INSIGHT

A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE SPECIAL NEEDS LIBRARY OF NORTHEAST GEORGIA

The Special Needs Library of Northeast Georgia is a part of your public library and the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, serving Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Greene, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hancock, Hart, Jackson, Jasper, Madison, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Putnam, Rabun, Stephens, Walton and White counties. We do not endorse any product or service mentioned in this newsletter.

800-531-2063, 706-613-3655

Email: specialneedslibrary@athenslibrary.org

Staff: Claudia Markov, Pete Hayek, Lavern Gordon, Amber Wilkerson

MARCH 2006

Open House

March 3, 2006 is the 75th Anniversary of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. To celebrate this momentous occasion the Special Needs Library is having an open house. Come by for refreshments and meet Amber. Friday, March 3rd, 2:00 - 4:00.

VISION SUPPORT GROUP

The Athens Council of the Blind will hold the first Vision Support Group meeting on Saturday, March 25, 2006. Come out and share with others how you are adjusting to your visual loss. Make new friends while learning new techniques and coping strategies to make the transition to living with low vision or blindness easier. Whether you have recently experienced a loss of some or all of your sight, or are congenitally blind, the Vision Support Group can help to provide some answers to many questions you may have. This is also an opportunity for networking with others who have experienced visual loss as well. Family members are also welcome. The Vision Support Group meeting will be held at Ryan's Steakhouse at 10:00AM on March 25, 2006. Please call 706-227-6142 to reserve your space.

Great Decisions 2006

Volunteers at the Arizona Regional Library have recorded Great Decisions 2006 for us to send to our patrons. If you are interested in receiving Great Decisions 2006, let us know at the Special Needs Library. The Great Decisions Discussion Program is designed to encourage debate and discussion of the important global issues of our time. The program provides materials that help people reach informed opinions on the issues and participate in the foreign policy process. You can find more information about Great Decisions on the Foreign Policy Association website at www.fpa.org..

Thank You

The Special Needs Library would like to thank Dr. Alta Allen for the kind donation of an Optelec 2000 video magnifier. Please feel free to come try it out during business hours.

National Eye Institute

The National Eye Institute website contains information about eye health, eye care resources, statistics about the most common eye diseases, education programs, results of clinical studies and much more. They also have examples of what a person's vision looks like with various eye diseases. The National Eye Institute's website address is www.nei.nih.

National Association for Visually Handicapped

The National Association for Visually Handicapped is a non-profit health organization dedicated to providing assistance to the partially sighted. Their mission is to help the "hard of seeing" worldwide cope with the psychological effects of visual impairment and to provide low vision services, visual aids and training to anyone in need of these services. They have a free large print lending library and other information available. Their website is www.navh.org.

Christian Record Services

Christian Record Services provides free Christian publications and programs for people with visual impairments. Among their services are magazines in Braille, large print and cassette; over 1,700 books available in Braille and on cassette that can be checked out; sacred music and hymns on cassette; and scholarship assistance to legally blind young people. For more information or to sign up for their services, call 402-488-0981, or check online at www.christianrecord.org

Technology Newsletter

E-Access Bulletin is a free, independent monthly e-mail newsletter produced in England, on information technology issues for people with visual impairment and blindness. The Bulletin covers everything from consumer electronics to the Internet, examining design and access issues and technical development. For more information about this newsletter, visit their website at www.e-accessibility.com.

Here is a list of books with Irish themes in honor of St. Patrick's Day on March 17th.

Bobby WorldWide Approved