Luis Terron Wins Spirit Award

Luis Terron won the Spirit of the ADA 2016 Jack Gilrup Award at the Spirit of the ADA event on October 30, 2016, at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. The event was sponsored by the COJ Disabled Services Division and the Independent Living Resource Center of Northeast Florida. Luis received the award from Mr. Kevin McDaniel who is the new manager of the COJ Disabled Services Division. Chris Eaton received it last year, so JPL has had two winners.

Luis Terron Winner of Innovator Award

Luis Terron, e-Specialist, was granted a JPL Innovator Award, February 19, 2016, by Talking Books Librarian II Chris Eaton. Chris said, "Luis has been busy designing and producing prototype library public restroom accessibility 3-D models. This project started at the Main Library’s 10th anniversary where he learned from staff members at the Vision Education and Rehabilitation Center about the need for tactile accessibility aids when conducting mobility training for their clients. 

"Mobility in restrooms was a concern due to the lack of standards in fixture arrangement and privacy issues. When Luis realized VERC’s need at the FSCJ downtown campus, he expanded it to the library’s need for such models. By the time of the 2016 North Florida Regional Braille Challenge, Luis had produced two working models with one of the library's 3-D printers for the men's and women's restrooms on the Conference Level of the Mai Library. The models debuted to a great reception from the children, young adults, and vision educators who participated in the event. They seemed excited about the prospects of this new tactile mobility aid. Media outlets, WJCT, and the Daily Record aired/published stories about the models and the reaction of those using them. 

"Building on this early success, Luis has been working on further development of the models and cooperating with a couple of local 3-D printing businesses to produce them in larger, more durable versions in time for our Information and Technology Symposium where we are expecting a number of attendees in the adaptive technology field, as well as media coverage from CNN."

Hats off to Luis Terron!

Braille Challenge, ADA, & A 3-D Printer

Customer service is top priority with Director Barbara Gubbin and that resonates throughout JPL. At the Braille Challenge held at the Main Library, January 28, 2016, students who attended could--for the first time--understand the layout of restrooms before entry. Thanks to E-Services, tactile models were created and fabricated on a 3-D printer.  A tactile sign was placed beneath the men's and women's restrooms.  Read all about it in the Financial News & Daily Record link below:

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=546949

Thanks to Deputy Director Jennifer Giltrop for the input.  She thought this was a great use of our 3-D printer. 

Chris Eaton Wins Award

Chris Eaton, Talking Books' Librarian II, is one who consistently gives his best and not one to vie for a spotlight. However, the spotlight finds him sometimes unexpectedly.                              
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     About the Spirit of the ADA 2015 Jack Gillrup Award he won, October 25, Chris said, "I didn’t know I was going to win until I did. I knew I was nominated but there were two others also nominated."

The award was presented to a very surprised Chris at an event at the Jacksonville Zoo by Beth Meyer, Division Chief of COJ Disabled Services, and Tyler Morris, Director of Marketing and Development at the Independent Living Resource Center (ILRC).

Talking Books was nominated  for hosting the Braille-a-thon (a first and a real win for JPL and reported here earlier this year). Ms. Meyer mentioned in an earlier letter to Director Barbara Gubbin, "...The Library’s Talking Book Program and Chris Eaton were unanimously voted by the Mayor's Disability Council (MDC) as  the recipient of the 2015 Jack Gillrup Community Award!..."

The award reads: "The ILRC of Northeast Florida and the City of Jacksonville's Disabled Services Division recognize Chris Eaton of the City of Jacksonville's Talking Books & Special Needs Library as the 2015 Jack Gillrup Community Leader Award Winner for his assiduous leadership within the disability community of Northeast Florida." 

See, Chris, we're not the only ones who know you do your best--and that for some who need it the most.  THANK YOU!

Study Buddy Makes Public Appearance

Librarian II Chris Eaton works in the Talking Book /Special Needs Library and knows how to get double duty out of most anything.  He said, "Some months ago Nate Fuller gave me the Jaguars Study Buddy and told me that I needed to take a picture with it before passing it on to someone else.  

"I never really found a good opportunity until Sunday’s Spirit of the ADA event at the zoo, October 25. So I took a pic of our display table there with Study Buddy (peeping over the table, next to the red bowl) overseeing the table." ...Who's going to get the Study Buddy next, Chris?

Tim Meusel Retires from Talking Books/Special Needs

Tim Meusel (2nd from L) volunteered 18 months for JPL before he became an employee in 1993. A veteran of Bradham Brooks Northwest and Main libraries, Tim has been known for being a vital part of JPL's Talking Books/Special Needs departments housed at Main.  Amazingly, Tim has inspected about 500 returned items a day.

At the June 11, 2015 Library Board Meeting, Board Chair Erin Skinner (L) and Director Barbara Gubbin (far R) honored Mr. Meusel  with a congratulatory letter and a JPL gold card.  Tim Meusel retired, June 3, 2015. To Tim's left, is his wife, Anne, who often acts as Tim's "eyes" since he is visually impaired.

ALL OF US AT JPL WISH YOU THE VERY BEST, TIM AND ANNE, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH, TIM, FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE TO KEEP TALKING BOOKS/SPECIAL NEEDS RELEVANT TO THIS COMMUNITY.

Staff Profile - May 2015

The Braille Challenge was held at Main's Conference Center, January 22, 2015. Chris Eaton, Librarian II, Special Services, accomplished no small feat for the disabled and JPL with this project. Chris' supervisor, Scott Adams, still brags on this masterstroke.  Conference Center Manager Mistesh Sangani said, "It was the best attended event of its kind in Florida and mirrored California’s similar event." Chris recently won a Challenge the Process Award and JPL's Employee of the Quarter Award (January-March 2015) for this achievement.  Chris has a story worth telling about the first Braille Challenge at Main. 

   Chris at Disney with wife, Lorraine, and daughter, Lily (of One Spark fame).

Q: You were successful in bringing the Braille Challenge to Jacksonville and the Main Library—a huge win for you and Special Services.  Why have the Braille Challenge here?

A: I felt that it was important to bring the 2015 Braille Challenge to Jacksonville to show that Jacksonville is a legitimate location to hold the Florida Braille Challenge’s North Regional competition, and that our young Braille readers in northeast Florida would have the same opportunity to demonstrate their abilities as do young Braille readers in the rest of the state. The reason that Jacksonville was even considered was because the previous location, Tallahassee, had such low registration that it had to be cancelled as the 2014 North Regional location. A contact at DCPS informed me of this and, in cooperation with the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine, we requested that the competition be moved from Tallahassee to Jacksonville. The rest is history. Our first effort produced a very successful event that involved the greatest number of competitors in the state’s history. We had 63 students/contestants registered and we estimate 200 people were involved.

 

      Q: What steps did you take to accomplish this?

A: The first thing that we did was reach out to our community partners and from there, create a planning committee. Thankfully everybody that we reached out to was as optimistic as we were to bring this event to Jacksonville. After that came securing financial support, donations, and volunteer support.

Q: What were some of your challenges in pursuing your goal?

A: There were many challenges in organizing an event of this size but I think that the biggest was securing financing. It’s just something that I don’t have a lot of experience in. I probably sweated the most over where our food and prize donations were going to come from and who was going to provide parking.

 

      Q: What other organizations’ and agencies’ assistance did you need and did you learn things that will be valuable in your future pursuits/partnerships for Special Services?

A: The assistance of the Conference Center staff was phenomenal. I’ve been working with Mitesh and his staff for many years on things like our adaptive movie programs so I knew they would provide solid support. It shouldn’t be forgotten that one of the stars of the event was our building and how awesome it is. I think it can be easy to take our space for granted when you’re here day-in-day-out.

 

For quite a long while I have been communicating with Beth Meyer at the city’s Disabled Services Division to find ways in which we can work together and the Braille Challenge presented the perfect opportunity. Her office’s funding and assistance in promotion via the Mayor’s Disability Council proved invaluable. I learned that working with other city departments/divisions doesn’t have to be complicated.

 

I’ve also been working with the Duval County Public School System’s Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVIs) for many years and this gave us the opportunity to collaborate in ways that we never had before. I’m now working with them on adaptive equipment training workshops that would involve their teachers and the students they serve.

This event presented our first real opportunity to work with the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind where many Braille readers from Jacksonville attend. The enthusiasm of their teachers and staff was great and the way that they organized their student competitors was very helpful in making for a smooth running event. I learned that, even though they are an institution that can rival JPL and DCPS in facilities and funding, they are willing to work with us to achieve a common goal. Actually, I was concerned that they might be granted the opportunity to host the event instead of us but they must have decided that it was in their best interests and decided to defer to us.

 

The state Braille Challenge coordinator, Ms. Sue Glaser, and her staff at the Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired provided a much-needed framework for the event and the experience to manage many of the minor hiccups that we had along the way. Should the North Regional Braille Challenge continue in Jacksonville their efforts will again be needed.

 

There were so many other organizations that supported us that I could go on-and-on in singing their praises. The thing that impressed me the most was how willing and eager these organizations were to work toward creating a successful, memorable event for blind and visually impaired youth in our community. It seemed like everyone was just waiting for the opportunity to do something big that would make a statement and prove the value of what we do. But most importantly was to recognize and celebrate the achievements of the young people we serve--and to give them a moment in the spotlight.

Pic to right:  One of the props for the event was a Harley Davidson motorcycle (provided by a gentleman on behalf of Adamec Harley Davidson) with a side car. The event had a Harry Potter theme and, in the books, the character Hagrid rides a motorcycle (not an HD but a Royal Enfield) with a sidecar that Harry rides in. This was our version of that and the man who owns the bike let the kids sit on it, touch it, and ask questions about it.

Q: Tell us something about yourself that we probably don’t know.

A: If I had to mention just one thing it would be that I have recorded an official hole-in-one on an 18-hole golf course. My first job was on a public golf course and I’ve been playing since I was probably 10 years old.

Talking Books Volunteers Reach Milestones in February

Librarian Chris Eaton reports that our Talking Books Library volunteers have something to celebrate in February:

Mr. John Burrows and Mr. Charlie Perry of the Telecom Pioneers each have five years of volunteer service.

Mr. Robert Bronzo reached one year of volunteer service.

Ms. Cheryl Williams logged 1500 hours of volunteer service.

Thank you for making JPL's Talking Books a more effective, efficient department of the library system, Mr. Burrows, Mr. Perry, Mr. Bronzo and Ms. Williams.  We laud your accomplishments and sincerely appreciate all that you do.