Bringing Books to the Blind and Print Disabled

Mary Rodgers Beal

Talking Book Services Director

Mary Rodgers Beal, Mississippi's Talking Book Services Director, attended the National Library Service’s Regional Conference for the Northern and Southern regions last month in Daytona Beach, Florida. (The Western and Midlands regions held separate conferences.) The State Librarian of Florida, Amy Johnson, and NLS Deputy Director, Jason Yasner, gave opening remarks for the multi-day conference. A highlight of her trip was the entertainment for the conference banquet: a patron of FTBBL is also an accomplished trumpeter who serenaded conference-goers during their meal. 

Mary Rodgers learned about ways other libraries utilize outreach, toured the Florida Talking Book and Braille Library (FTBBL), and met with librarians from other talking book libraries. She thinks the structure of the Florida TBBL is pretty interesting; it's one of the few states to have subregional branches in addition to their regional library. These branches are housed in public libraries around Florida. Mississippi libraries can, of course, contact Talking Book Services here at MLC directly for information and tools to connect with the blind and print disabled in their communities. She also checked into how other regional libraries are handling the transition to Books-on-Demand and networked with other librarians about common successes and setbacks.

Beal says that she looks forward to sharing what she learned with others in her department! This will include refreshers on repair and operation of current digital players, as well as information on a new player set to come out in the future. 

Would you like to get involved with Talking Book Services in Mississippi? If you or someone you know has a visual, physical, or print disability that prevents the reading of standard print books, give us a call toll-free at 1-800-446-0892. You can also ask for information on joining the MS Talking Books Friends group (Friends of Handicapped Readers) for National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled updates.

Happy Juneteenth!

Elisabeth Scott

Reference and Social Media Librarian

Americans have been celebrating Juneteenth since 1865; we rang in a new era when it became an official federal holiday in 2021. MLC's 2022 Stacks and Stories podcast episode celebrating the occasion touches on the history of Juneteenth National Independence Day, Mississippi's homegrown Freedom Day (the Eighth of May), and events in Mississippi for Juneteenth. But that was last year. This year we're focusing on Juneteenth as an opportunity to learn and to educate. We've put together a list of books that focus on Black history (including Juneteenth, of course) and the Black experience, many of them from a uniquely Mississippi angle. Get your TBR ready for a slew of great reads!

Meet MLC: Amanda Minor

Meet Amanda Minor, Library Consultant at the Mississippi Library Commission (MLC). Amanda works with public libraries across the state, providing advice and access to information and resources. Although she only began working at MLC in January, Amanda has already become heavily involved with agency work-life, like getting our new cookmobile project up and going. Amanda holds a bachelor's degree in History from the University of Arkansas at Monticello and a master's degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Southern Mississippi. She loves working at MLC because of the welcoming and positive work environment.

Amanda is a lifelong fan of libraries. She says, "Libraries are a unique institution in that their materials and services grow alongside their patrons. As a child, going to the school library was my favorite part of the school week. As a teen, I grew my love of reading with books from the public library. As a young adult, I spent countless hours in my college library studying and countless more working as a service clerk at my local public library. As an adult, I have worked as a high school librarian and now as a library consultant for MLC. My time spent working in public and school libraries has shown me exactly how important the materials and services libraries provide are to the communities they serve. Libraries are an indispensable community resource where people can connect with information, opportunities, and each other. I love that I have the opportunity to work with libraries and communities all over the state."

Unsurprisingly, Amanda also loves to read. Her favorite books are The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, and Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. When she isn't busy working at MLC or discovering new books, she enjoys cooking, baking, traveling, genealogy, and spending time with friends, family and pets.

Come Work at the Library!

Have you ever dreamed of working at a library? This is your chance to work at the Mississippi Library Commission (MLC)!

Our mission is strengthening and enhancing libraries and library services for all Mississippians, through leadership, advocacy, and service. Our award-winning facility is located at the Research and Development Center in Jackson, just off Lakeland Drive and Ridgewood Road. We are home to the Mississippi Center for the Book, a Patent and Trademark Resource Center, and the Mississippi Talking Book Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. We also offer extensive reference and interlibrary loan services for Mississippians and library consulting services and network services for libraries and librarians across the state.

MLC is hiring a Grant Programs Coordinator to oversee the state and federal subgrants to library systems in the state. Duties include opening subgrants, receiving applications, awarding grants, reviewing requests for approval of reimbursements, communicating with directors, close out of awards and final reporting.
Preferred knowledge/experience in federal and state rules, fluent in Excel, attention to detail, good communication skills, and proactive work ethic needed to be successful. If interested, please email mslib@mlc.lib.ms.us. You can also apply directly with the State Personnel Board website here.

We can't wait to add you to our team. Email us today!

PR Isn't Hard When You Have a Library Card

All Arthur references aside, we'd like to wish a huge congratulations to MLC's PR Coordinator Kristina Kelly!