The South Carolina State Library is pleased to announce Sandy Knowles as the new director of Talking Book Services.  Knowles replaces Pamela Davenport, now at the National Library Service for the Blind, and will begin on January 3, 2012.

Knowles was born and grew up in Columbia, S.C. and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor’s degree in English and a Masters in Library Science. Her first professional position was with the Anderson County Library in Anderson, S.C.

Knowles is an avid reader of fiction, primarily mysteries.  She is also an amateur artist and her favorite medium is clay.  She learned ceramics in Asheville, N.C. and has had the opportunity to teach others and sell her work in galleries.

Knowles has also worked at the Patrick B. Harris Psychiatric Hospital, Anderson, S.C., the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, S.C., Henderson County Public Library, Hendersonville, N.C., and the Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, V.A.

The State Library’s Talking Book Services (TBS) is a free service to South Carolinians of all ages who are unable to read standard print material due to visual, physical or learning disabilities whether permanent or temporary. TBS provides audio, Braille and large-print books and magazines.

For more information about the State Library’s Talking Book Services, please visit www.statelibrary.sc.gov/tbs.