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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

Talking Times, Fall 2025 - Section 1

Introducing the new NLS audiobook player: the DA2 

By Mark Layman 

“The new DA2 players will start making their way into the hands of NLS patrons across the country, replacing the first generation of digital audio-book players that NLS unveiled in 2009. The DA2 is the culmination of many years’ work, exploring different concepts, securing funding and finding a production partner, designing and testing prototypes, and getting feedback from patrons and librarians,” NLS Director Jason Broughton says. “It’s exciting to finally begin mass production and distribution. I know our patrons will be delighted with the new features that make it easier than ever before to enjoy NLS audiobooks. Among the new features are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, as well as 28 GB of internal storage. That means DA2 users can connect to BARD, the NLS Braille and Audio Reading Download website, and download audiobooks and magazines, store them on the player, and listen to them over Bluetooth-enabled speakers or headphones. A typical NLS audiobook is 120 MB, so the DA2 is a portable library able to hold 200 or more titles. Like the current NLS audiobook player, the DA2 also has a built-in speaker and a port for playing digital audiobook cartridges. NLS has ordered about 21,000 DA2s from Humanware. The introduction of the DA2 marks the latest milestone on a journey that NLS has been on since the late 1990s, when it began considering options for moving away from the analog cassette machines the program had used since the 1970s. To receive a DA2 player, you must be using BARD and have Wifi available. We will also need to know how you are accessing BARD – on a Victor Stream, using BARD Mobile on your cell phone? Downloading to a thumb drive? If the answer is No to any of these questions, you are not a good candidate for a DA2. You can still get cartridges and use the standard DS1 or DA1 units, but you do not need a DA2. Its features are intended for someone who will be focusing on downloading from BARD onto the new player.  The DA2 players are not available for institutional accounts at this time. Please email the Talking Books Library at talking.books@olis.ri.gov or call (401)574-9310 if you believe you qualify for a DA2 player.

BARD 2.0 Offers New Features for Patrons

BARD 2, the NLS Braille and Audio Reading Download website, now offers expanded functionality and will serve as a gateway to exciting new services in the future. We are pleased to announce that if you use BARD on the web, you will have access to BARD 2. If you’re not a BARD user, this is your chance to sign up for the service and get instant access to hundreds of thousands of audio and braille books and magazines for reading with an NLS digital talking-book machine, a personal smart device with BARD Mobile, a Braille eReader, or your PC with the BARD Express player.

Features of the new website include:

  • Reorganization of the Wish List, Reading History, Subscriptions, and Account Settings under one menu.
  • New sorting capabilities of book lists. You can now search through book lists and refine the results by format, language, and subject.
  • An updated search engine, so finding books is easier and faster than ever before.
  • Advanced search functionality.

If you have any questions, need assistance, want to share your experience with BARD 2, or would like to sign up for a BARD account, contact us at (401)574-9310 or email talking.books@olis.ri.gov. 

New Patron Enrollment Process

NLS is exploring a new, web-based patron enrollment process. The goal is to have a public-facing, accessible, simple, and speedy sign-up process that takes full advantage of the available technology to give a newly enrolled patron, for just one example, immediate access to BARD. This would be an alternative to, not a replacement for, our current paper-based process. NLS is running notices on the listservs of the three organizations seeking volunteers, with priority given to people who aren’t already patrons, to try out the form and offer their comments. NLS staff members will guide volunteers through the form, asking them to “think out loud” as they go through each step. The process will take 30 minutes or less, and volunteers who aren’t already patrons will be certified on the spot and enrolled. NLS will use the volunteers’ feedback to “identify places where the language is confusing so they can make changes to the form before it goes public”—by the end of the year, if all goes as planned. One of the next steps for NLS will be testing the certification process for those who enroll online.