Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library

08/18/2026

"Unsolved Indiana: Murder Mysteries, Bizarre Deaths & Unexplained Disappearances" by Autumn Bones is the latest book to be recorded by Indiana Voices and uploaded to BARD. Download it today DBC17832.

08/15/2026

Applications are available at https://www.in.gov/library/tbbl/

08/12/2026

"Reunion on the Wabash" by Sterling North is the latest book to be recorded by Indiana Voices and uploaded to BARD. Download it today DBC17819.

08/06/2026

Join us on Zoom for a full slate of practical, patron-focused events this month! All take place at 7 p.m. eastern time. Get details on how to join each session and listen to recordings of previous sessions at the links below.
First up, on Thursday, August 13, is the Many Faces of BARD. This month’s topic is Updating the DA2, the next-generation NLS audiobook player. After the presentation and demonstration, we will take your questions about all things BARD for the remainder of the hour. https://www.loc.gov/nls/news-and-updates/many-faces-of-bard?loclr=fbnls
The topic for the Thursday, August 20, Smart Speaking to the Smart Speaker program is Updated Preference Options in the My Talking Books Skill on Alexa, Part 2. A recording of Part 1 from last month is available at the link below. After the presentation and demonstration, we will answer any questions you have about the My Talking Books skill for Alexa-enabled smart speakers. Get details at https://www.loc.gov/nls/news-and-updates/smart-speaking-to-the-smart-speaker?loclr=fbnls.
Finally, the topic for the Tuesday, August 25, That All May eRead program will be Previewing the New Features of Version 3.1 of the NLS Braille eReader. https://www.loc.gov/nls/news-and-updates/that-all-may-eread?loclr=fbnls.

[Image: Close-up photo of a DA2 audiobook player in a patron’s hands.]

08/06/2026

Discover the north shore of Cape Cod, featuring the area around the Life-Saving Station Museum and Highland Lighthouse – you may even encounter a humpback whale. https://tinyurl.com/3wsvw8cz
Brought to you by Braille Institute National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled and Kim Charlson, Executive Director of Perkins Library

[Image: Photo of a lighthouse, white at the bottom, red at the top, with a black railing and cupola encasing the windowed lantern room atop the tower with text reading Take a Sea Shore Tour.

Discover the north shore of Cape Cod, featuring the area around the Life-Saving Station Museum and Highland Lighthouse – you may even encounter a humpback whale. https://tinyurl.com/3wsvw8cz
Brought to you by Braille Institute National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled and Kim Charlson, Executive Director of Perkins Library
State Library of Kansas

[Image: Photo of a lighthouse, white at the bottom, red at the top, with a black railing and cupola encasing the windowed lantern room atop the tower with text reading Take a Sea Shore Tour.]

08/06/2026

NLS Director Jason Broughton was the guest on a recent episode of the US Postal Service podcast “Mailin’ It” to discuss Free Matter for the Blind mail and its importance to the NLS program. Broughton also talked about the history of NLS, how the program operates and the ways evolving technology has made it easier than ever for patrons to access audio and braille books whenever and wherever they desire. You can listen to the 30-minute podcast at https://usps-mailin-it.simplecast.com/episodes/free-mail-for-the-blind. And read more about the partnership between NLS and the USPS to improve the speed and efficiency of Free Matter mail in last fall’s issue of the NLS newsletter, at https://www.loc.gov/nls/news-and-updates/quarterly-newsletter-news/news-july-december-2025?loclr=fbnls.
[Image: NLS Director Jason Broughton speaks at an NLS-USPS event this past February to celebrate the Free Matter for the Blind program.]

07/31/2026

Today is the last day of the Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library's Summer Reading Program. Make sure to get your gameboard mailed back to Abby. All you have to do is turn it over and fold it in half and tape it shut. Our address is already on there.

07/29/2026

Children's Author Candace Fleming will be at the Indiana State Library on Saturday August 8 at 2:00 pm!

Join the state library in welcoming author Candace Fleming! Fleming, originally from Indiana, will visit the Indiana State Library on Saturday, Aug. 8, at 2 p.m. Her book, Imogene's Last Stand, tells the tale of Imogene, a young girl from a small town who discovers the town’s abandoned historical society and works to restore it and save it. Fleming is the author of more than 50 books for children and young adults, including the 2021 Sibert Medal-winning “Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera” and the 2021 American Library Association YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award-winning “The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh.” Fleming will read from her book and share her passion about storytelling, writing and history. She will offer time for questions and book signing following her presentation. Books will be available for purchase.

This event is free and open to public!

No registration is necessary.

If you cannot attend in person, but would like to attend virtually using zoom, you can register here. https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_VZS_UZU5R92XZ1LN9_X4AA #/registration

Parking validation will be available for attendees who park in the Senate Avenue parking garage directly across from the library and bring their ticket in for validation.

Send questions to Tammie Buchanan at [email protected]

The Indiana State Library will make all reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all of its programs, services, and activities. If you require an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in this program, service or activity of the Indiana State Library, please contact Diana Doore at 317-232-6276 or [email protected]. Notice of a needed accommodation should be provided as soon as possible to allow time for the State Library to arrange for the accommodation; however, notice of a needed accommodation must be provided to one of the above contacts no later than 48 hours in advance.

Date:
Saturday, August 8, 2026

07/27/2026

Indiana Talking Book & Braille Library patrons can learn more about the Childhood of Gene Stratton Porter by checking out DBC17873 Bird Girl.

GENE STRATTON-PORTER

A picture of Gene Stratton-Porter leaning against a large boulder, holding a trowel and a satchel, is one of several photographs of her available in the Indiana State Library’s digital collection. A world-renowned Hoosier author and naturalist, Stratton-Porter spent a vast amount of time outdoors in Limberlost Swamp in Adams County, and later, at Sylvan Lake near Rome City.

She captured wildlife in their native environment, particularly birds and moths, in photographs and sketches. Many of her photographs appear in the innumerable magazine articles and books, both fiction and nonfiction, that she wrote about the natural world. Stratton-Porter’s career as an author, photographer and filmmaker was all in service to her lifelong calling of imparting both her love of nature and her commitment to preserving the environment.

Summer is an excellent time to follow Stratton-Porter’s example and explore the great outdoors. Hoosiers can visit Indiana’s many state parks and historic sites, two of which once belonged to Stratton-Porter. Her Indiana homes, Limberlost Cabin and Cabin at Wildflower Woods, are situated amongst nature preserves and sanctuaries formed from the swamps and woodlands that inspired her many novels, including “A Girl of the Limberlost.”