Questions? 

Contact Talking Books Staff at (401) 574-9310 or email us at talking.books@olis.ri.gov.

You can also contact:

Alicia Waters
Library Services Coordinator
alicia.waters@olis.ri.gov

Neshmayda Calderon
Information Services Technician: Talking Books
neshmayda.calderon@olis.ri.gov

Kelley Lima
Information Services Technician: LORI Services
kelley.lima@olis.ri.gov

Rhode Island Collection

The Rhode Island Collection began in 2021 with the recording of the first book.  Book titles of local interest which are either written by local authors, about popular Rhode Islanders or stories that take place in or around RI are recorded and available for loan.  You may find titles in the general Talking Books catalog or for download in the BARD catalog online.  

Below is a list of titles presently in the collection. If you find any title listed as unavailable, you may call the Talking Books Library at (401)574-9310 and we will have a copy duplicated for you.

  • Doctor Broad: A Mafia Love Story by Barbara Roberts (DBC 24620)

For decades, starting in the 1950s, Raymond Patriarca ran the New England Mafia out of a storefront in Providence, Rhode Island. By 1980 he was seventy-two years old, and suffering from diabetes and heart disease. One night in December of that year his life intersected with that of Dr. Barbara Roberts, a thirty-six-year old single mother of three, who was the first female cardiologist to practice in Rhode Island. Unrated.                  

  • 41 Signs of Hope by Dave Kane (Recording presently)

      A father's grief in the wake of one of America's worst disasters, the 2003 Station Nightclub fire in Rhode Island, becomes a certainty that life and love continue forever. Nick O'Neill was the youngest victim of the tragedy that killed over 100 people, but he continues to communicate with his family.

  •      Hidden History of Rhode Island: Not-to-Be-Forgotten Tales of the Ocean State by Glenn Laxton (DBC 27011)     

     Robert the Hermit, who failed twice before finally escaping from bondage; a trio of Titanic survivors; a Smithfield girl's Revolutionary War romance with a French viscount. These and the other true tales in this lively collection are just too good to be forgotten. Adult. Unrated.    

  •      Killer Show: The Station Night Club Fire by John Barylick (DBC 24621)

On February 20, 2003, the deadliest rock concert in U.S. history took place at a roadhouse called The Station in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The blaze was ignited when pyrotechnics set off by Great White, a 1980s heavy-metal band, lit flammable polyurethane "egg crate" foam sound insulation on the club's walls. In less than 10 minutes, 96 people were dead and 200 more were injured, many catastrophically. Adult. Unrated .

  •      Untold Stories of Word War II Rhode Island  by Christian McBurney (DBC 27010)                     

     The smallest state in the United States played a big role in World War II. Future presidents John F. Kennedy, George H. W. Bush and Richard Nixon all received naval training here. Many wartime innovations were developed, such as radar used on night-flying aircraft and a pontoon aircraft landing field. The book is also filled with many personal stories about life in Rhode Island during that time. Biography. Rhode Island Interest. 

War Stories - Nonfiction