Attachment A4- Background on Systems.docx

Attachment A4- Background on Systems 11.18.2024 System Descriptions Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) In 2006, NLS created a website, called Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD), that allows NLS patrons to download digital talking books (DTB) and audio magazines.

In 2012, NLS added digital braille books (DBB) and braille magazines to the BARD website.

Once downloaded, a DTB (or magazine) can be transferred to a blank cartridge or thumb drive and played on a NLS provided digital player or NLS approved third party digital player.

BARD circulation is on the rise and is expected to contribute to a significant portion of NLS circulation. More than 60 thousand patrons are currently subscribed to BARD. More than 4.2 million BARD downloads occurred in FY 2023.

Once downloaded, a Digital Braille Book (DBB) or a braille magazine can be read by a patron using a refreshable braille display.

BARD Website Background The BARD website has three major components:

· A series of database driven web pages to allow NLS patrons to find and download NLS digital talking books and magazines and digital Braille books and magazines. These pages are written in PHP using the code igniter framework acting on a MYSQL database.

· A series of database driven web pages to manage applications for BARD accounts as well as the accounts themselves. These pages are written in Perl using cgi.pm acting on a MYSQL database.

· A Representational State Transfer (REST)ful application programming interface (API) that mimics BARD patron website functions. RESTful means you adhere to the principles of this architecture in your software design. This API was developed in two phases. Phase one contains a set of basic functions and is currently in production. Phase two contains a set of advanced functions and has been developed and is in testing. The API is used by iPhone and android applications running the BARD mobile app.

Existing BARD Environment Operation and Development The computer network supporting BARD is maintained by the Library of Congress Office of Chief Information Officer (OCIO) group. This group is responsible for the computer hardware, operating system administration, database operations, backup, disaster recovery, data network, OCIO security measures (such as firewalls and VPN), and web server operation.

The BARD Website software is provided by NLS. The software is developed and maintained by NLS staff and contractor.

The BARD mobile app software is provided by NLS. The software was developed and is maintained by NLS staff and contractors.

BARD Website and BARD Mobile Branding BARD can display network library information to patrons. This process is called branding. When a BARD patron logs into the BARD website, the patron’s library information is displayed on BARD web pages instead of the default NLS information.

The library information includes:

· Library logo

· Library name

· Technical support email address for the library

· Technical support phone number for the library

· Address of the library's public website

· A branded application, privacy policy, and help pages for the library.

When a patron first logs on to a library's branded version of BARD, the patron will be directed to use the library support email and phone number if they have any questions. If branding is not enabled, NLS support information will display on the web pages.

BARD Mobile app BARD Mobile App – iOS App Background In 2013, NLS released version 1.0 of the BARD Mobile app for iPhone. Based on Apple’s iOS, this app gives patrons the ability to download BARD materials directly to an iDevice running iOS 8 and above.

Currently over 81,906 iOS devices use the BARD mobile iOS app to browse BARD and download their NLS reading materials. These materials include books, magazines, and music in braille and audio formats.

BARD Mobile App – Android App Background In 2015, NLS released version 1.0 of the BARD Mobile app for Android devices. This app gives patrons the ability to download BARD materials directly to an Android device running Android 4.1 and above. Currently, over 22,527 Android devices use the BARD mobile Android app to browse BARD and download their NLS reading materials. These materials include books, magazines, and music in audio formats.

BARD Mobile - Ratio Between iPhone and Android Use Based on survey data obtained by NLS during 2019, NLS believes the ratio of iPhone BARD mobile devices to Android BARD mobile devices will be approximately 78% iPhone / 22% android.

BARD Express Windows Program Background NLS released BARD Express, a Windows-based application in 2016. This program provides NLS patrons with a command-driven interface to BARD. The program simplifies searching, downloading, and copying BARD materials to external drives such as NLS cartridges. These materials include books, magazines, and music in braille and audio formats.

NLS Braille e-Reader NLS patrons can access the digital NLS braille collection using a device provided by the NLS service called the braille eReader. In general, the devices are a portable unit that has internal storage capacity, the ability to access files from an external source such as a USB drive or SD card, and the ability to display the material in the files in braille on a display on the machine. This category of devices is known as refreshable braille displays since the braille on the screen is constantly refreshing or changing as the user moves through the file.

Braille displays that can read electronic BRF files have been around since the 1970s. However, until recently, most of these devices have been priced far out of reach of the average user. Due to rapid technology advancement, however, the average price for a refreshable braille display has decreased considerably. Furthermore, in July of 2016 NLS’s authorizing legislation was amended to remove the word “sound” from the types of reproducers that can be provided to patrons to access its books. This enabled NLS to initiate the process to acquire an affordable e-Reader to be provided to patrons for reading the braille collection.

BARD Administration The BARD website is password protected and only usable by eligible NLS patrons, NLS staff, or the staff of the network libraries. There are a set of public web pages that allow eligible prospective patrons to register for a BARD account.

These account requests are processed by NLS staff or the staff of the network libraries using a series of administrative tools. All account requests must be checked to ensure the request comes from an NLS patron in good standing.

There are two divisions of the BARD website. The first division is used only by BARD patrons. It allows patrons to search for audio and braille books and magazines, download those items and set personal settings affecting the use of BARD. The second division is limited to BARD accounts that have administrative privileges, which consist of staff at NLS, staff at the network libraries, and NLS-approved BARD support personnel (which includes staff and contractors). This division allows those users with administrative privileges to perform BARD administrative functions such as approving account requests, resetting passwords, changing privilege levels of BARD accounts, checking email and transaction logs, and approving third party player requests.

Practice BARD NLS operates two BARD websites:

1. The production BARD website: https://nlsbard.loc.gov, which is the primary website used by BARD patrons to download audio and braille books and magazines.

2. The practice BARD website: https://nlsbardpractice.loc.gov, which is used by NLS and network library staff for training and the testing of new BARD software releases.

BARD Operations Supervisor An NLS staff member who acts as the BARD Operations Supervisor provides BARD oversight. This individual is responsible for all operational aspects of BARD and the BARD mobile app.

The BARD Operations Supervisor email address is bardops@loc.gov.

The Contractor will be provided with the name and contact information for the BARD Operations Supervisor in writing at the commencement of the contract.

NLS will give the Contractor 5 days written notice of any changes of the individual assigned to be the BARD Operations Supervisor or his/her contact information.

The BARD Operations Supervisor can designate other NLS individuals to act as a backup or to handle subcomponents of his/her responsibilities. The BARD Operations Supervisor will give the Contractor 5 days written notice of any designations of this sort.

BARD Support NLS is responsible for supporting users of the BARD website, BARD mobile app, and BARD Express. This support is led by an NLS staff member designated as the BARD Operations Supervisor. Support is provided in a distributed manner, with escalating responsibilities.

Primary support for BARD website and BARD mobile app users is provided by the staff at the network libraries. BARD patrons who have questions are directed first to contact their network library. NLS wants patrons to have a relationship with their network libraries, where the staff can provide a level of individual service. The BARD website and BARD mobile app provide each BARD user with the email address and phone number for their network library where they can receive support.

The only exception to this rule pertains to users of BARD who are members of the NLS Music Library or the NLS Overseas Library. Support for these patrons is provided directly by NLS staff. The percentage of BARD patrons who are members of these two libraries is less than 1% of NLS patronage.

There are administrative web pages in BARD, which are accessible to NLS staff and contractors responsible for support. These web pages allow them to perform administrative functions such as resetting passwords. These administrative pages indicate the network library and contact information for that library for any BARD patron.

Network library staff provide BARD support primarily by email, with BARD patrons emailing questions or requests for assistance to an email address provided by their network library or to the designated NLS support email address nlsdownload@loc.gov.

Questions or requests for assistance that cannot be handled by network library staff are forwarded to the NLS support email address.

Questions or requests for assistance that cannot be handled by the NLS staff or Contractors providing support to the nlsdownload@loc.gov email address are forwarded to the BARD Operations Supervisor (bardops@loc.gov). The BARD Operations Supervisor will either handle the question or forward the question onto the appropriate NLS staff member. In all cases, the responses are copied to the NLS staff or contractors providing support in order for those members to learn how the problem was resolved.

BARD Support – Use of nlsdownload@loc.gov Email Address The Nlsdownload@loc.gov is a special email address maintained by NLS to provide support to the users of the BARD website, BARD mobile app, BARD Express, and Braille eReader device. This address is hosted on the Library of Congress Microsoft Exchange servers. Access to the email address is done via the web-based interface to Microsoft Outlook.

NLS staff or contractors providing support to the nlsdownload@loc.gov email address each have a unique email address on the Library of Congress email system. These addresses are given read/write access to the nlsdownload@loc.gov account.

The business process used to keep track of the state of responses to email messages is based on folders in the nlsdownload@loc.gov account. There is a folder for new incoming messages, a folder for sent messages, and folders used to hold messages pending resolution. As items are processed by the NLS staff or contractors providing support to the nlsdownload@loc.gov email address, the email messages are moved to the appropriate folder. Thus, a person examining the nlsdownload@loc.gov mailbox can determine the state of any given message by examining the contents of each folder.

NLS Catalog NLS provides a web-based interface to the Library of Congress online catalog of materials. This interface is set up in such a manner so that it only returns results from the subset of the holdings that pertain to NLS. If an item in the catalog refers to an audio or digital braille item available from BARD, the catalog entry for that item will contain a link to the BARD website from which the item can be downloaded. Use of this link will cause the BARD login page to be presented if the user is not presently logged into BARD.

Current BARD Environment

· 52,093 BARD accounts.

· 160,566 books, 22,965 magazine issues (both audio and Braille).

· Average size of BARD audio book or magazine: 140MB. Sizes range from 600KB to 1.4GB. Each audio book or magazine consists of a single zip file, which contains several files of various formats (XML, 3GP, MP3, text).

· Average size of BARD braille book or magazine: 30KB. Sizes range from 1KB to 2MB. Each braille book or magazine consist of a single zip file, which contains a number of files (each representing one Braille volume) in digital Braille format (BRF).

· 4.2 million downloads during 2023.

· 9,051 support requests were handled by Nlsdownload@loc.gov during 2023.