Amy Bower, an Oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution takes to the seas once or twice per year and leads a research expedition that tracks ocean currents across the globe. Bower carries a digital audio player and a variety of high-tech moors, buoys and sensors. She also has trackers, trackers, and other technical equipment.
“When I go on my research cruises, I’ll take five to ten books and magazines,”Bower, who lost her vision in 1993 from macular disease, says that she is now blind. Even though she is far from a harbor or in water too deep for anchoring, her books remain within reach.
NLS offers audio and braille books, magazines, and other materials free of charge to U.S. citizens and residents who live abroad. NLS lends portable playback equipment to enable audiobooks to be read.
Bower prefers downloading books via the NLS online service. However, eligible readers can also get books via the mail on digital cartridges and in braille.
Clive Cussler and Patricia Cornwell are some of the most popular authors in the NLS collection. There are timeless classics like Ernest Hemingway and Mark Twain, too. The collection also contains thousands of nonfiction titles that cover a range of subjects, including biographies, science, and foreign policy. Two of Bower’s favorite writers are well represented in the collection: Barbara Kingsolver, essayist, and poet (“The Poisonwood Bible”) and historian and novelist Wallace Stegner (“Angle of Repose”
Bower is grateful for the professional narration of NLS audiobooks. “Real voices add drama and depth to the story, like theater,”She said.
Bower’s passion for visual impairment is inspiring students, even if she isn’t slaving over data or spending quality time with her family. Anyone can see that she enjoys being at sea. This is in contrast to her Cape Cod home, where Bower’s husband and 10-year old daughter leave things on their floor. “Sometimes it’s actually safer on ship!”She laughed.
You can learn more about the NLS program and how it can benefit you, your loved one, or a close friend by going online www.loc.gov/nlsOr call 1-888-277-READ
