The INDEPENDENT, July 6, 2006
Talking Book and Braille Services
Talking Book and Braille
Services (TBABS), a free serv-
ice of the State Library, kicked
off a summer ad campaign this
month to inform Oregon sen-
iors, their families and friends
about library services available
for individuals who cannot read
standard print. A “talking book”
is a professionally recorded
book on tape for use on special
players. Tapes and players are
provided by the library at no
charge to borrowers.
“Talking Book and Braille
Services offers those who can’t
see regular print, hold a book,
or turn a page an opportunity to
continue enjoying reading,”
said Jim Scheppke, State Li-
brarian. “The TBABS campaign
is directed specifically toward
seniors because so many ex-
perience a decrease in sight or
physical dexterity. We hope
that the campaign will help in-
crease the number of seniors
who take advantage of this free
library service to help them
continue to read, learn and en-
joy books.”
The campaign’s ads depict a
woman in her 60s with age-re-
lated macular degeneration
(AMD), an eye disease that af-
fects part of the retina which
enables one to see fine detail.
According to the National Insti-
tute on Aging, AMD is the lead-
ing cause of vision loss in
Americans age 60 and older.
Oregon’s fastest growing age
group is citizens over 60.
“These ads are telling my
story,” said Sharon Baker of
Milwaukie, Oregon. Baker has
used the TBABS program since
2002 and also serves on the
program’s advisory board. “By
age 60, I had lost sight in both
of my eyes, which was devas-
tating for me. It is such a shock
when you can’t pick up your fa-
vorite book or read about
what’s going on around you. It
was like an entire world was
closed to me. Talking books
opened up my world again.”
According to Baker, TBABS is
very easy to use. “I choose the
books I want from the catalog
each month and TBABS mails
the tapes to me. When I’m fin-
ished, I just put them in my
mailbox for free pick up by the
U.S. Postal Service.”
Funded by private donations
from State Library patrons, the
ad campaign features a televi-
sion ad and two radio ads in
English and Spanish. The ads
are airing in cooperation with
member stations of
the Oregon Associa-
tion of Broadcasters.
TBABS currently
serves more than
7,000
individuals
and 600 institutions
in Oregon, many of
whom are seniors
who have experi-
enced loss in their
eyesight. “Individu-
als can either go to
our Web site or call us toll free
to register for TBABS to borrow
talking books,” said Susan
Westin, program manager for
State Library’s Talking Books
and Braille Services.
TBABS has more than
60,000 book titles in recorded
formats as well as popular
magazines, such as Good
Housekeeping, National Geo-
graphic, People Weekly, Sports
Illustrated and U.S. News &
World Report.
These high-quality record-
ings are played on easy-to-use
playback equipment. The talk-
ing books and playback equip-
ment are available at no charge
to people who are eligible.
For more information about
eligibility for TBABS or to learn
about other library services for
individuals with visual, physical
or learning disabilities, call the
State Library toll free, 800-452-
0292, or visit the Web site,
www.tbabs.org. The ads are on
the State Library’s Web site at
www.oregon.gov/OSL/TBABS/t
vads.shtml.
Power of the People
By W. Marc Farmer,
General Manager
West Oregon Electric Cooperative
The
True
Value
of Elec-
tricity
It is
easy in
life
to
lose perspective on things until
we receive a reminder of reali-
ty. Such is often the case when
it comes to electricity. It is a dai-
ly necessity that we easily take
for granted, and we tend to for-
get what it provides for our lives
and the many uses we come to
rely on, until the power goes
off. Then reality reminds us of
the many things we cannot use
or do without electricity.
My staff and I put together a
list of typical household electric
uses in an average day, and we
came up with 45 different
items. The list included lighting,
heating and cooling, water for
drinking and washing or bath-
room use needs a pump, refrig-
eration and freezers, washing
clothes and dishes, communi-
cation items such as phones,
computers, and cell phone
chargers; entertainment from
television, radio, and stereos;
cooking with stoves, toaster
and microwaves; vacuum
cleaner, clocks, hair dryers and
curling irons, power tools, and
much more.
A utility company wanting to
demonstrate the value of elec-
tricity has been offering a chal-
lenge to a couple of individuals
or families to go for 60 days
without using electricity and
write about their experience.
The received a check for the
amount they would have nor-
mally spent if they could suc-
cessfully go the entire 60 days.
What looked like a simple chal-
lenge on the outside became a
song of a different story when
the reality set in of how much of
Thursdays at 10am at
Schann’s
Basket
Page 13
Black Bear Coffee Co.
their daily lives were dependent
upon the use of electricity. For
one couple who decided to pur-
chase a generator, it was a les-
son in the expense of replacing
their power source and the time
and money spent to operate it
was more than they received
for going without.
The time we most often for-
get is when the power bill ar-
rives and it is time to pay for all
of the things we used over the
past month. Think about that.
How many products or services
do you get to use and then pay
after you have used it? At the
end of the month, we pay for
only that amount we have actu-
ally used to provide warmth,
light, a means to cook food,
keep our homes and ourselves
clean, be entertained and
more.
What is the real value of the
electricity we have used and for
which we are now being asked
to pay? I think a simple way of
recognizing the true value can
best be shown this way. Take
the average power bill on our
system of $118. Divide that by
a monthly average of 30 days.
Dividing $118 by 30 days
shows us that it only costs an
average of $3.93 per day for all
of the many things we use in
our homes. That is a small
price to pay for all that we re-
ceive from the use of electricity
during a 24-hour period.
To put the daily price of
$3.93 for electricity into even
more perspective, I went to the
store and looked at some
things we might spend the
same amount or close to that
amount to purchase. As you
consider these items, think
about the total benefits we re-
ceive from each and I think you
will be surprised about the true
value of electricity. For approxi-
mately the same amount, I ob-
served people purchasing a
frozen pizza, half gallon of or-
ange juice or bottle of other
juices, a carton of ice cream, a
six pack of beer, a box of cere-
al, package of cookies, a pack
of cigarettes, a magazine, fam-
ily size frozen dinner, a bag of
chips and a soft drink. I then
thought about the fact that if I
drove my car I could only make
it as far as Staley’s Junction for
$3.93. It would cost someone
that much or more for a fast
food combo meal or a latté or
espresso. They are all things
that some people purchase
every day and only fill one mo-
mentary want or need, not a full
day and night of needs.
It might be an eye-opening
experience to write your own
list of all the items you use that
require electricity and see for
yourself all that you receive for
only $3.93 per day. It definitely
puts things into perspective
and helps to better understand
the true value of electricity in
each of our lives.
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