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The reading revolution - why you should join your local library today!
Those who were fortunate enough to attend the Sandwell Libraries' special event on 25th January at West Bromwich Town Hall, had a sneak preview of Libraries’ new plans to revolutionise the enjoyment of audio books for visually impaired people, and those with reading difficulties.
The popularity of the audio book has increased rapidly over the last 5 years, according to a representative of Clipper Audio Books who are a major producer of audio recordings for the library market.
Books are at present still available on cassette, and increasingly on compact disc. But, as was explained during the presentation, the main purpose of the event was to launch the new digital recording system, which loads individual books onto an MP3 type player which can fit easily into a pocket or handbag, and is simple and flexible to use.
The digital player has many useful features, including the possibility of skipping forwards and backwards through chapters, and the fact that when stopped, it will restart at exactly the same place. It is also far more portable than cassette tapes or cds. A very long novel can take up to 20 cassettes, and the same length book can be loaded onto a player which is only a little larger than a match box. It can also be played through an existing stereo system or can be connected to portable speakers.
All Clipper's audio books are unabridged meaning that the reader can fully enjoy the whole story, including for example long descriptive passages which are often omitted from abridged titles. All Clipper's recordings are read by professional actors and great care is taken to ensure that they are of the highest quality.
Gordon Griffin, who is an actor with years of experience, firstly in radio drama and then as an audio book narrator described how he painstakingly prepares for a reading. He examines the book in detail, to check up on the meaning and pronunciation of any unfamiliar words, and marking in the book where new characters appear. This can take weeks before the actual narration is done, and a short book can take 2 to 3 days to record, while a longer title could take up to a fortnight.
Gordon Griffin gave several inspiring readings demonstrating the flexibility of his recording style. He has recorded a wide variety of books, 412 in total. He is even one of the few actors who was accepted by Catherine Cookson to read her books. He also hails from the North-East, and was ideally suited to reading her novels set in the area.
Clipper has a wide variety of titles from sagas and romances, to works of modern fiction and non-fiction titles. They also publish audio books at the same time as the print versions, which is a great thrill and very different from having to wait for years before a new book was available in audio format.
Clipper produces 20 audio books per month, which does not seem very many but is a great deal when considering the great effort which is made to prepare each book. Clipper work tirelessly to ensure that the voice chosen matches the book. For instance, a book with a Scottish setting would always be read by some-one with a genuine Scottish accent.
The Company has state of the art studios. An engineer can edit out mistakes simply by reverting back to the place as the reading progresses.
This was a fascinating presentation. Library staff were most helpful and courteous, and refreshments were available, which were brought to those who could not help themselves. Then there was ample help available to assist people to join the library, and show them how to operate the new digital players.
I hope this has whetted your appetite to find out more. If you are an enthusiastic reader, then don’t delay, contact your nearest library today and take advantage of this new departure in provision of audio books
Mary Howe
SVI Secretary
February 08
Download our audio clip about the mp 3 player here: Libraries' new mp3 player
You can find out more about Clipper books on their website, WF Howes Limited, home of Clipper books