NEW 2021 AT TBL

    “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.”

— Proverbs 23:18 (NIV)

End of the tunnel 

 

Happy New Year to all our friends, partners and supporters, with God as our leader we are prepared to live another year under his guidance.

The traditional new year greetings we normally exchange at this time of year felt somewhat different this time, as we continue to be buffeted by the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in a total disruption of what we considered our normal way of life, which has been replaced by restrictions and an impersonal approach to social interactions.

TBL has also had its share of challenges. We have had to close our operating facilities and work virtually, resulting in much lower levels of production than normal. This was however necessary to maintain compliance with Public Health directives, and ensuring the safety of volunteers, staff, and board.

We are also painfully aware that many of our beneficiaries are beset by isolation, loneliness, and a range of other hardships in these difficult times.

I have a 91-year-old aunt who lives in a retirement residence, and my frequent visits have been restricted due to a COVID outbreak at the residence. All residents during the outbreak were ordered to “Shelter in Place”, which meant confinement to their respective suites for weeks.

I asked my aunt how she has been able to cope, and she responded: “I don’t know how I would survive without my audio books, as each day through them, in my mind, I visit new places, and share in new experiences”. My sanity depends on it.

For her, and many others, Words Give Life.

We look forward with optimism that we will all have a better, healthier year, and also being secure in the knowledge that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

God bless you all and stay safe.

 

Winston Miller

Interim Chair, Board of Directors

 

One Small Step from Us

One Giant Leap for Your Experience

Introducing the new and enhanced TBL Book List

 

 

TBL has recently redeveloped a publication list page on its website, a hidden treasure that some of you may know, but many don’t. The list includes almost 800 audio publication titles TBL has published in digital DAISY format that are available through CELA (Centre for Equitable Library Access) catalogue, the distributor of our audio books.

Previously navigating from the TBL website to the CELA catalogue and selecting a specific book was not straight forward. We have heard you and have been wanting to do something to make a better experience for you.

Thanks for the Lord’s supply and provision, even during the pandemic period in 2020, we were able to engage through the Canada Summer Jobs program a computer science student, Elliot Young, who comes from a Christian missionary family, to help us on this project.

Many people, those with visual impairments and their caregivers, have indicated how much they would appreciate this feature of being able to quickly locate book titles for their reading pleasure.

Introducing the new and much enhanced version of the TBL Book List!

Here are some highlights of the new list:

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It fits on desktop or laptop screens very well and is also mobile device friendly.

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You can generate and download a pdf version of the complete list by yourself right on the page.

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There is a universal search box that you can type in any keywords from the title, author, genre, or year of publishing.

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You can now CLICK the book title and “JUMP” directly to the page of that specific title inside the CELA website for a speedy checkout! This is one small step from us, one giant leap for your experience!

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You can also choose how many titles you want to view each time. The default is 25. You can use navigation arrows at the bottom-right corner of the list to navigate through the entire list.

We want to know what you think. Please write to us at info@talkingbooklibrary.org for your feedback, suggestions, and of course, encouragement!

May God bless you!

 

Helios He