mmccorm@d.cs.okstate.edu (05/29/91)
Part I In the discussion of Western Electric sound recordings, the subject of Talking Books for the blind was mentioned. Having been a user of the service for almost 35 years and having worked at the Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in one of my past lives, I would like to describe the details of how the system worked and how it works now. The Talking Book is administered by the Library of Congress. It began in 1939 and, even then, was quite innovative. The Talking Book records were 12-inch platters recorded at 33-and-1/3 RPM in the micro-groove format, just like modern albums. In the late 50's, the Library of Congress, ever interested in data compression, switched from 33-and-1/3 to 16-and-2/3RPM records. The voice quality of these disks was still excellent, but it only took half as many disks for any given Talking Book. The 1960's were a time of great technological change for Talking Books, just like many other things. The speed of the disks dropped to 8-and-1/3RPM where it is today, and the Library of Congress began using the new audio cassette tape format for some Talking Book issues. The disks, themselves, also underwent quite a slimming process from those first 33-and-1/3 RPM albums. Some time after the introduction of 16-and-2/3 RPM disks, the 12-inch diameter was changed to a 10-inch size. Also, in the late 60's, the Library of Congress introduced flexible disks. Most of you have seen these limber records as supplements to magazines and other such freebees. The first ones were, as I recall, terrible because the turntables of the 50's and 60's Talking Book players were covered with mats that didn't adequately support the flexible disks. Also, both shippers and users of the flexible disks had to get used to the fact that they weren't as forgiving of high heat, heavy feet, etc as rigid phonograph records. Today, the flexible disks are 8-inch black disks which at 8-and-1/3 RPM have about one hour of playing time per side. Since it is still cheaper to press large quantities of flexible disks than to produce a large quantity of tapes, the disks are still used for materials such as best-seller books and widely read magazines. Material with a more limited circulation such as specialty magazines are recorded on audio cassettes; I'll say more on this later. Some magazines, such as {Newsweek} are recorded on both formats. As the flexible disk and tape formats have matured, there have been some nifty innovations to make the materials easier to use. There is an audible system for indexing chapter headings or the beginnings of magazine articles which though very simple in concept, is pure genius. A low tone of about 50 to 100HZ is recorded for a second or two along with the reader's voice at the beginning of the important section. It is much like the 50 HZ slide synchronization tones used to trip the advance mechanism on 35MM film strip projectors. Under normal conditions, you don't hear the tone but if the disk or tape is played at several times the speed, the tone will be heard as a beep. This system works really well on tape-recorded material. For special reference materials such as cookbooks and dictionaries, there is a really neat system called Voice Indexing. It is done by superimposing a word or two onto a prerecorded tape at a much higher speed than the original recording. During fast-forward, the normal speech sounds like monkey chatter. The page or chapter index tones sound like occasional beeps, and the voice indexing information sound like a normal human voice telling you the name of the next section. When a Voice Indexed recording is played at normal speed, the Voice Index creates a sound like rolling thunder in the background. Those who look for hidden Satanic messages in rock music would have a field day with this technology, but I digress. Finally, while the cassette tapes used in the Talking Book program are the exact same tapes and cartridges used the world over for sound recordings, these days they would not be at home in a standard stereo or mono tape player. Just as with the disks, the Library of Congress has tried to fit more and more information into a smaller space. The early 70's saw a change from 1-and-7/8 ips tape speed to 15/16 ips speed. This is half the speed used for an ordinary cassette tape recording. The next big increase in efficiency occurred in the mid 70's when the four-track cassette was introduced. Today's Library of Congress Talking Books are recorded on either 8-inch flexible disks or 15/16 ips four-track cassettes. The Talking Book disk player, called a Talking Book Machine, looks like an average sized classroom phonograph. The lid can be removed so as to set the speaker somewhere else, but it usually works fine right on the machine. The controls are very basic and utilitarian, namely power, speed, volume and tone. They are marked in both raised large print and Braille. The tape players, about the dimensions of a large book, have a speed selector so as to be able to play 15/16 ips tapes or the normal 1-and-7/8 ips speeds. Their transport mechanisms have controls which would be familiar to anybody who has ever seen a cassette tape recorder. The buttons are molded with large raised international symbols such as < for rewind and > for fast-forward. In the second part, I will talk more about the Talking Books, themselves and what it is like to use them. Part II The Talking Book program of the Library of Congress is one of those government programs which works. It has, over the past 52 years grown and matured technologically, but it still performs it's original function of bringing otherwise inaccessible materials to people who are blind or otherwise physically handicapped so as not to be able to read a printed book. The Library of Congress distributes Talking Books and players to a network of regional distribution libraries in all 50 states. Any American citizen who is legally defined as blind or print handicapped can borrow a Talking Book disk player and a special four-track tape player free of charge. The actual Talking Book records and tapes are also loaned free of charge. A patron of the service need only ask his or her regional lending library for a certain title and it is sent if available. Every couple of months, the Talking Books Publishing division of the Library of Congress distributes a catalog of the latest new books they have put on disk or tape. They also give listings of recorded materials which are produced by private organizations. While not all of these privately produced materials are free, they provide another source of recorded information. Talking Book disk players and tape machines break, from time to time and their repair is free to the user. In many parts of the country, the Telephone Pioneers, an organization of AT&T employees, donates their time and technical expertise to repairing these machines. While I really know very little about the Telephone Pioneers, their handiwork is always very impressive and should qualify for a few articles in comp.dcom.telecom. The quality of the production of Talking Books is purely professional. The readers are actors, actresses, and even radio and television announcers. They are often paid for their work, but sometimes donate their time. Full-length books are recorded with scrupulous adherence to accuracy. Weekly magazines such as "Newsweek," and "U.S. News and World Report," are produced in recording marathons in which the content of the magazine is split up among several readers and then edited into one recording. Again, every effort is made to insure that the readers are accurate. A few of the books such as Alistair Cooke's book about the founding of the United States are actually read by their authors. Since virtually all of the books which are turned into Talking Books are copywrited, the Library of Congress or any other organization which wants to transcribe a book onto an audio tape must get permission from the publisher. Such permission is usually granted as long as the information in the book or article is not modified in any way. What kinds of books are on Talking Book? The selection committee at the Library of Congress uses the "New York Times Best Seller List" as one of the criteria for deciding which books to transcribe. The list of recorded Talking Book titles is a cross-section of the kinds of books that all Americans read. The Talking Book program and the support provided by such groups as the Telephone Pioneers is a good example of human ingenuity and good intentions forming a truly useful service. Martin McCormick Amateur Radio WB5AGZ Oklahoma State University Computer Center Data Communications Group Stillwater, OK
Steve Forrette <forrette@cory.berkeley.edu> (06/07/91)
In article <telecom11.410.1@eecs.nwu.edu> Martin McCormick writes: > Since virtually all of the books which are turned into Talking > Books are copywrited, the Library of Congress or any other > organization which wants to transcribe a book onto an audio tape must > get permission from the publisher. Such permission is usually granted > as long as the information in the book or article is not modified in > any way. In fact, the government promotes giving such permission. There is a check-off box right on the copyright filing form where you can give the Library of Congress permission to do the conversion. I would imagine that just about everybody does so (I did!). Steve Forrette, forrette@cory.berkeley.edu