Blind and physically impaired individuals can now listen to books by New Jersey authors through the State Library.
The New Jersey State Library Talking Book and Braille Center recording audiobooks by local authors.
The idea was conceived when library patron Elizabeth Heap suggested to her friend Richard Muti that the book he co-authored with Charles Buckley, The Charmer, be made into an audio book by the National Library Service for the Blind.
“When NLS turned the book down, we took matters into our own hands and decided to start recording books by New Jersey authors in our studios,” deputy state librarian and director of TBBC Adam Szczepaniak said.
TBBC started with Sunset…A Macular Journey by F. Leroy Garrabrant, narrated by James Degnen and then recorded six books that received Garden State Book Awards for children like Calvin Coconut: Trouble Magnet by Graham Salisbury.
Other children’s books recorded are Aggie the Brave by Lori Ries, Annie and the Snowball and the Wintry Freeze by Cynthia Rylant, Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, Mac and Cheese by Sarah Weeks and Mallory in the Spotlight by Laurie Friedman.
Then narrators Sue Pandak and Linda Lengyel recorded Muti’s The Charmer: The True Story of Robert Reldan – Rapist, Murderer, and Millionaire – and the Women who Fell Victim to his Allure, which wrapped up on April 9.
Muti, a former trial prosecutor and mayor of Ramsey, is scheduled to present at the TBBC’s Book Festival at Grounds for Sculpture on October 12. The festival is part of New Jersey Blind Awareness Month.
TBBC is currently, recording The Soprano State by Bob Ingle and Sandy McClure.
Individuals registered with TBBC may order the books on a thumb-drive, which plays in their audio book player.
New Jersey residents may qualify for TBBC’s library services if their ability to read is affected by a physical impairment, a reading disability or a vision impairment.
TBBC is located at 2300 Stuyvesant Avenue in Trenton.
More information is online at njsltbbc.org.
