At a recent Open Forum, NLS announced that they would no longer be distributing the TBT4 audio version of Talking Book Topics. An Operations Alert will be forthcoming, but in the meantime, we’ve started discussing how we can help you continue to offer this to your patrons.
The good news: you can treat this like any other NLS-provided serial for duplication. You also have other options.
First things first, understanding the scope:
How many copies do you need/want to send?
How many Active TBT4 subscribers do you have?
You can easily check this on the SER-TBT3 or SER-TBT4 record in your Serial’s module: the Active Subs (subscriptions) count is on the Title tab.
If you want to take a deeper look and exclude patrons that haven’t had any other activity lately, you can Query from the Patron Module:
Quick Search -
- Main Status - Equals - A
- Last Served Date - Is Between - 01/01/2025 - (today’s date)
Advanced Search -
- Subscription - KLAS ID - Equals - SER-TBT4 (or 3, if that is the version used in your database)
- Subscription - End Date - Is Blank
Once you know how many patrons you’re dealing with, some questions to consider:
- Can you duplicate a cartridge for each TBT4 subscriber on a single day? Over the course of a week?
- Do you want to combine TBT cartridges with other serials when possible, or always send it on its own?
- Do you want to make sure it always goes to all Active patrons, even if they haven’t returned previous issues?
- Do you / will you continue to treat TBT as a default subscription, or will you want patrons to Opt In instead of Opting Out?
And one final question to think about:
- Should TBT be a Circulating Serial (and so update the patron’s Last Served Date), or a Publication (which doesn’t update the Last Served)?
In other words, should a patron that only receives TBT and nothing else still count as Active?
(Note: Either Cir or Pub can be used for TBT regardless of whether you decide to go with Option 1 or Option 2 below.)
Option 1 - Send as a Standalone (Our Recommendation)
You can give the duplication-version of the TBT4 serial its own unique Medium. This is our recommendation for most libraries.
Benefits:
- Will ensure that the TBT is sent on its own cartridge without other serial issues.
- Counts towards its own Cutoff, which can be set high to ensure that it goes out quarterly even if the patron is at Cutoff for their books or regular Serials.
- Makes it easy to get specific statistics about how many TBTs you are sending to how many patrons, without inflating your statistics for the other serials.
- Allows for a different schedule for the orders: Nightly so it goes out ASAP when available, or on a different day of the week than the rest of your Serials to help distribute the work.
Downside:
- Requires another entry on the Patron’s Profile tab.
- Yet another Batch to run.
Option 2 - Send with other Serials
Alternatively, you can treat the TBT4 like any other NLS-provided serial.
Benefits:
- No change to your workflow.
- No new Medium required.
Downsides:
- May be buried in the middle of other serials on a cartridge.
- May not go out right away if the patron is at Cutoff.
- May make your serial run overwhelming, depending on subscriber count.
- Will get your TBT statistics mixed into your other Serial statistics.
Alternatives, Supplements, and Other Thoughts
As far as we can tell at this time, everything that is technically needed for you to duplicate TBT4 for your patrons is already in place with just a little set-up needed from Customer Support, primarily the SDS- or MOC-TBT4 title record.
However, as mentioned above, we expect more information from NLS soon, so you have time to consider how to best serve your patrons.
The PDF and HTML formats will continue to be produced, and the DB monograph version will continue to be made available (although it will continue to be delayed compared to the Serial version, due to the conversion process).
We know some of you are already providing your patrons with alternate ways of accessing the material, from mailing out Large Print excerpts (such as sending the chapter on Westerns to patrons who have requested it), to providing Browse links on your WebOPAC for patrons to easily review and request from the genres that interest them.
Are there other ways you want to provide this information, versus duplicating and mailing a cartridge with the full TBT issue?
For example, would you want to do a monthly query for the titles added in your biggest Genres, to print as a bibliography in Large Print and as a PDF?
If you’ve gotten creative with your TBT distribution, please share in the comments below what you’ve tried and what the reception was!
