BULLETIN BOARD

A Newsletter of the Wisconsin Regional Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped
Spring 2004
Volume 21, Number 4

Wisconsin Braille Inc. Announces Free Tactile Books for Preschoolers

Wisconsin Braille, Inc. (WisBrl) has announced a new program for visually impaired preschoolers. Thanks to a generous grant from Braille International, Inc., 5 free books are being provided at no cost to parents of preschoolers. Each book is tactically inviting, some with raised drawings already included in the print, and others with tactiles added. In addition, braille labels are provided. It is not expected that all preschoolers will become braille readers, but the exposure is there for all. In addition, braille alphabet cards are provided for the parents, or other adult sighted readers, so that they can interpret the braille for the child, if necessary. The labels are in uncontracted braille, so only knowledge of the braille alphabet, and some punctuation marks, is required. All necessary symbols are provided on the braille cards. For further information, please contact Wisconsin Braille, Inc., 1142 Waban Hill, Madison, WI 53711-3709

Announcements:

Please try, when you borrow books from the Regional Library, to observe the 8-week circulation period. And when you borrow described videos, please observe the 1-week circulation period. Remember, other people may be waiting to receive these materials.

Resources:

The Regional Library is proud to announce that our Library Ambassador program is now up and running. If you are aware of a residential facility, adult day care, vision support group or other institution that would benefit from a visit by a Talking Book reader, who would demonstrate the machine and answer questions about the service, please contact the Regional Library.

During the next few months, readers may notice radio & television ads promoting the Talking Book Service-part of our 6-month "Take a Talking Book" outreach campaign. If you have a friend or relative who might benefit from our service, please be sure to describe it--we estimate we're reaching less than one-fifth of Wisconsin residents who could use our program, and we want to change that. Thank you for your help.

Bibliography : Readalikes for Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code."

The Da Vinci Code is the most-requested book at the Regional Library this spring. Here is some possible follow-up reading for those who enjoyed it.

Dan Brown. Angels and demons. Professor of religious iconology Robert Langdon is called to the Vatican to investigate the murder of a physicist by the brotherhood of the Illuminati, a secret medieval society. Joining Langdon is the victim's beautiful daughter, Vittoria, and scientists from CERN, a Swiss research facility. Some violence and some strong language. RC 51799

John Case. The Genesis code. In an Italian church, a doctor confesses a sin so detestable that the priest refuses him absolution. In Washington, D.C., an agent investigates the mysterious murder of his sister and her son. His probe uncovers a plot by a secret sect in Italy, which involves the unspeakable sin. Strong language and violence. RC 45547

Deborah Crombie. A Finer end. Detective Duncan Kincaid and his lover, the newly promoted Gemma James, travel to Glastonbury to help Duncan's cousin, Jack Montfort. Jack, haunted by the spirit of a medieval monk, needs help when his friends' lives are endangered. RC 55014

Clive Cussler. Treasure: a novel. When the great Library of Alexandria was sacked in A.D. 391, perhaps some of its fabulous art treasures and volumes from its library escaped the flames and were ferried across the Atlantic. This is the premise of a suspense caper that features green-eyed agent Dirk Pitt, a James Bond type whom "no woman could completely possess." Some strong language. Bestseller. RC 26993

Nelson DeMille. The lion's game: a novel. Former NYPD homicide detective John Corey and FBI agent Kate Mayfield are at the New York airport to meet a Libyan terrorist nicknamed "the lion." But the aircraft lands with all of the passengers dead and the lion missing. Violence, strong language, and some explicit descriptions of sex. Bestseller. RC 49310

Umberto Eco. The Name of the rose. A combination of religious heresy and a string of murders in a medieval Italian monastery brings Brother William onto the scene to rout out both the infidels and the perpetrator of the crimes. All of this revolves around secrets hidden in the abbey library, although what the mystery is remains elusive. Bestseller. RC 19739

Umberto Eco. Foucalt's pendulaum. Casaubon, a student of philology in the 1970s, is writing a thesis on the Templars, a monastic order of knights officially disbanded in the 1300s, though some say it only went underground and is still active. Casaubon discusses the order with his friends, Belbo and Diotallevi, and they decide to construct a bogus "Plan for the Templars." Before long the plan they invented has become real, and what started as a joke has become a nightmare. Bestseller. RC 30338

Glenn Kleier. The Last day: New Year's Eve, 1999. Following a geological explosion that destroys a secret research station in the Negev desert, a young woman appears, claiming to be the messiah for the approaching millennium. Performing miracles and revealing a new testament, Jeza attracts millions of followers. Reporter Jon Feldman senses the story of the ages and begins to investigate. Some violence. RC 47148

Katherine Neville. The Eight: a novel. Two women share an adventure spanning three continents and two centuries. Catherine Velis, a computer expert, is sent to Algeria and becomes involved in the search for a jeweled chess set that holds the key to great power. Her story alternates with that of Mireille de Remy, a novice at the Montglane Abbey in the revolution-torn France of 1790, who helped hide the chess pieces for safe keeping. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. RC 31050

Iain Pears. An instance of the fingerpost. In 1663 Dr. Robert Grove, a fellow at New College, Oxford, dies of arsenic poisoning. His former servant, Sarah Blundy, is hanged for his murder. But some say Sarah is innocent. Four men offer their views on Grove's death and Sarah's innocence during this period of religious, scientific, and political upheaval in England. Some violence. Bestseller. RC 47002

Daniel Quinn. The Story of B. Father Jared Osborne is dispatched to investigate a suspected Antichrist, known as B. As he engages B in dialogue, Osborne learns that B's tenets have less to do with God and spirituality than with man's responsibility to nature and the survival of the world. RC 43863

Daniel Silva. The Confessor. Israeli spy Gabriel Allon investigates the murder of his colleague Benjamin Stern. Stern was working on documents linking the Catholic Church to the Holocaust. Allon discovers an assassin hired by a conservative church group to keep its archives secret and the new pope silent. Violence and strong language. Bestseller. RC 55724

Barbara Wood. The Prophetess: a novel. As the millennium approaches, archaeologist Catherine Alexander discovers six scrolls while searching for the Well of Miriam. After translating the scrolls, she continues her search for the seventh, which will uncover religious revelations that the Catholic Church and other governments want kept secret. RC 46722

BULLETIN BOARD is published four times a year by the Wisconsin Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. It is available in large print, Braille, and audiocassette editions. The Wisconsin Regional Library makes no recommendations or endorsements concerning any products or services which may appear in this publication.

Wisconsin Regional Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped
813 West Wells Street
Milwaukee, WI 53233-1436
1-414-286-3045 (in Milwaukee)
1-800-242-8822 (in Wisconsin)
1-414-286-3548 (TDD)
1-414-286-3102 (FAX)
lbph@milwaukee.gov, (e-mail)
http://dpi.wi.gov/rll/wrlbph/index.html, (website)
http://wmbph.mpl.org/opac, (on-line catalog)

For questions about this information, contact Shiela A. Pollock (608) 224-5395

Last updated on 2/28/2008 8:52:00 AM