NLS BARD Support: Update for BARD Mobile for Android

Dear List Members,

 

We are pleased to tell you that an update to BARD Mobile for Android is available. It runs on any Android device running 4.2 (late Jelly Bean) through 8.1 (Oreo). It includes several exciting features.

 

The following items have been added to the Get Books screen:

 

Previous Downloads: This option opens a list of the books and magazines you have downloaded, with the most recent one listed first. This option is particularly helpful if you get a new device, as it makes it easy to load up that new device with the books and magazines that were on your old one.

 

Most Popular Books: Books are sorted by popularity, with the most popular book listed first.

 

Browse Magazines: All audio magazines are listed on this screen in alphabetical order. If you select a magazine, all available issues are listed, with the most recent one listed first.

 

The following features are available on the Bookshelf:

 

The reading time appears below the author's name for books and the narrator's name for magazines. When you use TalkBack and move to a book or magazine, the reading time is spoken after the title and the author or narrator's name.

 

You can delete a book or magazine by swiping right. (To do this with Talkback running, touch the title you want to delete, and swipe right with two fingers.) Choose Delete, and then choose Yes to delete, or No to cancel.

 

The following options are available from Settings. To get to them, choose More Options or your device's soft key, and then choose Settings.

 

You can set a preferred speed and tone. If you do, all books and magazines will play using those settings by default. This can be handy if you like listening to books at a faster than normal speed, for example, or can understand them better if the tone is set to high treble. To change one of these settings, choose Speed or Tone. Buttons will appear for increasing or decreasing the speed or tone. When you have the speed or tone set where you want it, choose OK.

 

If you don't like the beeps that sound when you use controls like Play and Stop, you can turn them off on the Settings screen using the Beeps setting. With TalkBack running, double-tap the setting to turn it on or off.

 

Finally, the app's layout now shifts automatically if you put your device in Landscape mode, with the long sides facing you.

 

We hope you enjoy this update. If you have any questions about how to use BARD Mobile, choose Bookshelf, choose Help, and then choose User Guide. All the sections of the guide are listed in the table of contents. If you use TalkBack, you can flick through them. Double-tap the one you're interested in to go to a screen containing that section of the manual. This screen also includes Next, Previous, and Table of Contents links.

 

If you still have questions after looking at the user guide, feel free to write to us at nlsdownload@loc.gov.

 

Sincerely,