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G2S Project Code: 2018-KY-81910
State: Kentucky
Fiscal Year: 2018

Grantee
Kentucky Department for Libraries & Archives

Project Director
Director Name: Barbara Penegor
Director Phone: 502-564-1738
Director Email: barbara.penegor@ky.gov

General Information
Title: Kentucky Talking Book Library
State Project Code: FY19041B
Start Date: 10/01/2017
End Date: 09/30/2019
Abstract: The Kentucky Talking Book Library (KTBL) provides free library service to Kentuckians who are physically unable to read traditional print due a visual or physical disability. Braille and audiobooks are mailed to patrons and returned postage free, or patrons may choose to download books from the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) website. Professional librarians provide user support, reader advisory, book selection service, patron account maintenance, and reference and referral services to their patrons. They also participate in outreach activities to introduce the service to potential new users.
KTBL purchased and recorded books relevant to Kentucky readers that would otherwise not be accessible. It also converted older analog audio books to digital format. All new and converted books were posted to the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) comprehensive online catalog, as well as the BARD download site, before being stored for preservation.

State Goal: Information Access

Budget Information

LSTA

MATCH-State

MATCH-Other

Total

$161,718.56

$377,529.73

$53,151.58

$592,399.87

Intent(s)
Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.
Reading Program (Not Summer Reading)
Collection Development & Management

Activities

Activity Details
Title: Kentucky Talking Book Library -- Description
Narrative:

KentuckyDepartment for Libraries and Archives (KTBL) librarians created cataloging and description fornewly-recorded titles and titles converted from analog format. Librarians wrote original annotations foreach title and assigned appropriate subject headings. Information was entered into the library’sdatabase for access by staff and patrons. Book records were submitted to the National Library Service’s (NLS) comprehensiveonline catalog and Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) website for discoveryby staff and patrons of the NLS network.

Inaddition to creating records for Kentucky-produced materials, KTBL librariansalso completed local book records for audio and braille books provided byNLS. This included assigning subject headingsso librarians can select books for patrons by matching book subject headingswith patron reading interests.

Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Description
Format: Digital

Quantity
Number of items made discoverable to the public: 102
Number of collections made discoverable to the public: 0
Number of metadata plans/frameworks produced/updated: 0

Partner Information

Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No

Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: Yes
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No

Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: Targeted
Geographic community of the targeted group: Urban
Suburban
Rural
For what age groups: All Ages
For what economic types: Economic Not Applicable
For what ethnicity types: Ethnicity Not Applicable
Is the activity directed at families: No
Is the activity directed at intergenerational groups: No
Is the activity directed at immigrants/refugees: No
Is the activity directed at those with disabilities: Yes
Limited functional literacy or informational skills: No
Is the activity category not already captured: No

Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types

Public Libraries: 0
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0

Activity Details
Title: Kentucky Talking Book Library -- Lending
Narrative: Kentucky TalkingBook Library (KTBL) usesDuplication on Demand (DoD) circulation, in which multiple books are downloadedas needed, creating a custom digital cartridge for each patron. KTBL disposed of its physical audiocollection, but still circulated physical braille volumes. KTBL requested fromlibraries for patrons mostly braille, with some locally recorded audio books.
Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Lending
Format: Combined physical & digital

Quantity
Total number of items circulated: 203,713
Average number of items circulated / month: 16,976
Total number of ILL transactions: 100
Average number of ILL transactions / month: 13

Partner Information

Public Libraries: 0
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0

Activity Details
Title: Kentucky Talking Book Library -- Acquisition
Narrative:

The Kentucky Talking Book Library (KTBL)purchased books of interest to Kentuckians for recording in the KTBL studio; inmost cases one print and one Kindle version of each title. Supplies purchased to support KTBL activitiesinclude: a table cover with the KTBL logo to use for outreach, mail card stock,toner cartridges, printer paper and braille paper, envelopes, labels, shippingboxes, and packing tape. KTBL purchaseda license to use Constant Contact online email marketing service to manage sendingits newsletter to hundreds of recipients.

Hardware purchased for the KTBLrecording studio: cables and replacement ear pads for headphones, and twohigh-quality BabyFace Pro RME audio interfaces—which serve as the brain of therecording booths, connecting computer, microphones, headphones, and speakersand allowing the operator to manipulate sound levels.

KTBL purchased two annual support andupgrades for the Hindenburg recording software. It also purchased a second license of iZotope RX 7 audio editor—asoftware plugin for noise reduction that allows a user to remove unwantedsounds; and five updated licenses for Sound Forge audio editor—which volunteersuse to “proofread” and edit raw book recordings.

Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Acquisition
Format: Combined physical & digital

Quantity
Number of hardware acquired: 11
Number of software acquired: 7
Number of licensed databases acquired: 0
Number of print materials (books & government documents) acquired: 37
Number of electronic materials acquired: 41
Number of audio/visual units (audio discs, talking books, other recordings) acquired: 0

Partner Information

Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No

Public Libraries: 0
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0

Activity Details
Title: Kentucky Talking Book Library -- Outreach
Narrative:

Kentucky Talking Book Library (KTBL)participated in outreach activities to promote awareness of its service to potentialusers. KTBL’s 50^thAnniversary was April 1^st and it organized a program tocelebrate. KTBL promoted it with a pressrelease, social media, and mailed invitations. The Cabinet created a video promoting KTBL in conjunction with theanniversary.

The Library staffed exhibit tables atconferences and health fairs, and participated in the Cabinet’s booth at theState Fair. KTBL purchased an ad andsent brochures/applications to be included in the conference packets For theKentucky Association of Educators and Rehabilitator Councilors’ annualconference. Librarians gavepresentations at the Lexington Senior Center, a Regional Bookmobile/Outreachmeeting, and a brief introduction during the Kentucky Federation of the Blind’sTechnology Symposium. Other outreachincluded a tour to Governor’s Scholars and info packets mailed to variousrecipients.

The KTBL Branch Manager participated in apanel discussion on Duplication on Demand aimed at other library staff servingthe Blind, and the Library of Congressfeatured KTBL in a YouTube videodemonstrating workflow examples.

Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Presentation/performance
Format: Combined in-person & virtual

Quantity
Presentation/performance length (minutes): 60
Number of presentations/performances administered: 18
Average number in attendance per session: 45

Partner Information

Public Libraries: 12
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 95

Activity Details
Title: Kentucky Talking Book Library -- Creation
Narrative:

KentuckyTalking Book Library (KTBL) produced 38 newly recorded books in its recordingstudio. Each were uploaded to the National Library Service for the Blind’sBraille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) website where they are downloaded byKTBL staff for mail circulation to its patrons. Registered patrons in KY and around the country, as well as otherTalking Book Libraries, can also download these books. Recording or reviewing/editing books wereperformed by 37 volunteers contributing 1117 hours of studio work.

Threeissues of the KTBL Newsletter were produced in accessible formats. In addition to news about the service, theJune issue contained a patron survey, while the September/October issuecontained a catalog of new Kentucky books. All were posted to the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA)website and social media (Facebook, Twitter).

KTBLLibrarians created braille sports schedules for Kentucky basketball, baseball,and football teams. Various sportsschedules and other information were brailled and mailed to patrons on request.

Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Creation
Format: Combined physical & digital

Quantity
Number of items digitized: 43
Number of items digitized and available to the public: 0
Number of physical items: 6,648
Number of open-source applications/software/systems: 0
Number of proprietary applications/software/systems: 0
Number of learning resources (e.g. toolkits, guides): 3
Number of plans/frameworks: 0

Partner Information

Public Libraries: 0
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0

Activity Details
Title: Kentucky Talking Book Library -- Preservation
Narrative:

Kentucky TalkingBook Library (KTBL) converted 64 existingmaster recordings of Kentucky books originally recorded on reel-to-reel tape todigital media. Staff cleaned up sound, added navigation markup, and formattedthem according to National Library Service (NLS) guidelines. They were uploaded to the NLS Braille andAudio Reading Download (BARD) website to be available for registered patronsand NLS network libraries to download. Titles will be perpetually available onLibrary of Congress BARD website, but archival master copies of converted titles were stored on an external harddrive and on the KDLA network for posterity.

Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Preservation
Format: Digital

Quantity
Number of items conserved, relocated to protective storage, rehoused, or for which other preservation-appropriate physical action was taken: 102
Number of items reformatted, migrated, or for which other digital preservation-appropriate action was taken: 64
Number of preservation plans/frameworks produced/updated (i.e. preservation readiness plans, data management plans): 0

Partner Information

Public Libraries: 0
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0

Activity Details
Title: Kentucky Talking Book Library -- Customer Service
Narrative: Kentucky Talking Book Library (KTBL) professional librarians providedcustomer service to its registered patrons and institutions. Patrons couldchoose to communicate with librarians by telephone, mail, email, or in person. Librarians provided readers’ advisory to helppatrons find and/or select books, they entered book requests on patronaccounts, and selected books for the majority of patrons. They answered questions about general usageand provided support for downloads from the National Library Service (NLS)Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) Website and BARD Mobile app. They tailored circulation patterns to eachpatron, and updated account information as necessary. Librarians referred patrons to other organizationsthat serve people with disabilities, and provided reference andbraille-on-demand service upon request.
Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Consultation/drop-in/referral
Format: Combined in-person & virtual

Quantity
Total number of consultation/reference transactions: 10,298
Average number of consultation/reference transactions per month: 858

Partner Information

Public Libraries: 48
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 1
Other: 0

Project Outcomes
Project Outcomes
List any important outcomes or findings not previously reported:
Overall patron count is up 7% over last year. This could be due to fewer patrons cancelled for inactivity because the inactive patron report was not functional for most of the year. Braille circulation is down 32% from last year due to an ongoing WebReads automation system problem. However, overall circulation is up 4%. Downloads from the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) site increased 13% over last year. Mobile devices remain very popular, with 361 new devices registered to 652 active BARD users. Kentucky Talking Book Library (KTBL) patrons borrowed an average of 47 items apiece; 67 if you factor in books they downloaded from BARD. Registered patrons at Kentucky’s public libraries borrowed an average of 11 items, including electronic materials. (Statistical Report of Kentucky Public Libraries, FY 2017-2018.) Duplication on Demand (DoD) continues to be a success, so much so that KTBL hired a temporary employee to dispose of its audiobook collection. Between March and May staff shipped 123,000+ books on digital cartridges to the National Library Service (NLS) for reuse. Approximately 21,000 items remain to be shipped in FFY 2020. KTBL had approximately 433 titles that were recorded digitally before libraries were allowed to post their books on the BARD download website. These books do not meet BARD qualifications, but KTBL loaded them onto the Duplication on Demand computer so they too can be circulated that way. There is only one drawback to the DoD system—the WebReads automatic circulation system arranges patron requests in such a way that NLS books are selected to be mailed before Kentucky Books. This has impacted Kentucky Book circulation, though NLS staff are working on a solution to this problem. KTBL staff received 10,298 phone calls, emails, mail, and walkins dealing with patron requests, reader advisory, account maintenance, BARD support, reference, or referral to other organizations. On the KTBL survey, 87% of patrons said their librarian had recommended titles or authors they had enjoyed, 46% of patrons said their librarian had provided assistance above and beyond routine service, or they entered an example of how their librarian helped them. In addition to providing customer service, librarians perform many behind-the-scenes tasks to enhance service. The predonimant task is assigning subject headings to new NLS books so they can be selected for the readers most likely to enjoy them. The NLS added 4,411 new titles to the collection this year. NLS has helped by creating an upgrade to the WebReads automation system so it will include a very generic subject heading with the title import. This has helped a little for patrons who are not very particular, but librarians must still enhance the record out with more detailed subject headings for matching to more choosy patrons. In addition to this task, librarians spend time each week working in the KTBL recording studio, posting to social media, fulfilling Interlibrary Loans from other states, and circulating newsletters in various formats. The recording studio is a vital part of KTBL service. This year it produced 38 new books that would otherwise not be available to print-impaired readers. These books are of particular interest to Kentuckians, whether they are about Kentucky, are by Kentucky authors, or have some other connnection to our state. In addition to newly-recorded books, KTBL is converting older reel-to-reel recordings to digital format; 64 were converted this year, an increase of 56% over last year. KTBL has a total of 336 Kentucky books posted to BARD, with 14,992 downloads--for an average of 45 per title. KTBL marked its 50th Anniversary in 2019, and staff organized a program and reception to celebrate. Invitations were mailed to 1350 patrons, organizations, and persons of interest, and the event was advertised via social media. It was attended by 101 people. The KTBL Studio Manager put together a video presentation that included current stats, KTBL history, photographs, and patron quotes, which ran on a large screen TV. The celebration also included a display of braille and talking book players used throughout the years, as well as tours of the library. The program was filmed, divided into 11 videos, and posted to YouTube. Here is a link to part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chxxdRIop50&t=4s. Here is a link to a video produced by the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet in advance of the anniversary: https://youtu.be/5ZVpa-LpVFU It is difficult to measure the success of particular outreach activities, such as the anniversary press release and video. The majority of those viewing or attending may not need the service themselves, but they may be the person who introduces someone else to Talking Books. It may be months or years before they share the information or come to need it themselves. The NLS national ad campaign continued during 2019; they accounted for 43 (7%) new applications; Blind Services and the Veterans Administration referred 30% of patrons to KTBL as part of their jobs. However, 47% of applicants were referred to KTBL by medical professionals, teachers, public libraries, nursing homes/adult day care centers, social workers/therapists, and friend or family. These are the groups that are likely to learn about KTBL as a result of its outreach efforts. According to the 2019 KTBL Patron Survey, 66% of patrons read braille or talking books every day; 13% report they read more than 6 hours a day! If not for KTBL 60% of respondents said they would not have access to reading materials; another 20% were not sure if they would have access. Most read for pleasure/entertainment (95%), but other responses include companionship (52%), education (44%), staying connected to the world (42%), religion (23%), and health (20%). When asked if Talking Books are important to their mental health, 74% reported Very Important, when asked in what ways braille and talking books impact their mental health, responses were eases loneliness or boredom—82%, provides mental stimulation—78%, improves concentration/memory—63%, helps come to terms with vision loss or physical disability—53%, lessens depression—49%, distracts from problems/physical pain—49%, lessens anxiety—39%, and increases confidences—27%.
Please briefly describe the importance of these outcomes and findings for future program planning:
Current patrons love their talking books. KTBL is serving only a fraction of potential eligible users. Outreach is vital to make the service known, as there is high patron turnover due to illness, death, and inactivity. Mobile devices used with BARD download are growing in popularity. Patrons have grown accustomed to Duplication on Demand service and it has reduced staff time spent on circulation and created more efficient customer service. Librarians continue to be essential for providing customer service, reader advisory, and cataloging.
Explain one or two of the most significant lessons learned for others wanting to adopt any facets of this project:
There is still a need for special libraries providing service to people who are print disabled due to blindness, low vision, or physical disabilites. While there are alternatives available, most require a fee, equipment, or skills that many KTBL users do not have. Talking Book service and equipment is specifically designed for those with visual and/or physical disabilities, and it provides access to a large and varied collection. KTBL will encourage other SLAA’s to work with NLS initiatives to provide service using new materials and/or delivery methods.
Do you anticipate continuing this project after the current reporting period ends:
Yes
Do you anticipate any change in level of effort in managing this project:
No
Explain:

Do you anticipate changing the types of activities and objectives addressed by the project:
No
Explain:

Was an evaluation conducted for this project:
Yes
Was a final written evaluation report produced:
No
Can the final written evaluation report be shared publicly on the IMLS website:
No
Was the evaluation conducted by project staff (either SLAA or local library) or by a third-party evaluator:
Third-Party
What data collection tools were used for any report outcomes and outputs:
Did you collect any media for the data:
What types of methods were used to analyze collected data:
Other:
How were participants (or items) selected:
What type of research design did you use to compare the value for any reported output or outcome:

Exemplary: No
Exemplary Narrative

Project Tags: Print disabled, Library for the Blind, Library of Congress