Now on the Web: NLS-related chatcast and '70s' book discussion

You can now enjoy an online recording of an eBookWorm discussion with Michael Moodie, Deputy Director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), a division of the Library of Congress. Last Thursday he discussed the future of digital books for the blind and others with disabilities. The audio file is in WMA (Windows Media Audio) format.

Also online is an Audio Avenue Meeting of the Minds discussion about Bruce J. Schulman's book The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics. Here's the WMA audio link for discussion of the '70s book.

Due to a medical emergency--my mother broke her hip--I couldn't tune in real time but I look forward to hearing both recordings.

Coming up:

July 14, 7-9 p.m. Central Daylight Time: A Meeting of the Minds discussion will take place about The Collected Short Stories of Isaac Bashevic Singer, published in 1982 by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

July 22 at 3 CDT: The featured guest on eBookWorm will be Geoff Freed, Project Manager of the Beyond the Text Project at the CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM).

"The book discussions we will hold on Saturday, Sept. 11 should be interesting, too," says Tom Peters, the moderator for eBookWorm and Meeting of the Minds. "We'll get to discuss another of my favorite books, Huck Finn." Huck should be especiallly meaningful in a 9/11 context. What a contrast between him and the medieval mindsets of the terrorists.

All of the online programs are scheduled for the "OPAL Auditorium" which can be accessed through the following URL:

http://www.tcconference.com/lib/?auditorium&nopass_field=1

A small, safe chat program will end up on your computer if you haven't visited the site before. Just type in your name when asked, and you're all set as long as you have a sound card (and a mike if you want to speak out, not just type).

Questions? Contact Tom Peters (chatcast moderator) or Lori Bell for details on particpating in the discussions. While mainly for the blind, they're open to all and are free.