Talking Books Talking Books have been around since the 1930s.

They have been and still are being enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of blind people like myself. While they certainly don't Braille Literacy, they do get the information across and I hope they're around for a long time, if for no other reason than I really enjoy being read to. Here are some articles about Talking Books. History AFT - Early History of the Talking Book Machine. Cassette Books and Talking Book Machines. Digital Talking Books and Talking Book Machines. The Combination Machine: A History Of Development. Personal Views The Enchanted Kingdom: Reflections On The Talking Book. - See more at: http://www.blind.net/alternative-techniques/talking-books/#sthash.iF56qjDq.dpuf

Recording Technology Moves On A Changing Role for AFB

On May 15, 1945, motivated by the increase in the numbers of blinded veterans at the end of World War II, the Library of Congress held a conference to discuss ways of improving Talking Book technology. AFB continued to manufacture Talking Book machines until 1946, at which time the Library of Congress awarded the bids to other commercial and noncommercial organizations. However, AFB maintained important Library of Congress research and development contracts to develop and test new machine technology well into the 1950s. Moreover, both AFB and the American Printing House for the Blind continued to receive contracts from the Library of Congress to produce and distribute Talking Book records.

Listen to an audio clip from a Talking Book entitled The Blind of Europe, recorded by Robert B. Irwin and Alexander Scourby in 1947. The recording describes the damage sustained by European facilities providing services to blind civilians during World War II.

Recording Technology Moves On Commercial Manufacture of Talking Book Machines

By 1951 about 30,000 Talking Book machines were owned by the Library of Congress and loaned to listeners who were blind through 54 local distributing agencies. At that time, the Library of Congress was purchasing 10,000 new machines annually, 5,000 of them to replace very old models, and the other 5,000 to be issued to new users. AFB and the American Printing House for the Blind also sold machines at cost to those blind or visually impaired individuals who preferred to own their machines. Increasingly, commercial businesses such as Sandwick-Bowenwhose advertisement is displayed on this pagetook over the manufacture of Talking Book machines.

Recording Technology Moves On From Record Player to Cassette Player

Talking Book technology continued to evolve. In the 1950s and '60s, trials took place to test various record sizes and flexibility. Machines were developed with three speeds, detachable lids, and freestanding speakers. Alternative Talking Book formats such as reel-to-reel and cassette tapes came into common use, with cassette tapes becoming ever more prevalent in the 1970s; by the 1980s they were the dominant distribution medium.

In May 1997 the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), AFB and other blindness organizations and Talking Book producers met to begin the process of developing a standard for a digital Talking Book system. The representatives contributed expertise in the areas of standards development, engineering, consumer electronics, software/hardware development, library service, audio book production, international compatibility, information access, universal design, and accessibility technologies.

A decade after this meeting NLS had begun phasing out cassettes as a distribution medium. The transition to a fully digital system that distributes titles on Flash memory cards is expected to be completed by 2012. Read more about the NLS pilot digital book program in "Reading Into the Future."

In 2002, the standard for Digital Talking Books (DTBs) was developed and approved by the Library of Congress, AFB, and other committee members. The following year AFB began producing all of its Talking Books digitally for the Library of Congress. In 2007, AFB's Talking Book Productions produced more than 500 titles for the National Library Service and other publishers.

Access Issues
Reading into the Future: An Overview of the National Library Service's Digital Talking Book Test Program
Deborah Kendrick The opportunities to access books and magazines have grown exponentially in the past decade for people who are blind or have low vision. In addition to the braille and audiocassette books sent by mail through the network of regional libraries operated by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), many sources have made reading materials available to us in other formats. Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D), the largest producer of recorded textbooks, moved from audiocassettes to compact discs (CDs), incorporating the DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) markup features that enable students to navigate by chapter, heading, and page. Commercial sources such as Audible.com have made professionally recorded books available for download to be played on

computers or handheld MP3 players. Other sources, such as Bookshare.org, offer people who are unable to read print a growing collection of books in electronic format that can be downloaded and read via synthetic speech, magnified print, or braille. And one of the most popular sources of the past decade has been Web-Braille, the NLS site that offers the translated braille files of books that have been produced for the NLS program as downloads to be read on any braille-aware device. For the past year, I, along with 99 other NLS patrons, have tested the newest generation of Talking Books, and the direction the project has now taken is nothing short of thrilling. NLS has always been on the cutting edge of audio technology in producing its Talking Books. Recognizing that audiocassettes would eventually be phased out, NLS was formulating a plan for Talking Books' future as far back as 1999. Digital recording was clearly the way to go, and the DAISY/NISO standards (that is, approved by the National Information Standards Organization) provided guidance on how to produce such digital recordings. But how would patrons access them? NLS established a contractual agreement with Batelle, HumanWare Canada, and the National Federation of the Blind to develop a player that would accommodate the new media and be reasonably easy to operate by the diverse population of patrons (representing a variety of ages, abilities, educational backgrounds, and the like). When the new books

become available, each will be contained on a small flash cartridge that can be inserted into that player. Meanwhile, the books, digital files with DAISY markup, were placed on a test site to be evaluated as downloads. The Digital Talking Books download test was launched in September 2006. The selected 100 test participants were given access to a web site where the books were available for download and provided with specially adapted machines for playing those Talking Book files.

Let the Fun Begin

Describing the machine we were issued is somewhat moot, since its short life was intended for this test only. Put simply, it was an adapted Victor Reader Classic, a player from VisuAide, with an SD (secure digital) card slot in the back, a CD slot in the front, a telephone-style keypad, and an assortment of some 14 other keys for power and navigating the books. For downloading the books, we were given an SD card reader (a device about the size of a USB flash drive with a USB connector to plug into the computer at one end and a slot for the SD card at the other). Each book is downloaded as a compressed file to be unzipped on the computer, and all the files are then copied to the SD card. In just a few minutes, a book can be planted on the SD card, popped into the machine, and ready to go. The most time-consuming aspect of this process has been, without a doubt, the hours a true book

lover can spend browsing the constantly growing lists of mysteries, memoirs, magazines, classics, poetry, and essay collections and more to pick the next read. If you are a borrower of NLS books, you already know the outstanding quality of narration and range of available material. What makes this newfound ability to download books on demand from the Digital Talking Book site exciting is certainly the joy of spontaneity--choosing a book to read when you want it, rather than waiting three or six weeks for it to arrive in the mail. But the real adventure begins in the process of reading itself. Bear in mind that these digital recordings, both new books and those converted from cassettes, are read by the same narrators and produced in the same Talking Book production studios that thousands of NLS patrons have known and loved for years. Putting my book of choice on the SD card and pressing the play button, for example, the first words I heard were these: "All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians, and Artists, by Terry Gross, DB63596, copyright 2004, Terry Gross and WHYY Inc. Read by Martha Harmon Pardee. This book contains 353 pages. Approximate reading time: 10 hours, 40 minutes." Instead of the familiar announcement regarding the number of cassettes or sides and information about beep tones, the next statement I heard was this: "This book contains markers allowing direct access

to the table of contents, introduction, chapters, and acknowledgment." Enjoying a digital book from NLS is more akin to flipping the pages of a printed tome than any option that was previously available to people who are blind. The navigation elements that are available in each book depend somewhat on the nature of the book, how it is divided in the print edition, and the production studio that recorded it. Typically, however, books offer Level 1 markers at chapter headings, Level 2 markers at section headings, and sometimes Level 3 markers at subheadings. If you are reading Chapter 10, for example, and a reference prompts you to revisit a passage in Chapter 3, you simply press the Heading button and the number 3 on the telephone-style keypad to get there. If Chapter 3 is a longer chunk than you want to read to locate the desired passage, you can search within the chapter using Level 2 markings, if available, or the Time-jump feature that is available at any time in every book. Time-jump is a simple rewind and fast forward function that you can set to move at 1-minute, 5-minute, or 10-minute increments at a time. If you hear a passage that you want to come back to later, you can set your own bookmark. In fact, you can set thousands of bookmarks, numbering them yourself by entering the number from the keypad or allowing the unit to set the bookmark for you by numbering them in sequence. My favorite bookmark feature is the Highlight Bookmark. Just as the

reader of print may underline or highlight a particularly poignant sentence or significant fact, the Highlight Bookmark button can be pressed at the beginning of a passage to be highlighted and pressed again at the point where you want highlighting to end. Some of the testers in the digital download group argued vehemently that page markers should also be present. DAISY standards do incorporate this feature, and it is used by some producers of digital books, such as RFB&D, the Royal National Institute of Blind People, and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. With page markers on board, a listener could jump to the next or previous page or go to a particular page number. NLS chose not to include page markers at this time, reasoning that its collection is oriented more toward leisure reading. Of course, some books require no highlighting, no reviewing of facts, and no moving back and forth among chapters. If you simply want to enjoy a book from start to finish, that, too, is more pleasant with the NLS Digital Talking Books. There are no audiocassettes to eject or tracks to change. The clarity, incidentally, is far superior to that of audiocassettes. At this writing, nearly 7,000 books are available for download on the Digital Talking Books site, and the collection is growing steadily. All new Talking Books that have been recorded are added, since all titles are now recorded digitally. In addition, many older

titles are being converted. NLS is also working in concert with commercial publishers to make some commercially recorded books available through the NLS network.

Not Only Virtual

For those who still love the little green boxes that are delivered by the U.S. Postal Service (containing audiocassettes with braille and print labels on them), do not despair. Digital Talking Books will indeed continue to be distributed through the mail just as their various predecessors--from heavy longplaying records to flexible discs to audiocassettes-have been. The new containers will be blue, not green, and slightly smaller. The books themselves will be contained on flash cartridges--imagine a single cartridge for an entire book! The cartridges will be inserted into a new player that is designed for digital books and distributed, eventually, to all NLS patrons, and all the same navigation features described earlier will be available.

Going Public
The strategic plan that NLS has widely distributed orally, in publications, and online states that new players that are capable of playing Digital Talking Books will begin to be released in late 2008. In April 2007, however, congressional budget proceedings took a less-than-favorable turn. The Talking Book program was in jeopardy, and advocates from around the country called and wrote their legislators

in a frenzy. At this writing, the allocation is still unclear, but it will most likely be less than the original $19 million that was anticipated. What this budget cut will mean for the timetable for releasing the new NLS players and books is not yet certain, but the download site is thriving. In early July 2007, just in time for dazzling revelations at summer conventions, the stars aligned in a way that has had many book lovers who are blind or have low vision dancing metaphorically (and perhaps literally) for joy. For the past year, there has been a group of 100 happy testers in the NLS digital download project. But we are, of course, only a tiny segment of the entire population who depend on Talking Books. The player that we used for the test was adapted by HumanWare Canada. The player that will eventually be distributed by NLS to all patrons was also produced by HumanWare Canada. This company, in other words, was in a prime position to develop a player for the commercial market. At the conventions of the National Federation of the Blind and American Council of the Blind in July 2007, HumanWare introduced its new handheld player, the Victor Reader Stream. Among its other attractive attributes--small size, built-in text-tospeech, and MP3 capability--was the announcement (made with no small amount of fanfare and welcomed by resounding cheers) that NLS and HumanWare were collaborating to render the Victor Reader Stream ready to accept the Digital

Talking Books downloaded from NLS. At that time, NLS director Frank Kurt Cylke announced that the site would go "public"--that is, in September 2007, it would be expanded to include any NLS patron with a player that is capable of playing the NLS Digital Talking Books.

In the Library at Last

The Victor Reader Stream (which will be reviewed in the next issue of AccessWorld) sells for $329 and began shipping in early September 2007. As promised, the NLS Digital Talking Book site was moved and expanded beyond the small testing group. In mid-September, the new site began registering any verified NLS patron who had a player to register that is capable of playing the NLS files. At this point, HumanWare's new Victor Reader Stream is the only player that patrons can purchase for playing these books, but it is only a matter of time--and probably not much time--before other commercial venues will offer NLS-enabled players as well. For those who are enjoying downloading these books so far, "enraptured" is an apt description. "I feel like I've entered the library for the first time in my life," commented one delighted customer after just one week. To paraphrase another, more seasoned NLS patron, "Commercial sources like Audible.com are great, but to be able to browse and

download books from our own beloved Talking Book program is remarkable." Anyone who has been an NLS borrower of Talking Books knows exactly what she means. For information on the Victor Reader Stream, visit the web site <www.humanware.com>. If you already own a Victor Reader Stream and would like to participate in the NLS digital download pilot project, visit <https://www.nlstalkingbooks.org/dtb>.

The Combination Machine: A History Of Development

Copyright 1995 The Technical Staff National Federation of the Blind

From the Associate Editor: Those who are lucky enough to have used the new combination cassette and record player now beginning to be available from the National Library Service (NLS) report that it is a wonderful innovation--one that may well change the reading habits of NLS patrons. President Maurer, who has been using one for several weeks, says that the quality of the tape deck is much better than that of the current playback machines. He also points out that the needle-protection feature in the record player portion is ideal for families with young children. When the machine lid closes, the needle automatically retracts into the tonearm. When

it is opened again, the needle returns to the place where it was when the reader turned off the machine. To my mind, this feature verges on witchcraft, but there is apparently more. Records as well as tapes can be rewound, and cassettes can be directed to play the other side or second track with the flip of a switch. All this will soon be available to borrowers across the country. Here is the story of how this amazing machine came into being as recounted by the technical staff of the National Library Service: Since the inception of the Project, Books for the Blind, in 1931 and indeed since the establishment of a special reading room for blind people in 1897, the Library of Congress has been committed to providing the highest quality service for blind, and later physically handicapped persons. Over the years specialized playback machines and accessories have been developed to give patrons access to the program. In the development of these products consumers have always been intimately involved, since all the machines and accessories are developed and produced exclusively for their use. It was with this high level of consumer involvement in mind that NLS identified the need for a combination record and cassette machine in the early 1970s. As early as 1973 NLS began studying the feasibility of producing a machine in which a single set of controls would operate both a record player and a tape deck. It was hoped that such a combination machine would offer the advantages of smaller size, less weight, greater ease of operation and lower unit cost. In 1975 NLS conducted a broad-based user study that concluded that it should pursue developing such a machine. In fiscal year 1977 the research and development for producing a combination machine began with the issuance of a Request for Proposals "for design, fabrication, and delivery of combination talking book machines." Because no such machine had ever been designed for mass production, the contract included specifications that listed only the minimum functional requirements of the finished product. Requirements for existing record and cassette machines were combined to produce the specification. The features that would be unique to a combination machine were listed as ten "optional innovative features," including single motor drive, overall size reduction, and automatic reverse and track switching. No drawings or schematic designs were included. It was the contractor's job to develop a specific design for the machine. Because this was a developmental project, the functional

specifications served as a starting point from which a combination of research, consumer evaluation, and field testing would yield a final design. As with all NLS machines, consumer input through field testing was anticipated and provided for at the outset of the contract. Two engineering design models (EDMs) were to be provided. The contract stated that "the performance and appearance of the EDM will be evaluated." The next requirement was fifty-five reproduction units for user evaluation with a production run to follow. The Request for Proposal was issued by the Library's Procurement and Supply Division, and two companies, Telex Communications and Video Research Corporation, submitted competitive bids. After a technical evaluation by NLS, the contracting officer awarded the contract to Video Research Corporation (VRC) of Riviera Beach, Florida. (The company later became Deltronics, Inc.) The contract was awarded September 13, 1977. During the course of the contract, there were reviews of the design and technical issues in the engineering phase. These were conducted by NLS engineers and quality assurance specialists meeting with the contractor's representatives. Ironing out design difficulties was expected to be a part of the natural course of a design and development contract. The changes in the performance schedule during the life of the contract reflected the results of the design development. New enhancements to the design naturally necessitated additional time in the contract schedule. The first of these readjustments came in January, 1978, after a meeting between NLS engineers and VRC representatives. Specific machine elements such as case design, switch design, batteries and other technical matters were discussed. These were all specific engineering problems and concerns that arose as a part of the development of the specifications and technical designs by the contractor. A revised schedule showed production, delivery and consumer evaluation would take place during late 1979 and 1980. On September 11, 1978, a change order was issued to allow for development of a cassette deck that could be used for both the combination machine project and future cassette machine contracts. The E-1 (easy machine) was later produced using the same cassette deck and many of the

same advanced features as the combination machine. Further, the arrangement made would give control of tooling and design to the Library, provide technically superior performance and reduce dependence on foreign suppliers. The deck would have a three-motor design and an anti-jam feature. Tests of prototype designs took place in October and November, 1979. The two demonstration units underwent thorough testing, not only by NLS staff, but also by a consumer evaluation panel. Provided for in the contract, the evaluation by consumers was vital to the development of the machine. Consumers who took part in the evaluation were encouraged to test the units vigorously. Their task was not only to give input on the ease of use and the efficiency of the machine's operation but also to subject the units to normal treatment for a machine. Their suggestions were to be incorporated into final design plans. These were not changes to any existing specifications; rather they were to become part of the specifications that were still evolving. This prototype testing was considered a success because it pointed out specific areas for further development. The second change order spelled out the changes in engineering (reproduction) tooling and unit (production) costs needed to achieve these specification refinements. At the same time VRC was awarded a contract under competitive bidding procedures for production of the E-1 (easy cassette machine). This was a spinoff of the combination machine since it used the same cassette deck. As work continued there was constant refinement of the performance specifications by the contractor in conjunction with NLS engineers. In March, 1981, VRC produced forty-five reproduction units. NLS technicians tested them and identified several design problems. The defects included free-wheeling supply hubs, oscillations and speed maladjustments. These problems were corrected by the contractor and the forty-five units were produced for user field evaluation in April, 1981. This rigorous testing by NLS and refinements to the specifications further modified the design of the machine as new features such as direction sensing, side selection control, voice-over indexing and seven other features were incorporated. To accommodate these enhancements the production phase was rescheduled to 1982 and the contract amount increased.

The consumer field test was completed in the summer of 1981 and as expected many improvements were suggested. Thirty-three specific changes were recommended by consumers. By December ten of the changes were in the process of being incorporated in the prototype design. On July 6, 1981, the Procurement and Supply Division issued a Request for Proposal to solicit bids on production of combination machines. The RFP was issued using the revised specifications as developed by VRC (Deltronics) in conjunction with the changes proposed by the consumer evaluation test. Three companies (Telex Communications, Deltronics and Interstate Industries) submitted responsive and responsible bids. Bidders were rated by NLS staff on their production capability responses to the statement of work and proposed innovative features to be added to the machine specifications. As with the previous contract, this RFP had built-in prototype testing by consumers and encouraged the contractor to develop new features for the machine. Emphasis was on designing a mass-producible machine that would incorporate emerging technology such as the microprocessor. The contracting officer awarded the combination machine development and production contract to Telex Communications, Inc. on September 21, 1981. They promised a design more realistically meeting production capability. Telex would use the functional design developed by VRC but incorporate microprocessor technology into some elements of the machine's functions. This would result in both a superior product and a machine that could be more easily mass produced. Telex was also awarded a contract for production of the E-1 (easy machine) under competitive bidding. It was to use the same cassette deck and microprocessor technology as that developed for the combination machine. The contract called for prototype machines to be delivered by March, 1982; a reproduction machine to be delivered six months after prototype approval; and complete delivery six months later. In February and March, 1982, NLS engineers and Telex representatives held discussions on the design of the turntable and tonearm. Telex provided a prototype that was tested and accepted by NLS in April, 1982.

Design modifications continued through 1982 and in October a prototype machine was reviewed by NLS. The evaluation report suggested further changes in the design. These included rectifying problems with tape spillage, battery location, fast forward and rewind functions, and automatic/manual switch labeling. The process of refining the specifications continued to accommodate changing technology and the needs of the consumers. The first change order increased the unit cost and quantity based on the design changes. During 1983 and 1984 urgent consumer need gave high priority to development of the spinoff easy machine which was a direct response to a user study that showed that patrons needed a machine easier to operate than the standard cassette machine. The development of the easy machine went hand-in-hand with that of the combination machine. The cassette deck and automatic side-changing feature were a direct result of combination machine development. Prototype testing of the E-1 machine provided another opportunity for testing features which would also be an integral part of the combination machine. By January, 1984, Telex provided machine prototypes that were tested by NLS and found to be very close to the requirements. Two advanced prototypes for consumer evaluation were delivered in April of 1986. At the same time field testing of the easy machine continued, giving further feedback on features common to both machines. By November of 1988 the last of the production run of E-1's was delivered. The cassette deck proved itself reliable and efficient. NLS now could give the go-ahead for use of the same deck, as well as the other advanced features, in the combination machine. Developing technology and further input through consumer testing resulted in additional changes to the machine's specifications, particularly to the microprocessor program. Two hundred production control samples were tested by NLS, and modifications were made to the design during 1988 and 1989. In September of 1989, 200 units were sent to regional libraries for testing by consumers working in the libraries. In December of 1990 Telex produced for final testing by consumers 1,000 combination machines incorporating microprocessors with changeable programs. Currently the

microprocessor is being reworked for a problem with a diode. It is expected that the 1,000 units will be ready for field evaluation shortly.

Webmaster's note
I took part in the testing of this machine very late in the process. While I use it I do have a few reservations.
1. The cassette player and turntable can not be separated so if one breaks down you have to send both back. 2. The controls are very stiff. While this isn't a problem for some people it can and probably will be for many others. 3. The track selection button, auto/manual switch, headphone and remote control jacks are on the side of the machine instead on the front; this certainly isn't disasterous but it is inconvenient. 4. The lid falls off if you don't push it to the left when you open and close it. 5. The sound quality doesn't seem as good as usual, which is saying something since the cassettes run at 15/16 i.p.s. and records go at 8 r.p.m.. Then again this may just be the fault of the small speaker.

As I say, I'm using the machine so these items haven't scared me off, but I do think there is room for improvement. - See more at: http://www.blind.net/alternative-techniques/talking-books/thecombination-machine-a-history-of-development.html#sthash.VcYf2jBk.dpuf

The Enchanted Kingdom: Reflections On The Talking Book

by Barbara Pierce
Copyright 1995 National Federation of the Blind

As the poet Robert Service said, there is a hunger "not of the belly kind that's filled with bacon and beans." There is the hunger of a blind child who wants contact with the world around her. Barbara Pierce is the wife of a college professor, the mother of three well-adjusted intelligent children in young adulthood and the President of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio. She has worked as the assistant alumni director of Oberlin College, but it was not always like that. She remembers. When I was nine my father walked in from work one day carrying a large, heavy case. My brother and I were consumed with curiosity and my smugness and self-importance knew no bounds when he explained that the box was for me. Nothing, however, could have prepared me for the revolution that the heavy gray case would create in my life. The year was 1954 and the box was a Talking Book record player from the Library of Congress. If the President himself had presented me with the machine, I could not have been more astonished. I now know that, two years before, Congress had amended the Pratt-Smoot Act to include children in the Talking Book Program. But as I remember the lecture I was given that day, special arrangements had been made [I was certain that these had been at the highest levels of government], and it had been decided to allow me to read books on records because everyone knew what a careful and responsible girl I was. If I failed to operate the machine properly or (inconceivable catastrophe) if I broke one of the records, no other child would ever be given the privilege that I now saw shimmering on my horizon.

The record player was set up in the downstairs bedroom, and I began to read. "The Privateer" by Gordon Daviot, "Little Men" by Louisa May Alcott and "Bless This House" by Norah Lofts: these were the first three books. I promised myself that I would memorize the author of every book I read and the order in which I had consumed their work. I did pretty well at it for the first twenty books or so, but then I began to understand just how many books a person really could read and my good intentions dissolved. Within a week the Talking Book machine was moved to my room so that the rest of the family didn't have to listen along with me. My bedroom never had much heat and that winter I could only keep my hands warm by holding them over the glowing red light that indicated that the machine motor was turned on. I was lucky that those record players in the fifties threw out so much heat; otherwise frost bite would have found a contented victim. Until that intoxicating day when the Talking Book program walked into my life, I had had two choices when I wanted or needed to read a book. First, I could don a pair of heavy glasses with tremendous magnification in one lens; hunch over the page of print in very bright light; and struggle letter by letter to decipher the text, praying the while for a picture or, better yet, lots of pictures to take up space. My other alternative was to lie in wait for a member of my family. My brother, seven at the time, was good for comic books and not much more. Unfortunately, he favored Superman, and I preferred Scrooge McDuck. His verbal skills were taxed acutely by describing the pictures, and altogether Bobby was less satisfactory than my parents, if I could get them. I had already read "Heidi" and "Charlotte's Web" in ten-minute snatches, my mother's method of bribing me to do wretched eye exercises every day. My parents were generous with their time, but they were already helping me with every bit of my considerable homework, and there were limits to what even I was prepared to request. So the Talking Book machine and those amazing twelve-inch records played at 33 1/3 rpm really did change my life. I became the envy of my classmates. Not held down by such annoyances as vocabulary and spelling, I sailed into uncharted waters beyond

my years. Teachers could easily be dazzled by book reports on the works of Dickens, Hawthorne and Dostoyevsky. There were also those occasional passages which I found very illuminating but which I knew instinctively my parents had much better not overhear. I know now that, had Braille been offered me in these formative years, I would today be a much better educated person, but it was to be another twenty years before I heard of the National Federation of the Blind, and there was no one in my life warning me that Braille was essential to my education. - See more at: http://www.blind.net/alternative-techniques/talking-books/theenchanted-kingdom-reflections-on-the-talkingbook.html#sthash.DzJPFyWh.dpuf