Iowa Library for the Blind and Print Disabled Blog

2024 Youth Summer Reading Program: READ, RENEW, REPEAT

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May 13, 2024

8:30 am

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Image: Read, Renew, RepeatWelcome to the 2024 Youth Summer Reading Program: READ, RENEW, REPEAT!
This is going to be such a busy summer filled and overflowing with everything under the sun. 

When does it start? June 5th through July 24th

How much does it cost? FREE

What are the times?  Virtually Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 1:30pm – 2:15pm
** Can’t make all the dates, no worries, come when you can!

  • Monday– Guest Quest Monday!
  • Wednesday– Adventures in ARTS!
  • Friday– STEAM Theme Friday!

Online Registration

Upon Registration Receive a Personalized TEAM Summer T-shirt with your personalized name on the back, Popper Wrist Strap Key Chain, Tambourine, Designer Water Bottle filled with Goodies and Treats and a Saving the Planet Collectable bracelet.

This summer is centered around three incredible words: READ, RENEW, REPEAT, from being a Planet Superhero, learning about endangered animals, growing your very own native plant gardens, getting the buzz on bees, building homes for butterflies. Recycle the “Braille is Beautiful” t-shirts into “No Sew Shirt Bags,” Nature Rubbing Foil Art, Garden Bubble Magic, Bouncing Submarines, Sparkling Upcycled CD. Ocean adventures mixed with art and colors! Meeting new guests at every corner will take you on an unforgettable journey all centered around making our world a better place! 

  • Week 1: June 5th and 7th Turning a Green Leaf into Magic!
  • Week 2: June 10th 12th 14th “Planet Superhero” with Special Guest Liz Soenen
  • Week 3: June 17th 19th 21st “Recycle” with Special Guest Roger Erpelding
  • Week 4: June 24th 26th 28th “Heros with Wings” with Special Guest Michele Brown
  • Week 5: July 1st 3rd 5th “Those Amazing Bugs”
  • Week 6: July 8th 10th 12th “Power of the Flower” with Special Guest Liz
  • Week 7: July 15th 17th 19th “Ocean Escapes” with Crystals
  • Week 8: July 22nd 24th 26th “Working Together to save Endangered Animals”

SEE YOU SOON!
Denise Bean, Youth Services Librarian
denise.bean@blind.state.ia.us
515-452-1338

Congratulations to Our 2024 Braille Challenge Finalist!

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May 2, 2024

4:27 pm

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We are excited to announce that we have a finalist competing in the 2024 Braille Challenge Finals! Nathan Deeds is once again a finalist in the Varsity category. He has been invited to compete in the Braille Challenge Finals competition being held on June 21-23 in Los Angeles on the University of Southern California (USC) campus.

The Braille Institute’s Official Announcement

More than 1,100 students in Grades 1-12 competed in preliminary events throughout the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia earlier this year. Only the top 10 scoring students from each of five competitive categories are invited to Los Angeles for the final round, which consists of two days of competition, camaraderie and fun.  For additional information, please visit www.braillechallenge.org or www.brailleinstitute.org

Congratulations Nathan!

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Book Reviews from Deena

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April 30, 2024

11:20 am

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Heart shape filled with books on shelvesCheck out these book reviews from Deena.  Deena was a member of the Library’s Patron Service Team who recently retired.  She has generously continued to share book reviews with us.  Thank you, Deena! 

The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel DB115102

Elise LeClaire and her husband, Olivier are artists.  Olivier is quite famous in France. In 1939, as war broke out in Europe, Olivier became involved with the Communist party and later the resistance. Elisa is worried about Olivier’s activities for herself and her young daughter, Mathilde. As war in France becomes inevitable, Olivier does not return home.  Elise soon learns that he was arrested and claimed his wife, was aware of his associates. Elise did not agree with Olivier’s activities and knew nothing.  She knows she must leave Paris, but taking her young daughter is a risk.  She arranges for her daughter to stay with friends who own a bookstore in Paris.  Elise leaves the city telling her daughter she will return for her. Several years pass and Elise returns to the bookstore once France is liberated. Where the bookstore stood was a pile of rubble.  Elise must find her daughter and her friends. 

Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg DB17173 (This is listed under the title Coming Attractions, which was the original title.)

Daisy Fay moves with her parents to a beach in Mississippi to run an ice cream shop with her parents. She is in fifth grade when she moves to the beach.  She meets many quirky characters in the town of Shell Beach.  Daisy Fay joins the junior Debutantes and learns how to accessorize with scarves, gloves, and jewelry. Daisy has many friends and they go on many wacky adventures together including finding a body on the beach. This is written in the same style as Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg.  If you enjoyed that book you are sure to enjoy this one. 

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden  DB114201

Andrew and Nina appear to have the perfect marriage, but all is not as it seems. Nina hires Millie to be a live-in maid, to help take care of the house, cook, and do some childcare.  Millie soon finds out Nina is hard to please, and sometimes mean to her.  Andrew is very helpful and devastatingly handsome. Millie, despite herself, is attracted to him. Nina’s demands become greater, and she threatens to fire Millie who needs the job and has not saved enough money to find her own place to live. Nina leaves one weekend to take her daughter to camp. The whole dynamics of the household changed after that weekend. This is such a great thriller!

Let us know if you would like any titles added to your booklist or head over to BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) to download the titles now.  Need more information about BARD?  See our BARD Page. 

NLS Music Notes Virtual Meeting on April 23, 2024

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April 22, 2024

12:49 pm

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It was one of the first rock festivals in the US and featured breakthrough performances by The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Ravi Shankar, and Janis Joplin. Join us on Zoom on Tuesday, April 23, at 6:00 p.m. (central) for our quarterly NLS Music Notes event, where Music Section Head Juliette Appold and Music Reader Services Librarian Katie Rodda will talk about the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and related items in the NLS Music collection. A Q&A online chat will follow.

Link to Zoom Meeting

You can read Katie’s blog post about the Monterey Pop Festival.

Send NLS your questions in advance by writing to japp@loc.gov.

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Celebrating National Volunteer Month!

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April 19, 2024

1:00 pm

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Thanks to our volunteersApril is National Volunteer Month and the library would like to thank and acknowledge our many volunteers during this month who generously donate their time and efforts to the library. The library has many behind the scenes volunteers who help with narrating books, braille transcription, editing, shelving and processing books, and much more!  

Today we held our annual Elizabeth Perowsky Volunteer Workshop and Luncheon. Each year the Library and the Iowa Department for the Blind honor our volunteers with this luncheon and the theme for 2024 was Join Us for a Garden Party.  

During the luncheon, our volunteers from all areas of the library enjoyed lunch, networking and awards.  

As part of the Elizabeth Perowsky Volunteer Program we honor volunteers who have gone above and beyond throughout the year to assist and support the library. 

Every moment our volunteers give makes a huge difference in so many ways. Their willingness to share both their time and talents by volunteering with the Library says a lot. Their willingness to give selflessly to help others speaks to both their strength and the quality of their character. 

The library would also like to thank the Friends of the Library for their constant support, advocacy and commitment. Throughout the year the Friends raise funds through memberships and events which is then given to the library. These funds are essential to the success of many library programs such as: the Iowa Regional Braille Challenge, year-round youth programming, the purchase of 3D printers, additions to the library’s collection and so much more. For more information about the Friends of the Library go to http://www.iafriendslibraryfortheblind.org/ 

For more information about our volunteers, volunteer opportunities and our awards check out our Volunteer page.