this is an excellent article on the people who create the access to the
books that we use to learn technology and develop new skills.

Kelly


From the Chicago Tribune

Orland studio gives blind the gift of books
By Margie Ritchie
Special to the Tribune

August 8, 2001

Some people like to read and some people don't.

Others don't have a choice.

The volunteers at the Klein Recording Studio for the Blind and Dyslexic
in Orland Park are avid readers who share their enthusiasm by recording
textbooks
on tapes.

"I love to read and can't imagine not being able to," said Linda Doty of
Orland Park, who has volunteered at the studio for three years and spent
a recent
morning reading "The Ancient World," a textbook for grammar and high
school students.

The Klein studio, named for the woman who started the facility in Palos
Park Village Hall in 1963, is part of a national, non-profit service
organization
that has provided nearly 257,000 recorded books to 91,000 individuals
from kindergarten through graduate school who are blind, visually
impaired, learning
disabled or physically disabled.

The Orland studio records approximately 30 books a month with the help of
its 110 volunteers. Some volunteers read general subjects and some
specialize
in areas like math or science.

"We have one volunteer who comes in just to read calculus," said Sandy
Geiger, director of the facility. "He loves it."

Besides readers, volunteers include directors, editors, bookmarkers--who
create "pencil paths" through the books to guide readers through the
sequence of
charts, illustrations and footnotes--duplicators and checkers, who review
the finished tapes.

Some, like Jim Hulbert of Joliet, volunteer their technical expertise.
Hulbert, who has worked at the studio for 27 years, assists with the
maintenance
of the eight recording booths and various editing machines.

"Some volunteers may work on duplicating tapes, some may want to be just
directors and some just readers. The readers must audition because the
textbooks
must be read in a specific way," Geiger said, referring to the necessity
to explain charts and other non-text content.

Ann and Jim Lesh of Flossmoor try to schedule their volunteer time
together. Ann Lesh usually directs her husband, who enjoys reading
chemistry or math
but will read just about anything. Ann Lesh joined her husband as a
volunteer about four years ago. Jim Lesh has volunteered at the studio
for 14 years.

The Orland Park studio is one of just four in the Illinois Unit of
Recording Studios for the Blind and Dyslexic. The others are in Chicago,
Naperville and
Winnetka, with the national organization headquartered in Princeton, N.J.
It was established in 1948 to provide recorded textbooks to veterans
blinded
in World War II and is funded through government grants and private
donations.

"Our volunteers are very loyal, and anytime we need anything they are
there. They will stay longer hours or double their usual volunteering
time. Whatever
we need," said assistant studio director Shirley Watson.

Ann McNally of Lemont has been volunteering since 1969. She is a reader
and a board member for the Illinois Unit who initially got involved when
her brother-in-law
suffered a stroke and could no longer read.

"That is how I became interested, but when I found out it was just
textbooks, I decided that it could probably help more people than just
for pleasure reading.
I thought I would do this for a couple years, and then I got hooked,"
McNally said.

"The service that we provide helps to make independent, productive
people," she said.

Materials may be obtained through schools or by individual membership.
The cost of individual memberships is $25 per year, plus a one-time $50
registration
fee. Schools pay on a sliding scale based on the number of books
required.

The Illinois Unit has about 700 individual members and 47 schools or
institutions, according to Doug Hagman, outreach coordinator.

The Orland recording studio is at 9612C W. 143rd St. Anyone interested in
volunteering may telephone 708-349-9356. For more information, the Web
site is
www.rfbd.org.

Copyright © 2001,
Chicago Tribune
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