Password Reminders!
Just a gentle reminder that the cookie passwords sent to you for your library's access to the statewide InfoTrac is CONFIDENTIAL for use on non-IP authenticated public, school and special library computers, as well as school computer classrooms by authorized library staff only. This password is for library staff to set persistent cookies on library and on-campus workstations. It is NOT for public dissemination in any form, whether it be on your website or in a newsletter. This is also true for barcode numbers for residents to access statewide InfoTrac, Massachusetts newspaper, NetLibrary and other regionally licensed database and should also NOT be posted on your website OR in a newsletter.
Please remember that your in-library patrons and all Massachusetts residents with public library cards have access to these valuable resources at no charge to your libraries or to the residents who use them. Should you license and pay for other databases, you negotiate access rights for your users and also ensure that you have, in good faith, provided access to only your authorized users. Ours, as well as regional contracts with the vendors, limits access to regional member libraries for in-library use, campus-wide access for schools and colleges, and Massachusetts residents for home use. Password information distributed via the web can be located by anyone, anywhere in the world, and thus violates the contracts with the vendors. Printed publications are also not acceptable vehicles for publishing barcode numbers or cookie passwords as their distribution can extend to non-authorized users. Violations of these contracts jeopardize your library's access as well as all Massachusetts' libraries access.
Thank you for your cooperation. I would be more than happy to discuss this with you if you have questions regarding this information.
Marlene Sue Heroux
Reference Information Systems Specialist
Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
NEWSLINEŽ is Available
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is pleased to announce that NEWSLINEŽ is once again being offered in Massachusetts through the Braille and Talking Book Library at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown with funding made possible in this year's FY2005 budget approved by the Legislature and Administration.
"We are pleased to be able to offer this important service that provides access to daily newspapers for blind residents of Massachusetts through their touch tone phones," said Robert C. Maier, Director of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
"In today's world, accessibility must extend beyond wheelchair ramps and Braille elevator buttons. Access to information is equally important. I'm delighted that Massachusetts has joined 37 other states in providing public funding for NEWSLINEŽ, so that thousands of people across our state who can't read traditional print have access to daily newspapers and can keep up with current events," said Senator Therese Murray, Chairperson, Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Developed by the National Federation for the Blind, NEWSLINEŽ is an electronic system that allows users to listen to newspapers and magazines through synthetic voice output via any touch-tone phone. "People who are blind or visually impaired are no different from the rest of society. We want to keep up with the latest news by reading the daily newspaper on the train into work or over morning coffee," said Kim Charlson, Director of Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library. "NewslineŽ gives its users the ability to listen to the newspaper articles that interest them and stay connected to the world."
By calling in on a local or toll-free number, users can choose any newspaper in the system and listen to that day, the previous day or Sunday edition. Users can also select what section or article they wish to read; and the system also allows them to change speed or voice quality, spell out words or search for a particular subject.
Massachusetts newspapers currently included are the: Ayer Public Spirit, Berkshire Eagle, Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise, Groton Landmark, Harvard Hillside, Lowell Sun, North Adams Transcript, Pepperell Free Press, Shirley Oracle, Springfield Republican and Townsend Times. Major newspapers and some magazines from throughout the United States and Canada are also included.
Individuals wishing to sign up for the free service are encouraged to contact the Braille & Talking Book Library by phone at 1-800-852-3133 or via e-mail at library@perkins.org. For more information, go to www.perkinslibrary.org.
David L. Gray
Director, Communications & Public Information
Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
