpful Information. That's where you'll find all of this helpful information to help you find the answers to these questions easily. Thanks for asking. As always, if you have comments about things like this or you maybe can't find something you are after on the website, you are welcome to email me at the email address ABLS.Help@ncdcr.gov. Thanks for Listening! ********************************************* Closing That's the end of this episode of Craig's Desk. If you have any questions about the library's technology, how to do something or would like to give some feedback, send an email to ABLS.Help@ncdcr.gov (spell out). Craig's Desk is a production of The State Library of North Carolina Accessible Books and Library Services, a section of the State Library of North Carolina, part of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. This episode was produced onsite, in the studios of SLNC-ABLS. Many thanks to the other person helping on the other side of the glass to produce this show, Clint Exum our Outreach Specialist and jack of all trades around our studios. As it has been from the beginning, this show is a production of EMC-squared productions. Intro music is "One Fine Day" and closing music is "Step To The Beat" and are offered royalty free from the website Keep Calm and Podcast. Segment Transitions starring nature are from Zapsplat.com If you like what you have heard or are just curious about upcoming episodes please subscribe to this podcast. There are links from our website for Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our podcast platform called Podbean and even an RSS feed to listen to it on your own podcatcher app. Whenever we put up a new episode you'll be the first to know. Thanks for listening