Libraries for the Blind and Print Disabled

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**2019 Midland/Northern Conference**

**Dates:** April 8 - 10, 2019


**Conference Location:** The New York Public Library’s flagship research library: [[https://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman|the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building]] at 476 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018 (between 40th-42nd streets, but enter on 42nd street just west of 5th avenue towards 6th avenue, on the south side of the street) 

**Important: How to get into the building for the conference!**
Please use the 42nd street accessible entrance to the Stephen A Schwarzman building. It is on the south side of 42nd street just West of 5th Avenue, past the subway. Do not use the big fancy main entrance on 5th avenue with the large stairs and the two stone lions because it will not be open early in the morning when we start. If you are standing on 5th avenue between the lions facing the library building (at 41st street), turn right and go to the corner of 42nd street, then turn left to head west, go past the subway entrance, and go up the stairs or ramp just after it. There will be volunteers waiting to greet you. 


**Registration charge:** will be $100 for the full conference, or $50 for a one-day pass. If this is prohibitive though contact Jill. 
Payment can be made by check or credit card. 
Make checks out to: Midlands Conference of Librarians and mail to Scott Norris, Braille and Talking Book Library, 702 W. Kalamazoo St. P.O. Box 30007 Lansing, MI 48909. Or pay by credit card at this link: https://www.showclix.com/event/nlsconf2019

Be sure to also fill out your information at the Registration link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchixUuGf72AVvmM5iXSG0-Z-yZBH0tlHQhM2vtuQzcHSVCvw/viewform?usp=sf_link


**Hotel information:**
We will be booking a small group block at the wonderful Dewey-decimal-themed Library Hotel, which is just one short block away from the conference location. It's a really good price for this kind of hotel and includes a lot of your food and coffee needs.

FREE amenities for our group include: daily continental breakfast buffet, coffee and snacks throughout the day in the lounge, wine and cheese reception in the afternoon-evenings, WiFi, passes to NY Sports Club, use of indoor/outdoor rooftop lounge and reading den until 4pm (when it turns into a cocktail bar), business area with computers and printing. And of course we will work with them on accessibility, braille menus, etc etc. 


We will be able to get 10 petit rooms at $260 / night plus taxes, and 5 queen rooms at $306/night plus taxes. The petit rooms are small but lovely -- with just enough room to walk around the double bed, plus a closet and mini-fridge and a tub-shower combo in the bathroom.

The queen rooms are slightly bigger and have a chair and a larger bathroom, and are the tier for ADA rooms. You can find photos on the website and you can ask me if you have questions. 

RESERVATION PROCEDURE (CALL IN PROCEDURE):
Individual guests may contact the hotel to reserve their rooms with a major credit card. Reservations may be made by phone (212) 204 – 5408 or e-mail Joel@LibraryHotel.com. Guests must specify that they wish to reserve a room from the New York Public Library block in order to receive the special discounted group rate. The room block will be held until 12:00PM EST on Saturday, March 09, 2019. After the cutoff date, any rooms not reserved by name with a credit card will be released back to the reservations department for sale to the general public.

OR, option 2 for if the rooms are sold out, is DIY: There are so many hotels around this area. Book online at Booking.com or any hotel consolidator of your choice. Many offer free cancellation and good rates if you book now.  Note there will be no shuttle service but we’re a very walkable city and have buses running up 6th avenue and down 5th avenue, and hundreds of  Via ride shares. You can search for hotels near Times Square (which is two blocks West of the Library). Blocks between numbers (ie 37th street to 38th street) are very short.


Or Google “hotels near the Stephen A. Schwarzman building” and a map will come up showing prices, and letting you choose dates to search for (currently, the “Americana Inn” (4 blocks away)is showing $197/night and Dylan Hotel (1.5 blocks away) is showing $222/ night, and Marriott Vacation Club Pulse (4 blocks away) is showing $207/night. Note that I don’t know anything about hotels other than the one we’re getting a block at, but you can check ratings and websites)


**Remote viewing:** You are invited to join the Northern-Midlands 2019 Conference remotely if you are not able to attend in person. When: April 8, 9, and 10, 2019 starting at 9:00 AM Eastern Time
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/1dc1fc9f6b4df82d7510d14dfea9e911 
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. You can register once and join for any or all of the days. The Zoom meeting will capture all the main sessions and the biggest breakout sessions.  We will have an AV tech monitoring it. All sessions that do NOT have a room other than Trustees listed will be streamed. Anything without a room mentioned is in Trustees and will be streamed, except the evening activities and Tuesday afternoon at the talking books library - that afternoon has it's own notes of what is streaming.

**Updated Agenda:**

Monday April 8th: Trustees Room, 207, South Court, 8:30am - 5:30pm

•	8:30 Coffee and snacks in Trustees Room (2nd floor)
•	9:00 Welcome! 
•	9:30 Roll Call! 
•	10:00 Assistive Technology Panel with Chancey Fleet, Nefertiti Matos, and Scott Norris
•	11:00 Updates from NLS: part 1
•	12:00 Lunch on your own 
•	1:30 Tools for Great Readers Advisory from Gwen Glazer of NYPL’s reader services department, gwenglazer@nypl.org 
•	2:30 Pittsburgh presentation on Duplication on Demand with Mark Lee and Jeff Wright
•	3:00 Youth Services: New Pathways to Access with Jill Rothstein, Crystal Stewart,  Chancey Fleet, Himelda Mendez, and Stephanie Wambaugh 
•	3:45  Break and snack
•	4:00 NFB Newsline updates from Scott White
•	4:15 Afternoon think tank choices 
o	Digital Accessibility Willa Armstrong and Walei Sabry (Trustees Room)
o	Redistributing staffing - new models, daily schedules, division of tasks (room tba)
o	Working with patrons with multiple disabilities Shelly Roossien (room tba)
•	5:00 Share out
•	5:00 Those attending the Met Museum tour will head uptown together.
•	6:00 Evening visit to Metropolitan Museum for touch tour and verbal description

Tuesday April 9th: Trustees Room, 207, South Court, 8:30am - 5:30pm
•	8:30 am Coffee and snacks in Trustees Room (2nd floor)
•	9:00 Morning Think Tanks Topics: 
o	Being an accessibility advocate in your larger institution and training staff in disability awareness Jill Rothstein and Jane Glasby (South Courth Auditorium)
o	Diversity and underserved populations Vincent Livoti and Nefertiti Matos (Room 207)
o	Troubleshooting with the USPS Lyman Clayborn, Vickie Collins, LaDawn Williams, and two reps from USPS headquarters (Trustees Room)
o	What to do about all those studio-produced analog cassettes? A philosophical and practical talk Chris Mundy (3rd floor meeting room)
•	9:45 Share-out
•	10:00 Panel Q&A: Duplication on Demand models, step-by-steps, and checklists
•	11:15 Updates from NLS part 2
•	12:15 Updates from Perkins Braille Display Pilot from Kim Charlson
•	12:30 Head down together to visit to the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library (walking tour or transportation). Then lunch on your own. 
•	2:30 Workshop on using 2d and 3d tactile for visual and spatial literacies and running accessible arts and cultural programs from Annie Leist of NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (Streamed on Zoom)
•	3:30  Choose: 
o	Audio Description training for images, art/illustration, and video Rebecca McGinnis of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1st fl community room - Streamed on Zoom)
o	Circulation open discussion - amnesty, overdues, increasing circ, etc Mark Alonso (3rd floor)
o	From Page to Player: Creating a Digital Talking Book - in 4 parts James Langton and Chris Mundy (4th floor)
o	Open lab time for tactiles creation and personal help Chancey Fleet and the Heiskell AT Team (2nd floor)
•	4:30 Those going to the Tenement Museum will head downtown together 
•	5:30 Private touch / verbal description tour of Lower East Side Tenement Museum for those that registered

Wednesday April 10th
•	8:30 Coffee and snacks in Trustees Room (2nd floor)
•	9:00 Keynote Talk by Adam Linn of NPR
•	9:45 Think Tank choices: 
o	Creating and running braille study groups Chancey Fleet (3rd floor meeting room)
o	Early and pre-literacy skills and activities for children who are blind or low vision Kim Charlson, and more (South Court Auditorium)
o	Summer Reading and Bookclubs - participation/retention, awards, etc. Scott Norris, Jen Apgar (Room 207)
o	Let’s talk even more about duplication on demand Mark Lee (Trustees Room)
•	11:00  Share-out
•	11:30 ILS breakout sessions (WebReads = TRUSTEES,  Keystone=207, CUL= 3rd fl mtg room)
•	12:30 Lunch Party on KLAS! Lunch provided, musical guests, and optional tour of the historic NYPL building we are in, or the Stonewall 50 exhibition
•	2:00 Spark Talks: Marrakesh with Bookshare’s Lisa Wadors; Aira with Scott Norris
•	2:15 Karen Keninger’s Town Hall and Marrakesh Discussion
•	3:00 Regional Conference meetings 
•	4:00 Closing remarks
•	Optional outing to Fordham’s Distinguished Lecture by Eli Clare


**Evening activities and other optional special events to sign up for:**
__Monday evening:__ free private accessible touch/verbal tour and activity of the world famous Metropolitan Museum of Art, 6:00 - 7:30 PM. Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyhcbSWfvmBv7hzbdqmr3XsoGi8PR5PHKP7k1vyAgMRv6Vtw/viewform?usp=sf_link 
__Tuesday Afternoon:__ The whole group will be heading from the main library to the talkingbook library for the afternoon. There will be an option to take the bus or a car (provided) OR to take a walking tour down 5th avenue with tour guide Lyman, passing the Empire State Building, Madison Square Park, the Museum of Sex, and Eataly. It is a 20 to 30- minute walk. You can think about it and let us know Monday, or email me now if you are definitely interested.. 
__Tuesday Evening:__ Our $25 private accessible touch/verbal tour of the LES Tenement Museum is just about full but let me know if you have not signed up already and would like to be on a waitlist
Wednesday Afternoon: We'll be offering lunch on site for you, along with some music, and an option to go on a docent-lead tour of the historic main NYPL research library that we're in. It will include verbal description and touch tour elements. Please register here if you know you are interested OR sign up to go on the same tour at 4:30 PM (or you can decide later) 
__Wednesday Evening:__ You might be interested in the free Fordham Distinguished Lecture series happening this night by Eli Clare:  Description: Through storytelling and critical analysis, Eli Clare explores the meanings of cure, the connections between disability and environmental injustice, and the violence done by the ideas of abnormal and unnatural. Bio: Eli speaks, teaches, and facilitates all over the United States and Canada at conferences, community events, and colleges about disability, queer and trans identities, and social justice. Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/notes-on-cure-disability-and-natural-worlds-with-eli-clarke-tickets-54027266007

**NYC Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities Guide to Accessible Recreation and Culture in NYC**
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/mopd/resources/recreation-culture.page

**Want to know more about what to do in the neighborhood of the conference?** 
Download the free "destination midtown" app for iOS or Android at  http://destinationmidtown.com/ "The name says it all: Midtown Midtown is truly the heart of New York City. From the Empire State Building to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, and from Grand Central Terminal to Madison Square Park, this bustling neighborhood offers more culture, excitement, and history than any other. There's no better way to start your big apple adventure than with the ultimate insider's guide, the Destination Midtown app."

**Want to know where the locals go in their free time** (hint: it's not usually Midtown)? What neighborhoods are fun and where to eat and what to see? Here's some advice from library staff: 
My New York: Library staff talk about what they love to do in the city

Kayleigh Salstrand, Heiskell Library Reader Advisor
I love to be in the Lower East Side on a weekday--when it tends to be less crowded. If I’m hungry for a sit-down meal I’ll go to Ahimsa Garden, a vegan-vegetarian-kosher Indian restaurant serving the best food I have ever had in NYC (265 East 10th Street between 1st Ave and Ave A). After dinner, I’ll take a block’s walk to Confectionery, a little vegan sweet shop with an awesome selection (440 East 9th Street between 1st Ave and Ave A). Confectionery macarons come in not-so-commercially-available-in-the-U.S. flavors like strawberry milk (my fave), bay leaf plum, and chai latte. I’d then take a right out of Confectionery and walk straight across Avenue A into Tompkins Square Park until I hit the fence outside the dog run on the right, where I like to pretend I’m invisible and take a few minutes to see the dogs--unleashed! And to conclude the outing, I’ll take a 20 minute-ish walk down to Bluestockings, “a volunteer-powered and collectively-owned radical bookstore, fair trade cafe, and activist center” (172 Allen Street--1st Avenue becomes Allen after it hits Houston which is right under 1st Street, and once you cross Houston you’re only a few blocks away).  Check out the Bluestockings events calendar because they might have an event for you to attend when you visit!    

Lyman Clayborn, Heiskell Library Managing Librarian
When I’m off work from the Andrew Heiskell Library, many times I actually find myself ending up in the same neighborhood!  The neighborhood is part Chelsea, part Flatiron District, part Nomad, but ALL treats. First, for morning coffee, the best in the City to me is Brooklyn Roasting Company at 50 West 23rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.  After grabbing my coffee, I like to head west a couple of blocks to Doughnut Plant (220 West 23rd Street between 7th & 8th Avenues).  Their signature Crème Brulee doughnut is to die for, and please note the doughnut motif in the décor throughout the shop which, by the way, is located in the historic Chelsea Hotel building.  I love to head to the FREE Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology on Seventh Avenue at 27th Street (closed Sundays, Mondays), which always has interesting exhibits combining fashion, art, and history.  Their recent exhibition, “Pink:  The History of a Punk, Pretty, Powerful Color” was one of the most interesting exhibits I’d seen in quite a while.  Did I mention “FREE”?! I always can get lost in Rizzoli’s Bookstore, 1133 Broadway, between 25th & 26th Streets; and, I once spoke to President Bill Clinton in there, so you can imagine this bookstore is well-known! It may be time for a meal right about now, so I head to Maman at 22 W. 25th Street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway.  Their wallpaper, French décor, and great sandwiches & salads are very Instagrammable; and their pistachio loaf is one of my favorite sweets in the City! By now, I need to rest from the walking, browsing, and eating; so, I sit in Madison Square Park (intersection of Broadway, Fifth Avenue, & 23rd Street) for enjoying nature, people-watching, checking the latest art installations, and admiring the Flatiron, one of the most beautiful buildings in all New York City.
John Fahs, Heiskell Library senior librarian
The best things in NYC are free. A stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge and up the promenade to Brooklyn Heights is mandatory. Sit down on a bench and take in the classic Hollywood view of Manhattan already! A ride on the Staten Island ferry costs nothing but the sight of lower Manhattan up close from the water? Priceless. A trip to the Museum of the City of New York is always a good idea--It's not free, but keep in mind the ticket price is "suggested," so cost is no barrier to admission. Also, the museum is right across the street from the Conservatory Gardens in Central Park and a short walk to the Harlem Meer, both of which provide a window on the Old New York of Edith Wharton. As an added bonus, the Meer is the one place in the city where that old myth about Alligators roaming around in the sewer system might not be such a myth.

For NYC visitors with visual impairment, a trip to the Louis Armstrong House museum in Queens provides an audio experience that is unlike any other museum experience in the world. Because "Pops" (as he liked to be called by friends and strangers alike) was a hobbyist tape recording aficionado, he taped a big chunk of his life for posterity. While touring the different rooms of the house, visitors are treated to the results. For example, while in the dining room, you can hear the tapes he made of random dinner table conversations, and in his study, you can hear him riffing at his desk while standing in that same spot.  The Louis Armstrong house tour is guided and the tour-talk covers a lot of information, and is very inclusive. The talk alone is worth a visit, even apart from everything else there. 


Shabana Noorhassan, Heiskell Library Secretary
Living in Queens, I try to make the best of the time I spend in the City.  As I am hustling to get to work, I see a sign reading, “everything for $2!”, I am there.  This is at Matto Espresso (188 7th Ave), where the Italian hot chocolate makes me want to move to Italy, someday.  Then there is the delightful task of lunch; when I feel like having something warm and gooey, I go to Beecher's (900 Broadway), where they have the best grilled cheese ever and you can see how they make the cheese right there.  As if I wasn’t feeling nostalgic enough, I head for a short walk to Books of Wonder (18 W 18th St), courtesy of our youth librarian Anthony, where there are children’s books from floor to ceiling. Continuing my walk, I say hello to the dogs at D is for Doggy (552 6th Ave) and look at the window display at Kleinfeld (110 W 20th), even just to daydream.  One last thought, if you go by NY Cake (118 W 22nd), they have a class you can sign up for to learn how to decorate cakes.  And, all six of these are so close to Andrew Heiskell!

Anthony Murisco, Senior Children’s Librarian
After work all I want to do is see movies and New York City has an incredible amount of repertory movie theaters rich with history that play movies in DCP, 35mm, 16mm and sometimes even 70mm. There’s Quad Cinema (34 W. 13th Street), named for being the first New York City theater to show more than one movie at a time. IFC Center (323 6th Avenue) is located on the former site of the Waverly Theater, one of the early adopters of midnight movies. Their midnight screenings on weekend nights still carry the moniker “Waverly Midnights!” Then there’s Anthology Film Archives (32 2nd Ave)founded by the late, great avant-garde filmmaker, Jonas Mekas. Right down the block from Anthology is one of my favorite places to eat, Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken (28 East First Street) where you can eat your chicken with a variety of different flavored honeys. If you are feeling adventurous and want to head down to the great white way, the season is in full swing. I have yet to see The Cher Show (250 W. 52ND St.) but you can never going wrong with seeing Stephanie J. Block on stage. They (and many other Broadway shows) offer an online rush via https://lottery.broadwaydirect.com/ if you want to press your luck. You are notified well in advance so you can plan accordingly. Otherwise, the TKTS Booth (Broadway and 47th Street) is located in Times Square and always has great deals not only on Broadway shows but Off-Broadway as well! Finally, if you are interested in video games, Nintendo New York (10 Rockefeller Plaza) has a store located in Rockefeller Center that is a hybrid shop/museum. They have rotating exhibits depending on what is out so it’s always fun to spend time in there. There’s also many photo ops to take!

Jill Rothstein, Chief Librarian at the Heiskell Library
I like going to the lower east side for Jewish and Immigrant Heritage
Start at the Tenement museum gift shop for new york items and to catch the constantly-looping free film about immigrants in nyc in the back room. Head to the 108 year-old Yonah Schimmel restaurant for a snack of knishes and egg creams, then walk over to Economy Candy for gifts of retro and bulk candy from the 1940s to the 90’s.  Walk around the little boutiques and shops lining Orchard, Ludlow and Broome streets for a mix of very old and very trendy. Then head over to the famous Russ and Daughters to pick up bagels, cream cheese, herring, lox, and rugelach and other classic eats for dinner in the park.

OR get yourself to Korea Town on 32nd street between Madison and 6th Avenue. There is great traditional Korean BBQ at WonJo on 32nd street  - they carry the fire around in buckets - or go half a block east to Hangawi for amazing vegetarian Korean specialties in a meditative and prettily decorated space (you’ll have to take off your shoes). I love the sticky rice rolls in spicy kimchi sauce, pumpkin porridge, and vermicelli delight steamed in parchment paper. Then stop by the Korean food court down the block between 5th and 6th and watch the making of tiny stuffed fish-shaped pasty with cream, Nutella, or red bean paste. And go a few more doors down to the French-Korean hybrid bakery Tous Les Jours and wander the aisles of puff pastry hot dogs, green tea chewy sticks, and milk buns, and grab a tea. When it’s late enough - around 11:00pm  - go down the street to the Empire State Building, where there will be epically short lines at that time of night and nice nighttime views of city lights. 

Also, make sure you see Central Park: enter around 72nd street by the West side and go through Strawberry Fields (the John Lennon tribute which always has flower offerings and guitar players), Bethesda fountain (whose grand angel statue often has buskers nearby), Turtle Pond with the rowboats, and Belvedere castle.

Chancey Fleet, Assistive Technology Coordinator
Lunch tip for during the conference! Simit Sarayi (435 5th Avenue) is a spacious two-story Turkish bakery. I love the light-filled second floor and cozy chairs, perfect for catching up with friends. A simit is a magical cross between a croissant and a bagel: I love the one that comes filled with olives. The spinach-and-feta-filled rose borek is also delicious, and the strong Turkish coffee will help you stay awake during those long afternoon sessions. 
Uniqlo, at 131 34th St, is a Japanese department store replete with affordable, stylish basics. I love the rainbow of soft cashmere and merino wool sweaters, simple button-down shirts and endless array of leggings. If you’re willing to wait a day, Uniqlo will hem anything you buy, free of charge, which is an important perk for short people who enjoy their regular-people-length jeans. 
Caveat (21A Clinton Street) is a bar and performance space that bills itself as a place for intelligent nightlife. Comedy sets revolve around topics like particle physics, climate change and electoral polling. Shows are cheap and sometimes free and invariably entertaining. If you’re feeling brave and you’re here on a Saturday afternoon, work out your own material at the Scratch Paper academic standup open mic.

Nina Manning, Senior Collections Processing Associate
I love the Time Square area for the many eateries. Virgils, Bubba Gump, BBq's Carmine's, but my all time favorite is Havanah Central. OH My what a treat.  The atmosphere is festive, the food is Delicious and the beverage are on point. 46th St Between 6th Avenue and Broadway is a place where your appetite will Definitely be satisfied.  It's a very busy area in NY, just pay attention and wear loose clothes to enjoy that Cuban experience.  Welcome to New York, NY

Tunisia Craig, Collections Processing Assistant
A great place to explore is Union Square. There is a farmers market on Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's. Not to mention Dylan's candy, a Kellogs Cereal store and a newly opened gelato shop. Plus the green space is very nice and calming. Always something interesting to see.
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