Blind, disabled people stay literate with book program

Dave Mitchell is a bookworm.

But the Tempe 61-year-old has been blind since a retina detachment in 1989.

Mitchell is one more than 65,000 Arizonans eligible to use talking books — and he’s taking advantage of it.

The Arizona State Braille and Talking Book Library manages the program. Volunteers include six three-person teams who record from the Mesa Public Library.

The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped has run the program since 1931, but Arizona didn’t get its own talkingbook library until 1970.

The service is free and available to anyone who has trouble reading standard-size print in books, magazines or newspapers because of visual impairment or other disability.

Talking-books clients order titles over the phone or online.

Books on tape are sent by mail along with a special tape player.

A change from cassette tapes to audio books on Flash memory cards, including a digital studio at the Mesa Public Library, is also in the works.

Mitchell discovered talking books shortly after he lost his sight.

"I read a lot of newspapers and books, I really appreciate it,’’ he said, adding that he has a wide range of interests in fiction and nonfiction.

"It’s amazing. You can find something no matter what your interest,’’ he said.

He also admires narrators.

"The narration is amazing, no matter what you interest is,’’ he said.

Mesa resident Pam McCune, 76, has narrated talking books for more than nine years.

She spends most of her time in Phoenix but recently came to Mesa to narrate "Senior Spirituality’’ by Harold Nelson.

"I enjoy doing something that can really help people,’’ McCune said.

She speaks in a soft but engaging voice laced with a slight British accent.

"I think it’s leftover British. I don’t hear it, but I know it’s there,’’ joked McCune, an Australia native.

McCune has narrated 20 books, including historical novels set in England, mystery books, detective stories and a story set in Yuma.

She chooses new books to read from a list of available titles or from client requests, according to her talent and tastes.

Each book takes three to six months to record, including ample prereading, referring to other texts, checking foreign words and odd spellings, and looking for deviations from the text.

The recorded product passes through two reviewers to correct any mistakes.

McCune said she tries to make listening to books as authentic as visual reading, and thinks she comes close.

"I try to put all the color and life into the reading, make it come alive, so they can recreate the details in their own imaginations,’’ she said.

Listening to talking books takes specialized equipment for a smooth process and to ensure against piracy. Fifty machine-repair volunteers work in Arizona, including a group at the Mesa Public Library and one at Springs Assisted Living Home in Mesa.

Madge Farkas, 62, of Mesa retired three years ago. Within six months, she was volunteering at the Springs site for about five hours every Wednesday.

"I needed something to do. I got into this and I just dearly love it,’’ Farkas said.

"People come in here with their machines, and it really puts a smile on their face when I can fix it, said Farkas.

"The best part of the job is getting a machine that’s broken and dirty, cleaning and fixing it and getting it working again. It doesn’t come naturally. I’m not an electrician, so I love learning," she added.

She has recruited her granddaughters, Tiffany and Kara Hecker, 17 and 14, to help her during their school breaks. "It’s a team effort. I’m just a part of the process,’’ Farkas said.

"All the volunteers do a tremendous job,’’ Mitchell said. "I may not be able to get back the joy of holding a book and seeing the words, but this is the next best thing.’’

Get involved

Anyone interested in volunteering should call Jeanie Pawlowski, volunteer manager, at (602) 255-5578.