Special Collections

When the Mind Hears

Impassioned, polemical, at times even virulent, the author shows immense scholarship, powers of historical reconstruction, and deep empathy for the world of the deaf. The unimaginable world of those who have been born deaf is made almost imaginable by Lane's account of their history. The author's passion and directness are delivered through the mouth of one of his subjects, himself deaf, who became an intellectual leader of the deaf community in France and then in America. The story he tells is extraordinary and is perhaps the best illustration of what it means to see the condition and the patient as a whole.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Crocodile Meatloaf

As she becomes friends with Rachel, a deaf girl who has joined her sixth-grade class, Alex begins to feel that God has given her a mission to protect Rachel from the boy who is tormenting her.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

For Hearing People Only

A question and answer book to those questions that the general public wants to know about Deafness, the Deaf culture, and what it is like to be Deaf in America.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

T4

It is 1939. Paula Becker, thirteen years old and deaf, lives with her family in a rural German town. As rumors swirl of disabled children quietly disappearing, a priest comes to her family’s door with an offer to shield Paula from an uncertain fate. When the sanctuary he offers is fleeting, Paula needs to call upon all her strength to stay one step ahead of the Nazis.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

The Ocean Inside

For Denzel, sound is a mysterious, mind-stretching thing. He can hear some sounds, but he can't figure out what those sounds mean. Half the time, he just ignores what he hears because none of it makes any sense. At other times, however, he tries to imagine what sound must be like for other people. Then he concentrates on sound intensely. He tries to picture sound, to feel sound, to smell and to taste sound. Because he cannot hear, Denzel tries to imagine sound the way other people might imagine what it's like to fly. But no matter how he tries, Denzel cannot imagine how it would feel to hear the way other people hear. Ten to 15 percent of all children in the United States are born with a hearing loss of some kind. Children who are deaf and hard of hearing face different types of challenges as they mature. Learning to communicate, overcome discrimination, and find their place in society can be difficult and confusing for children with hearing loss. The situation is complicated by the fact that their peers, teachers, and parents may not understand their needs. In The Ocean Inside: Youth Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, you will follow Denzel through his own journey through deafness. As you do, you will learn: * the unique challenges facing children who are deaf and hard of hearing, * strategies for dealing with these challenges and approaches to deaf education, and * accomplishments that other deaf people have made along the way.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything

When Ruby's cousin Flying Duck emigrates from China to live with her, Ruby decides the best thing about Flying Duck is that she is a great new friend. BUT the worst thing about Flying Duck is that now, no one speaks English at home. Plus, there's strange food on the table every night and only chopsticks to eat it with. And Flying Duck is deaf, and Ruby doesn't know any Chinese Sign Language. As if that weren't enough, this summer proves to be even more perilous as Ruby faces the dangers of swimming lessons, the joys of summer school, the difficulty of staying with a twelve-step program, the miracle needed to keep a beautiful stray dog that wanders into her life, and much more. Is it all too much for anyone -- even the Empress of Everything -- to handle?

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Sociolinguistics and Deaf Communities

How do people use sign languages in different situations around the world? How are sign languages distributed globally? What happens when they come in contact with spoken and written languages? These and other questions are explored in this new introduction to the sociolinguistics of sign languages and deaf communities. An international team brings insights and data from a wide range of sign languages, from the USA, Canada, England, Spain, Brazil and Australia. Topics covered include multilingualism in the global deaf community, sociolinguistic variation and change in sign languages, bilingualism and language contact between signed and spoken languages, attitudes towards sign languages, sign language planning and policy, and sign language discourse. Sociolinguistics and Deaf Communities will be welcomed by students of sign language and interpreting, teachers of sign language, and students and academics working in linguistics.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

The Sociolinguistics of Sign Languages

This is an accessible introduction to the major areas of sociolinguistics as they relate to sign languages and deaf communities. Clearly organized, it brings together a team of leading experts in sign linguistics to survey the field, and covers a wide range of topics including variation, multilingualism, bilingualism, language attitudes, discourse analysis, language policy and planning. Each chapter introduces the key issues in each area of inquiry and provides a comprehensive review of the literature. The book also includes suggestions for further reading and helpful exercises.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Eyes of Desire

In a collection of essays, deaf lesbians and gay men discuss their lives, describing how they discovered their sexual identity, overcame barriers to communication in a hearing world, and created a deaf gay and lesbian culture.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Eyes of Desire 2

This book is an anthology of articles about Deaf gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) persons in the United States and elsewhere in the world.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Sounds Like Skipper

Skipper is a shaggy-haired Jack Russell, one of the earliest dogs trained in a new scheme to help people suffering from deafness. The author, a permanent researcher for BBC TV, has been deaf since infancy. Modern technology can equip her with a special high-powered hearing aid, but Skipper enables her to live alone, summoning her to doorbells and telephones, waking her when the alarm rings, and warning her of such unexpected hazards as burglars or fire alarms. The author's story of life with Skipper is full of insights into the plight of the deaf in contemporary society.

Kerena tells her story of how she received Skipper a Jack Russell terror mix dog, and how his presence changed her life. She also discusses some problems that she experienced as a almost deaf person in a hearing world, and her experiences with the deaf community too.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

The Baby-Sitters Club #16

The hit series is back, to charm and inspire another generation of baby-sitters Jessi knows a secret language! She learned it from Matt Braddock, the BSC's newest charge. Matt's been deaf since birth, and he uses sign language to speak. Since Jessi is Matt's baby-sitter, she's been using sign language, too. Soon all the kids in Stoneybrook want to learn to sign . . . which keeps the Baby-sitters busy. Jessi's the busiest of all: she working on another secret just for Matt. Will she be able to keep the secret and pull off her special event? The best friends you'll ever have--with classic BSC covers and a letter from Ann M. Martin!

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Unspeakable

There are no words. . .

Holly Summers is deaf, but she "hears" thanks to her immense talent for lip-reading. A child welfare officer, Holly moonlights for the Portland, Oregon, police, using her unique gift to aid in criminal investigations -- including one into the case of a recent string of women who have vanished without a trace. There is no sound. . .

Witnessing unimaginable evil in the abuse cases she handles, Holly fights every day to salvage broken young lives. But her good works spark plenty of enemies; someone has targeted this avenging angel with a supernatural vow to harm her. And the terror begins when Holly's young daughter disappears. There are no dreams as dark as the horrors some men do. Fending off the shadows of an unearthly predator and the very real threats facing a woman in a man's world, Holly must listen to her deepest instincts for survival -- to save the one person for whom she is living.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Deaf Child Crossing

Megan is excited when Cindy moves into her neighborhood -- maybe she'll finally have a best friend. Sure enough, the two girls quickly become inseparable. Cindy even starts to learn sign language so they can communicate more easily.

But when they go away to summer camp together, problems arise. Cindy feels left out, because Megan is spending all of her time with Lizzie, another deaf girl; Megan resents that Cindy is always trying to help her, even when she doesn't need help. Before they can mend their differences, both girls have to learn what it means to be a friend.

A sensitive depiction of childhood friendship with its fragility, jealousies, and joys" - Booklist

Date Added: 03/08/2018

I'll Scream Later

Critically acclaimed and award-winning actress Marlee Matlin reveals the illuminating, moving, and often surprising story of how she defied all expectations to become one of the most prolific and beloved actresses of our time. Marlee Matlin entered our lives as the deaf pupil turned custodian audiences fell in love with in Children of a Lesser God, a role for which she became the youngest woman ever to win a Best Actress Oscar. More than twenty years after her stunning big screen debut, the Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated actress is an inspirational force of nature -- a mother, an activist, and a role model for millions of deaf and hard-of-hearing people around the world. In I'll Scream Later, Marlee takes readers on the frank and touching journey of her life, from the frightening loss of her hearing at eighteen months old to the highs and lows of Hollywood, her battles with addiction, and the unexpected challenges of being thrust into the spotlight as an emissary for the deaf community. She speaks candidly for the first time about the troubles of her youth, the passionate and tumultuous two-year relationship with Oscar winner William Hurt that dovetailed with a stint in rehab, and her subsequent romances with heartthrobs like Rob Lowe, Richard Dean Anderson, and David E. Kelley. Though she became famous at the age of twenty-one, Marlee struggled all her life to connect with people, fighting against anyone who tried to hold her back. Her own mother often hid behind their communication barrier, and Marlee turned to drugs before she even started high school. However, she found in acting -- with the encouragement of her mentor, Henry Winkler -- a discipline, a drive, and a talent for understanding the human condition that belied her age and her inability to hear. By the time Hollywood embraced her, she had almost no formal training, a fact that caused many other deaf actors to give her the cold shoulder, even as she was looked upon as a spokesperson for their community. She has played memorable roles on wildly popular television shows such as Seinfeld, The West Wing, and The L Word, danced a show-stopping cha-cha-cha on Dancing with the Stars, and now, with uncompromising honesty and humor, Marlee shares the story of her life -- an enduring tale that is an unforgettable lesson in following your dreams.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man

What with one thing and another, such as a highly successful cat burglar and what seemed to be a hippie crucifixion, the 87th Precinct didn't need The Deaf Man. Especially since he'd already put in two previous appearances resulting in blackmail, murder and general havoc. But they had him, certainly, they very definitely had him -or was it he that had them? This time, The Deaf Man thinks it fitting that a police detective will help him rob a bank.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Hark!

Ed McBain concocts a brilliant and intricate thriller about a master criminal who haunts the city with cryptic passages from Shakespeare, directing the detectives of the 87th Precinct to a future crime -- if only they can figure out what he means. The 87th Precinct gets a visit from one of the city's most accomplished criminals -- a thief known as the Deaf Man. Because he might be deaf. Or he might not. So little is known about the man who is harassing Detective Steve Carella with puzzling messages that it is hard to tell. But as soon as a pattern emerges, the detectives of the 87th are forced to hit the books and brush up on their Shakespeare -- because each new clue contains a line from one of his works. Unless they can crack the complicated riddles and beat the Deaf Man at his own cat-and-mouse game, someone is going to end up hurt, or something will be stolen -- or both. It's always so hard to tell with the Deaf Man. Ed McBain brings his most intelligent and devious criminal back to the 87th Precinct with a richly plotted and literary crime.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter

With its profound sense of moral isolation and its compassionate glimpses into its characters' inner lives, the novel is considered McCullers' finest work, an enduring masterpiece first published by Houghton Mifflin in 1940. At its center is the deaf-mute John Singer, who becomes the confidant for various types of misfits in a Georgia mill town during the 1930s. Each one yearns for escape from small town life.

When Singer's mute companion goes insane, Singer moves into the Kelly house, where Mick Kelly, the book's heroine (and loosely based on McCullers), finds solace in her music. Wonderfully attuned to the spiritual isolation that underlies the human condition, and with a deft sense for racial tensions in the South, McCullers spins a haunting, unforgettable story that gives voice to the rejected, the forgotten, and the mistreated -- and, through Mick Kelly, gives voice to the quiet, intensely personal search for beauty.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Changes for Julie

[Back Cover] Julie is in fifth grade-and in trouble! She was only helping her friend Joy, who is deaf, but her teacher doesn't care. After serving time in detention, Julie sets out to change the system. To do that, she'll have to win the election for student body president, running against the most popular boy in the school. As the election heats up, Julie tries to get the kids to listen to her ideas. When she realizes that the other kids don't like Joy, her choice for vice president, she considers dropping out of the race. But the last thing she wants is to hurt Joy's feelings-or lose her as a friend.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Christmas Miracles

At Christmas, our hearts are touched by reports of wondrous occurrences that make us stop, reflect, and hope. This luminous book shares true accounts of Christmas miracles-- inspiring events that happened to real people at Christmas time, including:

A Christmas Mystery: A deaf boy's generosity is miraculously rewarded

First Christmas: Newlyweds take part in the local Christmas pageant -- and receive a surprising lesson in timeless love

My Christmas Angel: A pro baseball player visits a children's ward to cheer the patients, and is himself transformed

A Heart for Christmas: A series of coincidences brings new life to a little girl

The Stranger: A gentle, mysterious Christmas Eve visitor awes a family

Christmas Saved My Mother: A rabbi tells how his mother, fleeing the Holocaust, was spared on Christmas Eve

George Misses a Shift: Sudden car trouble on Christmas night saves a couple's life... and more.

Albert Einstein said, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is." If you believe in miracles -- or want to -- let Christmas Miracles light the candle of hope in your heart this year.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Moses Goes to a Concert

"Moses and his school friends are deaf, but like most children, they have a lot to say. They communicate in American Sign Language, using visual signs and facial expressions. This is called signing. And even though they can't hear, they can enjoy many activities through their other senses. Today, Moses and his classmates are going to a concert. Their teacher, Mr. Samuels, has two surprises in store for them, to make this particular concert a special event."

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Moses Goes to School

Moses goes to a special school, a public school for the deaf. All his classmates are deaf or hard of hearing, but that doesn't mean they don't have a lot to say to each other! They communicate in American Sign Language, using visual signs and facial expressions. This is called signing. Isaac Millman follows Moses through a school day, telling the story in pictures and written English, and in American Sign Language (ASL), introducing hearing children to the signs for some of the key words and ideas, including a favorite song in sign language. You can sign along! Picture descriptions describe each sign and its movements.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Moses Goes to the Circus

Experience the Big Apple's Circus of the Senses Moses and his family are going to the circus. Not just any circus but the Big Apple's Circus of the Senses! In a single ring, there are acts by trapeze artists, acrobats, elephants, horses, and clowns - all specially designed for the deaf and hard-of-hearing and the blind. Moses's little sister, Renee, isn't deaf but is learning sign language, and Moses loves teaching her the signs for their day at the circus.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Deaf in Japan

Until the mid-1970s, deaf people in Japan had few legal rights and little social recognition. Legally, they were classified as minors or mentally deficient, unable to obtain driver's licenses or sign contracts and wills.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

The Other Side of Silence

The history of the struggle to legitimize sign language against the pressure of a hearing educational establishment intent on forcing upon the deaf the almost impossible task of learning lipreading and speech.

Date Added: 03/08/2018