GLS News A newsletter for friends of the Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled https://gls.georgialibraries.org Volume 11, Issue 2, Summer 2023 All Together Now for Summer Reading 2023 Get ready for summer reading fun for all ages! The GLS Summer Reading Program starts Thursday, June 1 and runs through Friday, August 4. Earn points by reading what you like, attending library programs, and doing activities at home. The more points you earn, the more incentives and prizes you can receive. Attend a virtual kickoff on June 1, or join us in person at the library in downtown Decatur on June 8 to get things started in style. Virtual and in-person programs will occur throughout June and July, with something for adults, teens, and kids of all ages to enjoy. Prizes and incentives along the way will keep things fun, and the reader who logs the most points in each age group by August 4 wins a grand prize. Find out more and sign up at 800-248-6701 or gls@georgialibraries.org. #GAC2023 is a wrap! The Georgia Accessibility Conference came back as an in-person event this year, convening in Jekyll Island, Georgia, March 13-15, 2023. The biennial conference is an important component of the ongoing work to empower Georgia’s public libraries in providing accessible and inclusive programs and services for people with disabilities. At the end of three days of learning, networking, and socializing, the library staff and strategic partners in attendance pronounced the conference a success. There is more to the story! Read a detailed wrap-up of the 2023 Georgia Accessibility Conference on the GLS blog at https://gls.georgialibraries.org/gac2023-is-a-wrap/. GLS covers the state with Programs on the Go Here at GLS, our goal is always to meet our patrons where they are. Our latest initiative is Programs on the Go, sponsored by the Friends of GLS volunteer group. Programs on the Go brings GLS staff and Friends members to your local library, showing patrons and public library staff that most programs provided by libraries can include GLS patrons and be fun for all. Programs on the Go debuts at the Athens-Clarke County Library on Saturday, June 17, 2023, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. The fun starts with blind-friendly bingo, snacks, and prizes and continues with an impromptu talent show. Blind, visually impaired, and sighted people in the Athens area are invited to attend. Call the Athens library at 706-613-3650 for details. Call Vanessa at 800-248-6701 to find out more about Programs on the Go and how to bring the excitement to your community. GLS patron volunteers at local library Meet Shay, a GLS patron who volunteers at the Roddenbery Memorial Library in Cairo, Georgia. Shay was born with optic nerve hypoplasia, a low-vision condition. She decided to become a volunteer nearly two years ago, after attending an anime club meeting at the library. “I was tired of staying at home all the time. I come to the library to hang out and have fun,” states Shay. “I used to be very shy, kind of awkward. I’ve come out of my shell quite a bit because of coming here.” As a volunteer, Shay primarily works with the teens but also serves in other areas where needed, such as shelving books or helping with the library’s family fun day. She volunteers twice a week, assisting with the library’s Dungeons and Dragons program. Shay is also an active member of the library’s book club, Shelf Indulgence. She is currently reading The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott. When she is not at the library, Shay is a digital artist and occasionally completes commissions for clients. Meet Will Smith, GLS Distribution Center Assistant Library assistant Will Smith began as an intern with GLS in 2008 and joined the GLS Distribution Center (GDC) as staff in 2010. According to Will, “When I first started, people thought it was ironic that a deaf person works with talking books for a library for the blind; now they ask about me getting a promotion.” Will earned his master’s degree in library and information science from Valdosta State University in 2016. In his spare time, he likes to listen to old radio programs like The Shadow, Suspense, and A Prairie Home Companion at maximum volume. Will has served in both the past and present as chair to the Georgia Library Association interest group on Library Services for Persons with Disabilities (LSPD). The LSPD group promotes inclusion and accessibility, assisting library staff with information on how to provide service to people with disabilities in their libraries. As Will reminds us, “A one-size solution does not fit all libraries, nor does it cover all disabilities.” On a typical day at the GLS Distribution Center (GDC), the staff begins the morning by checking out talking book machines and individual cartridges with already downloaded books from NLS. They print out mailing address cards and attach them to the cartridge containers and machine boxes, then place everything into large mailbags for pickup by the mail carrier. The afternoon routine involves checking in all returned cartridges from the incoming mail delivery. An important part of the daily work is a thorough cleaning of both containers and cartridges to reuse the following day. Every returned talking book machine is carefully inspected, cleaned, and fully charged to prepare it for the next person who will receive it. Don’t miss our recurring programs on Zoom Tech Talk - Monthly: Second Tuesday, 10 a.m.-12 noon Peer Support Group - Monthly: Third Wednesday, 2-4 p.m. For Grown Folks Only Book Club - Bimonthly (June, August, October): Second Wednesday, 2-4 p.m. Donors’ corner Your donations are appreciated. Please make checks payable to the USG Foundation and write GLSBPD on the memo line. Mail checks to: GLS Atlanta, One Margaret Mitchell Sq., NW, First Floor, Atlanta, GA 30303. Visit https://gls.georgialibraries.org/newsletter to subscribe to GLS News and to read current and back issues. Call 800-248-6701 to request this newsletter in alternative formats. GLS News is published quarterly by the Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (GLS), a division of Georgia Public Library Service, a unit of the University System of Georgia. This publication is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to Georgia Public Library Service under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled Director: Kristin White Toll Free: 1-800-248-6701 Fax: 404-657-1459 https://gls.georgialibraries.org/