TADL’s Larry Gorton Talking Book Library Wins 2024 Library of the Year
(TRAVERSE CITY) - The Traverse Area District Library (TADL) is proud to announce that the Larry Gorton Talking Book Library is the 2024 Library of the Year, as designated by the National Library Service and the Library of Congress!
The Larry Gorton Talking Book Library (TBL) is housed at the Traverse Area District Library. It provides free audio and Braille materials to around 400 visually, physically and reading impaired patrons in Grand Traverse, Antrim, Benzie, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee, and Wexford Counties. It has one full-time staff member who is also the Head of the Talking Book Library: Anita Chouinard.
Last year, this library offered 120 programs, some in collaboration with the Traverse Area District Library, that drew a total of 2,765 people. A monthly book club and a chair yoga program are especially popular with patrons.
In addition to providing reader advisory services and technical assistance with NLS equipment, TBL has a robust community outreach program. Chouinard visits 11 senior living facilities each month with the library’s Bookmobile. She attended two senior expos last year and promoted TBL’s services during the Traverse District Library’s Summer Reading Club.
Getting reading materials to people who can’t physically access a library building is a special mission for Chouinard. “I can’t imagine a life without books and I don’t want anyone else to have to imagine that either,” Chouinard said.
Library Director Michele P. Howard notes that while Chouinard is relatively new to the Talking Book Library she has many years of experience at TADL’s front circulation desk. “Watching Anita grow into this new role has been a real thrill for me,” Howard said. “I’m always so excited to hear what new ideas she has for connecting with the people who rely on her library services.”
The library has adaptive technology that can be used on-site, including a laptop with a closed-circuit TV (CCTV) video magnifier. “One person used the CCTV to view an old family picture,” Chouinard said. “It was the first time she had seen her brothers in years. We both had tears in our eyes.”
Photo: NLS Director J. Broughton; Anita Chouinard; 14th Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden; Library Director Michele P. Howard