Posts by Rachelle Stein

The following links caught our attention this past month. Plus, we've got a couple of announcements about new services.

Haptic Device Gives Blind a Helping Hand. Promising new technology to help people without sight to navigate.

Improved Accessibility for Google Calendars.

Dolly Parton's Imagination 

We can't believe the summer is nearly over. Aside from the distractions of a minor earthquake and a hurricane (though Irene had been downgraded to a tropical storm by the time she hit New York City), we served up a number of links on our Facebook and Twitter pages that you might find interesting.

The New York City Mayor's Office is hosting a free exhibition Beep Baseball game between the L.I. Bombers and WFAN 660 sports radio on Saturday, September 24 at 3:30 p.m. at 

a sampling of digital booksA good biography is like a good novel. It can transport you to a different place and a different time, and inspire the imagination. But what has always appealed to me about biographies is that they could put me into someone else's head, letting me vicariously live a life more interesting than my own. Growing up, I read mostly fiction, especially science fiction and mysteries, which took me to exotic places both real and imaginary. But when teachers insisted we students be well-rounded readers, the non-fiction books I turned to were on the biography shelves in my 

Reading a Braille DescriptionCreating visual art is not the first thing most people consider when thinking of people who are blind or who have visual difficulties, but there are many such artists and photographers who challenge that perception every day. The Andrew Heiskell Library was pleased to host an exhibition of artwork by students who have visual impairments, running from June 14 through June 18.

A reception, complete with refreshments, was well attended on opening night, and the exhibition drew a steady stream of visitors through the week. The photograph 

We liked the following links this past month:

The Iowa Department for the Blind's blog, Blind Living, focusing on cooking, crafts, gardening, and more for people who are blind or have visual difficulties.

Books Open for Visually Impaired: Students in Pennsylvania team with the Carnegie Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped to record Talking Books.

Creators of TV shows get their inspiration from many places, but lately they seem to be turning more and more often to books for their source material. And with quality programs doing justice to the books that inspired them, it's a welcome trend, especially if it leads fans of the shows who have never read the books to seek them out. Here are some to get you started.

In the following booklists, RC indicates Recorded Cassette, DB indicates Digital Book, and BR indicates Braille. NYPL indicates a book or video available in branches of The New York Public 

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then those words are priceless to people who cannot see. Verbal imaging is the art of describing pictures, art, and the world for people who are blind or have visual difficulty. For the past few years, Art Beyond Sight/Art Education for the Blind has been conducting art and craft programs at the Andrew Heiskell Library, teaching a variety of techniques to blind and visually impaired people, from sculpting to painting. And through their

Our links from April.

Free touch tour of the Glenn Ligon: AMERICA exhibit at the Whitney Museum on Friday, May 6 at 11:00AM. Call 212-570-7789 to RSVP.

How Bind People See the Internet is a nice overview.

American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and the National Association for Parents of 

A Clockwork Orange"War is Peace." "Freedom is Slavery." "Ignorance is Strength." These tenets of doublethink are from George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984. It's Dystopia Week at Tor.com, which provides an excellent incentive to look at one of my favorite genres, or subgenres: Dystopian Fiction!

From failed attempts at perfect societies to aftermaths of natural and unnatural disasters, dystopian fiction has a long tradition of examining human 

From inspiring stories to the latest in assistive technology, we've got it all! Here are the links and announcements we posted on Facebook and Twitter for March.

The New York Times covered our Unseen Dance program, presented by the No-See-Ums.

Online survey for people with 

photo: Dana Salisbury; used with permissionWith few exceptions (music, sculpture, tactile canvases), the Arts have typically been inaccessible to people who are blind or who have visual difficulties, but the times, as is often said, are a-changing. Dana Salisbury and the No-See-Ums will be presenting BARK! An Unseen Dance, at four New York Public Libraries this month. Based on non-visual perception, this is the first dance form fully accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired.

Choreographed by Dana 

We've got a grab-bag of links and articles for you this month.

Unseen Dance at the New York Public Library: Dana Salisbury and the No-See-Ums perform BARK, a dance for blindfolded audiences. Audience members experience the dance through their other senses. The group will perform at the Andrew Heiskell Library on Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. For Adults Only.

Looking for a more accessible Twitter client?

In the summer of 2009, the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped officially went digital. For many months before digital cartridges were introduced, however, digital books were available for downloading from the National Library Service's BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. At first, the BARD service was only lightly used, but once patrons started to receive their players in mid-2009, BARD downloading began in 

This month's links focus on disability rights, along with some useful services.

The White House Disability Group holds monthly calls to update the public on various issues related to disabilities.

To listen in: Dial-in number: (800) 230-1093 Title: Disability Call (use instead of code) For live captioning (at time of call) go to the event page.

American Association of People with Disabilities

January 4 marks the anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille—inventor of the raised writing system that bears his name and is still used by visually impaired people to communicate.

We've got a few links that might interest you as we say goodbye to 2010 and welcome 2011. Don't forget: The library will be closed on Saturday, January 1, 2011, but you'll be able to leave Voicemail messages at 212-206-5400 and 212-206-5425.

The New York Times article, "Just Because One's Vision is Waning, Hope Doesn't Have To" is about access to tools for independence.

The Computer Center for Visually Impaired People 

As we get ready to say farewell to 2010, we want to wish all our patrons and their families a Happy New Year. The library will be closed on Saturday, December 25 for Christmas and on Saturday, January 1, 2011 for New Year's Day. You'll still be able to leave a Voicemail message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Our Citizens Advisory Council will meet on Saturday, January 8 at 11:30 a.m. in our first floor community room. The Council meetings provide a forum for patrons to give feedback on library service. All patrons are welcome to 

We've got some news and interesting articles to share with you.

The number 1 BARD download for November was The Heart Of The Matter by Emily Giffin, DB 71280 [NYPL] Tied for a distant second: Split Image by Robert B. Parker, DB 71123 [

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was designed to level the playing field for individuals with disabilities by ending illegal discrimination and providing reasonable accommodations to balance the needs of those individuals and employers, providers of products and services, and setting minimum standards for a range of services and products from building design and construction to telecommunication devices.

Though ADA has increased accessibility, there is still much to be done to make new