Volunteering with the South Dakota State Library Braille and Talking Book Library is a rewarding experience that produces materials benefitting South Dakotans who are unable to read standard print. Volunteers with the Braille and Talking Book Library work in our recording studios.

Locations

The South Dakota State Library has five volunteer recording studios:

  • Aberdeen
  • Pierre
  • Rapid City
  • Sioux Falls
  • Vermillion
 microphone on yellow background. narrator auditions lend your voice so that all may read. sign up today. Braille and talking book library logo.

Narrator Auditions! Lend your voice so That All May Read.

recording studio in south dakota school for the blind

Recording studio set up at the South Dakota School for the Blind in Aberdeen.

Aberdeen

South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

605 14th Ave. SE
Aberdeen, SD 57401

1-605-626-2580

Directions   sdsbvi.org

recording studio in pierre with volunteer

Volunteer Twila Merkwan smiles for the camera while narrating a book in the Pierre studio.

Pierre

South Dakota State Library

800 Governors Drive
Pierre, SD 57501-2235

1-605-773-3131
1-800-423-6665 (SD Only)

Directions

recording studio in rapid city featuring desk, sound proof walls, computer and microphone

Rapid City Public Library recording studio.

Rapid City

Rapid City Public Library: Downtown

610 Quincy St
Rapid City, SD 57701

1-605-394-6139

Directions   rcgov.org

recording studio in sioux falls featuring desk, sound proof walls, computer and microphone

Siouxland Libraries Downtown Branch's recording studio.

Sioux Falls

Siouxland Libraries: Downtown

200 N. Dakota Ave
Sioux Falls, SD 57104

1-605-367-8713

Directions   siouxlandlib.org/

recording studio in Vermillion Public Library

Freshly constructed in 2019, this brand new recording studio is in the Vermillion Public Library.

Vermillion

Edith B. Siegrist Vermillion Public Library

18 Church Street
Vermillion, SD 57069

1-605-677-7060

Directions   vermillionpubliclibrary.org


There are two positions available to volunteers in the recording studio: Reviewer and Narrator. Contact the BTBL Volunteeer Coordinator at the contact information below.

Reviewer

The reviewer operates the Media Player software to listen to the recorded material. The reviewer's job is to ensure a quality recording by scouring the recording for errors in narration, unwanted noises from the recording booth, and general misrepresentation of the author's intent. The reviewer's objective criticisms are crucial to the production.

Requirements:
  • Good vision and hearing.
  • Exceptional listening skills.
  • Ability to offer objective feedback and criticism as well as appropriate solutions.
  • Sensitivities to the technical and aesthetic challenges involved in translating a printed text into the spoken word.
  • Broad literary background.

Narrator

The narrator presents the text of the book in a professional, yet conversational manner. The narrator must prepare for each session by researching pronunciations of difficult words, and practicing awkward phrases. The narrator is the only member of the production team that cannot be replaced because he or she must read the book from start to finish.

Narrator Requirements:
  • Voices that are clear and distinct.
  • Ability to sustain energy over a long period of time.
  • Voices that are free of regional coloration or accents.
  • Voices that are free of mannerisms such as lip smacks and other oral and guttural interferences.
  • Skill in securing proper emphasis.
  • A sense of timing and inflection.
  • Ability to read in a conversational manner.
  • Ability to retain a collective understanding of the material.
Audition:

Every volunteer who is interested in being a narrator must pass an audition. The audition consists of reading two selections onto a digital cartridge: one that contains dialogue and the other narrative. The audition is a cold reading that determines if the volunteer has the natural ability to read both kinds of materials. If accepted as a Narrator, the volunteer will be assigned materials suitable to his or her voice.


Contact Us

ALS Volunteer Coordinator