Joy Nuske’s Vision Australia Library record says she’s closing in on her 10,000th audio book loan, but she laughs at the suggestion.
She reckons she’s borrowed between 5000 and 6000 books over several decades from Australia’s largest audio library, but this still makes her one of the most prolific readers in the library’s history.
Ms Nuske, of Elsternwick, was born totally blind.
She has been a member of the library, once known as the Braille and Talking Book Library, through the days of books on vinyl, on bulky specialist cassettes and on CDs.
These days, she downloads audio books using a device known as a DAISY 3G player, which receives the books as data through the mobile phone network.
“I love using my 3G player. I find that’s great for me. I enjoy that. They are extremely simple to use, and the point of the matter is that you don’t have to get any books in the post, and you don’t have to post them back,” she says.
“You just press a button and your books go, and you get more loaded on to your machine. It’s a great way to read.”
But the automatic selection of titles for her to read isn’t always perfect.
“Oh, I love my books but don’t take any notice of that figure (of 10,000 books) because some of those books I would immediately return because they are not my scene,” she says.
“I borrow a lot because I do enjoy reading. I might send some back or I’ll start reading a book and think, ‘No, I don’t like that’.”
Ms Nuske says her favourite genres are psychological thrillers, medical thrillers and romance.
A pianist and singer, Ms Nuske provides music programs in nursing homes for the elderly and those affected by dementia, and also seeks private clients.
“Whenever I have had a stressful day at work, as we all have sometimes, you come home and you put the book on, put the heater on, put the jug on, and you think, ‘Oh, I’m in another world now’,” she says.
“I am a prolific braille reader as well, but having the audio books is fabulous because you can do other things while you’re reading, whereas with braille you have to use your hands and you can’t do anything else.
“With audio books, you can. You can prepare meals. You can do anything.”
Ms Nuske has also made contributions to the Vision Australia Library.
“The Braille and Talking Book Library used to put out a library news on cassette every month. I did the cooking segment on it. My recipes are in the collection of talking books,” she says.
For more information on the Vision Australia Library in Kooyong and the services it offers for children and adults who are blind or have low vision, phone 1300 654 656.
Anyone in the Melbourne metropolitan area might like to come along and hear more about Vision Australia's Library services at the Library Tech Help Session on Saturday 30 June from 10am. RSVP by calling 1300 654 656 or emailing [email protected].