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GAO-07-871R 1 (2007-06-12)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptavle0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 


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       Accountability * Integrity * Reliability
United States Government Accountability Office
Washington, DC 20548


         June 12, 2007

         The Honorable James H. Billington
         Librarian of Congress

         Subject: Talking Books for the Blind

         Dear Dr. Billington,

         The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), a part
         of the Library of Congress, operates a free national talking (audio) book program for
         qualified blind, visually impaired, or physically disabled residents of the United States
         and its territories, as well as qualified U.S. citizens residing abroad. NLS produces and
         distributes analog cassette players and talking books and periodicals recorded on
         audio cassettes to approximately 434,000 individual subscribers and 33,000
         institutions through a network of 132 participating libraries and the U.S. Postal
         Service (USPS).

         In the 1990s, NLS recognized that analog audio cassette technology was becoming
         outdated and nearing the end of its useful life and initiated efforts to plan for a new,
         digitally based talking book system. NLS analyzed three alternatives for the system-
         CD, hard drive, and flash based media-and chose to award a contract for the
         development of a digital talking book system based on flash memory media.' The
         development phase is now nearing completion, and NLS is planning to award the
         manufacturing contract for the digital talking book system in August 2007. Figure 1
         shows the prototype of the standard digital talking book player, the NLS talking book
         flash memory cartridge, and the mailing container.















         'Flash memory is used in flash drives, which permit storage and transfer of data between computers.


GAO-07-871R Talking Books for the Blind

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