Network Bulletin No. 98-32
Date: May 22, 1998
Subject: Reference materials
Index term: 1998 NLS program factsheet, new reference
circular, and a package library
Print reference copies of the following documents are
enclosed:
1. The 1998 NLS program factsheet, _Facts: Books for Blind
and Physically Handicapped Individuals_. The factsheet has
been placed on the NLS website (http://www.loc.gov/nls) and
will be available in braille later this year. Additional
print copies may be ordered from your multistate center.
The MSC stock number is BR001.
2. The reference circular _Assistive Devices for Use with
Personal Computers_, 98-01, January 1998 (for your
Reference Circular binder). You may order additional
copies of this publication from your multistate center; the
MSC stock number is CR003. The circular is available over
the Internet and, upon request, on computer diskette. It
will be available in braille and audio cassette later.
Please note that _Assistive Devices for Reading_, 93-02,
September 1993, has products not listed in the new
circular. Thus, even though addresses and telephone
numbers have changed, the older circular can be used to
identify companies that may still carry devices such as
book holders, page turners, magnifiers, and closed-circuit
televisions.
3. The Package Library entitled _Computer Access_. Except
for the reference circular, the items included are not
available in multiple copies. Please feel free to
duplicate as many copies as you need.
___________________________________________________________
_Access to NLS Information on the Internet_
The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress, provides access to
its resources and services through its web, FTP, and telnet
sites and provides a point of contact via e-mail.
_NLS Web Site_
The NLS Web site provides information about the free
library program of braille and recorded materials
circulated to eligible borrowers through a network of
cooperating libraries. Visitors to the site can search the
NLS Union Catalog of more than 240,000 special-format books
through Web-BLND, a forms-based search system. The site
also includes information about the latest special-format
book and magazine offerings, an audio sample of a talking
book, news about the latest developments in special library
service, and links to home pages of many regional and
subregional libraries.
Factsheets, directories, reference bibliographies, and
reference circulars posted on the site give current
information about topics such as blindness, physical
disabilities, sources of special materials, and library
service. A monthly bulletin specially geared toward
readers with print disabilities, titled "Focus on
Electronic Information," provides information on full-text
Internet resources.
The site is designed for access by graphic and text-based
browsers. It also includes links to all the locations
mentioned below.
To connect to the NLS web site, point your browser to
http://www.loc.gov/nls/
_FTP (File Transfer Protocol) Site
The NLS FTP site contains reference documents; annual
catalogs, bibliographies, and other book listings;
newsletters; and technical documents in plain-text (ASCII)
format for convenient downloading and saving. These files
are available through anonymous FTP. The address of the
FTP site is ftp.loc.gov. Once connected, change directory
to pub, then nls. The nls directory consists of several
subdirectories that contain the downloadable documents.
_Telnet (LOCIS)_
The Library of Congress Information System (LOCIS) is a
command-driven system for searching the Union Catalog.
Users connect to LOCIS using the following address:
telnet://locis.loc.gov. To get to the NLS Union Catalog
directly through LOCIS, select item #4, Braille and Audio,
from the main LOCIS screen. Users are cautioned that while
this older system has powerful searching and indexing
capabilities, it does require the use of a specific command
language. For further information including a tutorial for
searching the NLS catalogs, a full list of language codes,
and holding agencies, consult _Union Catalog Online:
SCORPIO Files BPHP and BPHI_. This document is available
in print or braille or on computer diskette from the NLS
Reference Section, as an audiocassette book in the NLS
collection (RC 38507), and online via anonymous FTP from
ftp.loc.gov/pub/nls/online.search.guide.
_E-mail_
You may use the Internet to send e-mail messages to NLS.
The NLS address is [log in to unmask] Messages are forwarded to
specific departments within NLS. Music program users may
send messages directly to the Music Section by sending e-
mail to [log in to unmask]
[Attachment: This bulletin contained additional
attachments that were mailed to the network on
May 22, 1998.]
For further information contact:
Linda Redmond, Head, Reference Section
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