Texas Talking Book Program Celebrates Its Recording Studio Volunteers for National Volunteer Week 2023

Studio Manager SMiles Lewis works with a volunteer at the Texas Talking Book Program within the Texas State Library and Archives Commission building located in Austin, Texas
Studio Manager SMiles Lewis works with a volunteer at the Texas Talking Book Program within the Texas State Library and Archives Commission building located in Austin, Texas

The Texas Talking Book Program has nearly 1,900 locally produced books available for download produced. These downloadable digital titles were created by staff and volunteers in its recording studio over the past 45+ years; it was founded in 1978. There are thousands more analog books to convert to digital and each year we produce many more books newly recorded books for our patrons. These titles are available for download by qualifying patrons on the BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) site maintained by the Library of Congress‘ NLS (National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled). Texas has more books available on BARD than any other State’s studio program and one of our titles is #7 in the Top Ten Most Downloaded (locally produced) titles, with over 26,000 downloads!

If you are in the Central Texas area, please consider volunteering. For more information you can go to the Talking Book Program’s Volunteer Recording Studio page. If outside of Texas, you can use this link to find your State’s program – they may have a volunteer recording studio program as well!

Below is a quote from the recent TSLAC (Texas State Library and Archives Commission) press release announcing our observance of National Volunteer Week…

“Austin, TX – April 17, 2023, marks the start of National Volunteer Week in the United States. The Talking Book Program (TBP) Volunteer Recording Studio at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) this week honors its volunteers, who have been resilient and steadfast by continuing to provide thousands of Texans and those across the country with reading materials in digital audio format.

“Volunteers are the heart and spirit of our 45-year running recording studio. They are the voice and the muscle that enable us to produce the thousands of titles to Texas patrons and beyond. We could not do this work without them,” said Miles Lewis, Recording Studio Manager. “This important program provides children and adults with recreational reading, vital information and scholarly resources.””

Source: Texas Talking Book Program Celebrates Its Recording Studio Volunteers | TSLAC

Published by SMiles Lewis

SMiles Lewis has had a lifelong interest in all things anomalous. An early age proclivity at recalling his nightly dreams as well as several personal experiences with ESP, precognition and dream switching bolstered his interest in the paranormal. In 2003, SMiles founded the non-profit Anomaly Archives that serves as the lending library of the Scientific Anomaly Institute (501c3). Radio talk show host Robert Larson described Miles as a “Gonzo Alt-Media Proprietor and Informationalist.” SMiles has been streaming his ANOMALY RADIO Network since last century and podcasting since before the term existed. In his day job with the Texas State Library and Archives Commission‘s Talking Book Program he manages a Volunteer Recording Studio and audio production department and has been a consultant on two digital audio development documents for the Library of Congress‘ National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled.

Austin, Books, News, SMiles Lewis, Volunteerism

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