Notes From the Director

Wolfner Library Celebrates its 70th Year As a Regional Library!

"Historic photo of blind persons receiving white canes on the steps of the St. Louis Public Library, former home of Wolfner Library, c1931."

In 1931, the Pratt-Smoot bill became law, and a national program of free library service to adult blind readers was established. The St. Louis Public Library, already providing library service to the blind, was selected by the Library of Congress as one of 18 regional libraries to conduct this free library service. Thus, Wolfner Library is observing its 70th anniversary as a regional library in the National Library Network.

Descriptive Video Service

Wolfner Library wishes to take this opportunity to thank the Friends of Wolfner Library for starting the descriptive video service. The administration of the descriptive video program has passed entirely to Wolfner Library. As a result of this change, a registration fee is no longer necessary to receive the descriptive video service. Other policies will remain the same: active, registered patrons of Wolfner Library in good standing may borrow descriptive videos, one descriptive video at a time is loaned to each patron and the loan period is one week, starting the day you receive the video. Videos are sent to and returned from you by the normal "Free Matter Mailing" route. There is no cost to you for these descriptive videos. However, you must provide your own VHS video cassette player on which to view them.

For those who have never used the program, descriptive videos are popular and classic movies, documentaries, and television programs enhanced with narration to assist people who are blind or visually impaired by describing actions, settings, gestures and other key visual elements. We have 263 titles available and have more descriptive videos on order. If you are interested in having descriptive videos as a part of your service, please contact Wolfner Library at 1-800-392-2614. Patrons currently receiving descriptive videos need not reapply; your service will continue as usual.

NEWSLINE

According to Peggy Chong, program coordinator, NEWSLINE® is still on track for the March 1, 2002, transfer to a nationwide 800 number system. This means every Missourian who qualifies for the service will be able to access all 48 newspapers available on NEWSLINE toll free. (The number of available newspapers is expected to increase.) All registered Wolfner Library readers automatically qualify for NEWSLINE. If you are interested in the NEWSLINE service and are not already a subscriber, we recommend you give Wolfner Library a call at 1-800-392-2614. We will complete your registration over the phone so you will be ready when the service expands to service throughout Missouri, and the rest of the nation, in March 2002.

New Staff

Three new staff members are inspecting your books as they are returned to Wolfner. Stacy Jo Butler, Lisa Warren and Ruby Reed have joined the circulation staff. We are now at full staff in circulation and are ready for the holiday mailings!

Finally, we at Wolfner wish you a holiday season filled with peace and joy.

Richard J. Smith, Director

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Bi-Folkal Kits Successfully Prompt Memories and Fun!

If you're looking for group activities for use at your nursing home, senior center, public library, or any other organization, look no further! Wolfner Library has an expanded collection of Bi-Folkal kits to help you provide fun, interesting programs!

Wolfner Library currently has a collection of 32 Bi-Folkal kits. These kits contain slide shows, videotapes, cassette tapes of sing-along songs, skits, and a variety of other activities that all revolve around a particular theme. Our newest kits include Remembering the Fifties, Remembering Fun & Games, and Remembering the Home Front. Bi-Folkal kits are designed to prompt memories and discussion, and they have been used to present successful programs across the state.

There is a six-week loan period for Bi-Folkal kits and one kit may be borrowed at a time. Any organization that borrows a kit is also responsible for paying postage to return the kit to Wolfner Library. For more information, and to request a kit, contact Vicki Jochimsen, reader advisor for institutions, at 1-800-392-2614.

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Wolfner Library's Summer Reading Club Goes Places with Books

Where did you go this past summer? The young patrons of Wolfner Library who joined the summer reading club discovered 2001 Places to Go! That was the theme of the annual program. For the second year the library offered participants the choice of two clubs, one for children and one for young adults. A total of 104 children and teens registered for the journey.

This year for the first time, readers counted the number of minutes they read every day instead of the number of books. The youth services librarian's goal was to foster the habit of reading daily. Readers who read 855 minutes during the two-month program earned a three-dimensional globe key chain. The ones who read an additional 285 minutes, for a total of 1,140 minutes, earned a book to keep in the format of their choice. Over half of the summer readers met the first goal, and nearly half of the club members met the second goal. The participants in the two clubs who reported their reading time read a whopping 193,261 minutes, slightly over 3,221 hours!

Grand prizes, awarded to 18 participants by random drawing, included talking globes, Monopoly games, tactile maps, a talking school bus, and United States savings bonds. Secretary of State Matt Blunt drew the names of the grand prize winners. Eight readers won $50 savings bonds provided by the Library Users of Missouri. The winners were Casey Lynn, Brittany Curless, Carrie Modesitt, Tim Rogers, Kristen Henson, Amy Reagan, Sylvia Modesitt, and Dalton Smetana.

Maggie Anderson and Katelyn Paquette won the talking globes. Evelyn Nash, Erick Gordon, Sarah Borgmeyer, and Matthew Gamewell won Monopoly games. Amanda Pulliam and Tori Roques won tactile maps. Six-year-old Kenneth Tyler Young was the lucky winner of a talking school bus, and Ben Peters won a tactile game called Down & Out.

Wolfner Library thanks the Library Users of the Missouri Council of the Blind for their generous donation of savings bonds and the Friends of the Wolfner Library who donated the books and other grand prizes. The children and teens and their parents thoroughly enjoyed the summer reading program.

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Carol's Magazine Corner

Would you like to go back in time to an era when life was simple and living was easy? Well, here are two magazines to help you recapture those wonderful, carefree years.

"Good Old Days" magazine, which focuses on life in America from 1900 to 1949, is full of stories about school days, working on the farm, trips to Grandmother's house for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, and much more. The stories are written by readers about the happy times, the bad times, and life in general.

"Reminisce" magazine is similar to "Good Old Days" magazine in that it focuses on the past. However "Reminisce" includes the decades after 1949 as it takes you on a sentimental stroll down memory lane.

If you would like to order either, or both, of these magazines, please contact the library at 1-800-392-2614.

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Readers' Favorites

You have been hearing about our recommended readings for about one year now. We know that many of you have some terrific books to recommend, too, and we would like to give you a chance to create a list of Readers' Favorites. So please email, mail, or call Debbie Musselman with your Favorite Romance and/or Favorite Mystery.

Only one recommendation in each category per person, please. We will compile the top 20 titles in each category into a recommended reading list for distribution during 2002. Debbie can be reached by emailing debbie.musselman@sos.mo.gov, calling 1-800-392-2614 or sending a note to Debbie Musselman, Wolfner Library, 600 W. Main, PO Box 387, Jefferson City, MO 65102. (If we get a good response, we will do another genre or two in the next newsletter.)

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New Recommended Reading Lists

The following mini-bibliographies have been produced since the last newsletter was released. The lists are available in large print, braille, or cassette format.

If you would like to receive a copy of any of these recommended readings, please call the library at 1-800-392-2614, write us a note, or send us an email at wolfner@sos.mo.gov. They can also be viewed on our web site, just search for "Wolfner" using your favorite search engine.

General Fiction
Great Fiction Bestsellers from 1930-1995
Lisa's List of Recent Reads
More "Beyond Oprah" Picks
More Good Books from Lisa
Never Judge a Book By Its Movie, Part 2
Tear Jerkers

Youth
Favorite Animal Stories
Ghost Stories for Youth

Mysteries
Legal Thrillers
Political Thrillers
Sisterhood of Senior Sleuths

Westerns
Wild, Wild Western Women

Nonfiction
Gold Medallion Award Winners for Inspirational Biography Much Ado About Money
Stage and Screen Biographies
World War II: True Stories

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NEWS YOU CAN USE: 2002 Calendars

The New Year is fast approaching, if you would like a list of organizations that produce calendars in braille, print/braille, or large print, please call Wolfner Library at 1-800-392-2614. Some of the organizations listed provide free calendars while other organizations charge for theirs; you will need to contact the organization yourself to obtain a calendar.

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Eye Care

The American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Knights Templar Eye Foundation are offering free eye care to U.S. citizens 65 or older who haven't seen an ophthalmologist in three or more years. The 7,300 participating ophthalmologists will provide a free exam and a year of treatment for any condition diagnosed at the initial visit. Participating doctors will accept Medicare and other insurance as payment in full with no out-of-pocket expense. Patients without insurance will be seen without charge. To learn more, or for a referral to a local participating ophthalmologist, call the National Eye Care Project at 1-800-222-3937.

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ALWAYS Contact Wolfner Library, 1-800-392-2614, when:

• your name, address, or telephone number changes;
• your machine malfunctions or doesn't play properly;
• your machine becomes lost or is stolen;
• your books stop coming;
• you have a question about your service;
• you need information on titles, subjects, or authors;
• you want to request books or magazines;
• you wish to have your services put on hold;
• you wish to discontinue service;
• you want statistics, research, or reference on any subject or topic.

Wolfner NEWS is a quarterly publication of the Secretary of State.

Matt Blunt
Secretary of State

Sara Parker
State Librarian

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WOLFNER LIBRARY STAFF

Sara Parker	State Librarian	sara.parker@sos.mo.gov
Richard Smith	Regional Librarian, Director	richard.smith@sos.mo.gov
Lisa Sanning	Reference Librarian, Editor
Nancy Doering	Youth Services Librarian	nancy.doering@sos.mo.gov
Bonnie O'Donnell	Administrative Aide	bonnie.odonnell@sos.mo.gov
Archie Andrews	Machines Coordinator	archie.andrews@sos.mo.gov
Ozzie B. Withers	Automation Coordinator	ozzie.withers@sos.mo.gov
Deborah Stroup	Volunteer Coordinator	deborah.stroup@sos.mo.gov
Paul Mathews	Reader Advisor A-Co	paul.mathews@sos.mo.gov
Susan Higgins	Reader Advisor Cp-G	susan.higgins@sos.mo.gov
Ginny Ryan	Reader Advisor H-L	ginny.ryan@sos.mo.gov
Cheryl Hassler	Reader Advisor M-R	cheryl.hassler@sos.mo.gov
Carol Mathews	Reader Advisor S-Z	carol.mathews@sos.mo.gov
Christine Jochimsen	Reader Advisor Institutions

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Wolfner NEWS is available in large print, braille, or on cassette. If you would like to receive an alternate format, please call the library at 800-392-2614.

REMEMBER: WOLFNER LIBRARY BOOK LOAN PERIOD IS SIX (6) WEEKS