[real-eyes] Fw: Help for using the NLS BARD Web Site
- From: "Reginald George" <sgeorge@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 13:28:47 -0500
Hi All,
This fairly long article was in the Braille Monitor, and I thought maybe some
of you would appreciate it. Please of course forward to anyone you feel would
benefit from it.
Meet BARD
by Neil Bernstein and Judith Dixon
************
From the Editor: Earlier this spring the National Library Service
brought its new permanent Website online. It is remarkably user-friendly,
and many patrons have had no trouble moving around it, finding what they
want to download, and then doing so. Others have found things a bit
confusing, so we asked the staff if they could prepare a description of the
site and instructions of how to use it. The following article is the
result. Neil Bernstein is a research and development officer, and Judy
Dixon is the consumer relations officer at the National Library Service for
the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress. This is
what they say:
************
On April 30, 2009, the National Library Service for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress, launched the Braille and
Audio Reading Download service (NLS BARD). BARD, a free service for
eligible patrons, allows readers to download any of more than fifteen
thousand NLS digital Talking Books or issues of forty-four different audio
magazines. New books and magazine issues are added continually. There is no
limit to the number of items readers can download, and the materials do not
expire. The downloadable books are identical to those distributed on flash-
memory cartridge by the national network of cooperating libraries.
Any NLS patron in good standing is eligible to use the Website. Simply
fill out an application by following the link called "BARD application
instructions" at <https://nlsbard.loc.gov>. You will need basic computer
and Internet skills, such as filling out online forms and downloading and
unzipping files, and a high-speed Internet connection. NLS digital Talking
Books can be read using the new NLS digital Talking Book machine, which is
free on loan to eligible patrons. Users may also elect to purchase one of
four commercial players.
Despite its name, the BARD service does not yet offer Braille
materials. For now the NLS Web-Braille service continues to serve that
purpose. Eventually the two services will be brought together under the
BARD name and site, offering readers one-stop shopping for Talking Books
and magazines, Braille books and magazines, and NLS music materials.
This article gives an overview of NLS BARD. The site is subject to
future changes, but the basics of BARD will remain the same.
************
Consistent Elements
************
Many of the elements on the BARD pages are consistent throughout the
site. Every page begins with a header and ends with a footer. The header is
either a brief description of the contents of the page or the library's
name. The footer includes four links:
. "<NLSDownload@xxxxxxx>" (an email link for help with BARD)
. "National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
home page" (a link to the NLS home page)
. "BARD main page" (a link to the BARD main page)
. "Log out" (a link to exit the site)
Within the book listings BARD uses consistent heading levels to help
screen-reader users navigate quickly. For example, book titles are listed
at heading level 4 on all pages. JAWS users can simply press the "4" key to
jump from one book title to the next. Window-Eyes users can press the key
sequence "4-H." Other screen readers have similar facilities. Also on all
pages index letters (where used) are at heading level 2. Heading level 3 is
always used for each page's main grouping.
All download links begin with the word "Download" and, for books, are
found after the NLS annotation (a short description of the book). Pages
with book listings also feature many common navigational links, such as
"Next page," "Last page," and "Start over." The "Start over" link always
takes you back to where your search began, which is usually the BARD main
page.
************
BARD Main Page
************
After logging in, users are presented with the BARD main page. This
page is the base of operations for the site. Everything you need can be
found by starting here, and every page includes a link back to this page.
The BARD main page has eleven links and fourteen headings. The content of
the main page is divided into three sections: "Find books," "Find
magazines," and "Additional links." Each of these sections is at heading
level 2.
Within the "Find books" first section are six elements, each at heading
level 3:
. "Recently added books" (a link)
. "Most popular books" (a link)
. "Search the collection" (an edit box to enter search terms and a "Go"
button)
. "Browse by author's last name" (a combo box with letters and a "Go"
button)
. "Browse by book title" (a combo box with letters and a "Go" button)
. "Browse by subject" (a combo box with subjects and a "Go" button)
Each of these is described below.
Within the "Find magazines" section are two elements, both at heading
level 3:
. "Recently added magazines" (a link)
. "Magazines by title" (a combo box with magazine titles and a "Go"
button)
The third section, "Additional links," includes two elements, both links:
. "Update account settings"
. "Help"
************
Recently Added Books
************
The first link on the BARD main page leads to the "Recently added
books" page. This page lists books that were made available for download
during the past thirty days. The number of links and headings on this page
will vary over time.
The title of the page, which appears in the title bar, is "Selection
by recently added books displaying items 1 through X of Y," where X is the
number of items on this page and Y is the total number of books added in
the past thirty days.
At the top of the page is a header (at heading level 2) "BARD books
sorted by date of addition during the past 30 days."
Following the title are "Displaying items 1 through X of Y" and
navigational links for moving to subsequent pages or starting over.
The content of the page is divided into sections using the dates that
books were added to the site in the past thirty days with the most recent
date listed first. Each of these sections is at heading level 2, and the
individual titles, listed from highest to lowest book number, are at
heading level 4. Each book entry includes the book's title, author,
narrator, reading time, and subject heading, followed by the book's NLS
annotation and a link from which to initiate its download. The bottom of
the page has the four footer links described above.
************
Most Popular Books
************
The second link on the BARD main page leads to the "Most popular
books" page. This page, entitled "Selection by most popular books
displaying items 1 to 40 of 40," lists the twenty most popular fiction
downloads and the twenty most popular nonfiction downloads, compiled within
the past ninety days. This page has forty-six links and forty-three
headings. At the top of the page is a header "Most popular BARD downloads
in the past 90 days."
The content of the page is divided into two sections: fiction and
nonfiction. Each of these sections is at heading level 2, and each of the
twenty books within each section is at heading level 4. The format of each
book's entry is identical to that on the "Recently added books" page.
Entries are not numbered but are listed in order of popularity. The page
ends with the standard footer.
************
Search the Collection
************
To search the collection, use the sole entry field on the BARD main page.
Type one or more terms into the edit box and then select the corresponding
"Go" button. The resulting page is titled "Selection by keyword displaying
titles 1 through X" where X is the total number of entries found to match
the search term.
The header says "BARD books containing keyword" followed by the keyword
or words you entered to search. This is followed by the number of matching
records and six index links. These six links tell you how the search terms
match the records found and allow you to narrow the book search to the part
of the record that is of interest to you. They read (with "X" representing
the search term used):
. "X in the title"
. "X in the author"
. "X in the subject"
. "X in the annotation"
. "X in the book number"
. "X in the narrator"
Use these links to jump immediately to the type of match you are looking
for. (For example, if you have searched on the word "Dowling" because you
are looking for a book by Colette Dowling and not for the Father Dowling
Mystery series, you would use the link that says "1 in the author" to jump
straight to the book in which your search term, "Dowling," appears in the
author's name.)
At the bottom of this list is another line indicating what is being
displayed and a link to start over. The content of the page is six sections
at heading level 2. If there are books in a section, they are at heading
level 4.
************
Book Browsing Links
************
Back on the BARD main page, the next three elements are used to browse
through the collection. Use these, not to search for a particular item, but
to browse through the listings when you are not sure exactly what you want.
These elements are also useful if you are not sure of how a name is spelled
or a title is phrased.
The first two elements, "Browse by author's last name" and "Browse by
book title," work similarly. Each element has a combo box and a
corresponding "Go" button. The combo box contains the letters of the
alphabet. To browse items beginning with a particular letter, select the
letter from the combo box and then select the corresponding "Go" button.
The titles of the resulting pages are respectively "Selection by
author" and "Selection by title," with an indication of the items being
displayed. The index letter chosen is at heading level 2, and the book
titles are at heading level 4. On the "Browse by author's last name" page,
the author's name is at heading level 3, with each title by that author
after the name at heading level 4. The "Browse by subject" element works in
the same way, except that the combo box contains a list of subject areas
instead of letters.
************
Find Magazines
************
The second major section of the BARD main page contains two links that
are used for finding magazines. The first is "Recently added magazine
issues." This link leads to a page containing download links for the most
recent issue of every magazine title available on BARD, approximating the
magazine rack at a newsstand or public library. As new issues are added to
BARD, this page is updated to show the newest one. Your Web browser's
"visited link" status is a good indication of whether or not you have
already downloaded a given issue.
The page title is "Recently added magazine issues displaying items 1
through X of Y." Each magazine is at heading level 3. Below each magazine's
title is a link to download its most recent issue available on the Website.
The next element on the BARD main page is "Magazines by title,"
consisting of a combo box and a "Go" button. To see all available issues of
a particular magazine, select its title from the combo box and then select
the corresponding "Go" button. The resulting page is titled "Selection by
magazine title displaying items 1 through X of Y." The magazine title is at
heading level 3. The content of the page contains links to the past twelve
months of issues, with the newest first, and a link for "Older issues of
[magazine title]."
************
Additional Links
************
There are two more links before the footer of the BARD main page. The
first is "Update account settings." This link leads to a page by that name
holding eight links and other controls. At the top of the page is the text
"Update account settings. Current settings for [login email address]." The
page then has links to change your password, change your email address, or
request an authorization key for a purchased digital Talking Book player.
Those links are followed by a combo box for setting the maximum number of
books to be displayed on any one page of the site and edit boxes for a
security question and secret answer. These last two are used in combination
if you need to reset your password because you have forgotten it. All of
this is followed by an "Update" button to update these settings and the
standard site footer.
The last link on the BARD main page before the footer is "Help." The
"Help" page contains only two links:
. "Instructions"
. "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)"
Both of these links lead to pages that contain in-depth information on the
use and content of the BARD Website.
************
The Future of BARD
************
NLS will continue to add features and content to BARD. Some changes,
like the inclusion of Braille and music materials, will be immediately
obvious. Others will serve to make the site easier to use, more robust, and
faster. Whatever the change, please be assured that BARD is now a permanent
service of NLS and its libraries.
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