• How to check for existing copies in this format

Audio recordings have long been available on cassette tape, and more recently on Compact Disk (CD).  Audio recordings are a valuable resource for people with a vision impairment, or print disabilities such as dyslexia.  Another emerging option is use of mp3 electronic files.

Tape recordings have some drawbacks – it can be difficult to find specific parts of the recording, or to update information without re-recording everything again. 

Digital recordings allow for updating and marking tracks, making them much more efficient to use.

Suppliers

When sending material for recording, help the process by:

• Allowing as much lead time as possible!

• Providing clear specifications of the job requirements

• Excluding all non-essential print material to minimise the work to be read

• Providing additional information to describe a technical illustration, or a pronunciation guide for technical terms

• If a text is large, it helps if it can be physically broken up, so that more than one narrator can do the work.

Queensland Narrating Service

The Queensland Narrating Service is a not-for-profit organisation that uses trained volunteers to narrate printed works.  These recordings are for the use of people with a print disability only.

Student work is always given the highest priority. 

Recordings for students are created in mp3 files.  The service keeps a master copy of recordings.

Recordings are produced at a low cost, and tapes and CDs are presented in quality presentation boxes.

Contact the Queensland Narrating Service:

Phone no.:  07 3846 1755
Fax no.:      07 3846 1415
E-mail:        qns@gil.com.au

Web site:    www.connectqld.org.au/qns

Accessible Information Solutions

http://www.nils.org.au/ais/print/index.html

This agency specialises in preparation of materials in a range of accessible formats, including digital audio recordings.

Hear a Book

http://www.hearabook.org.au/

A non-profit Tasmanian organisation similar to Qld Narrating Service, Hear a Book has an online catalogue of over 11,000 books on tape and more recently CD.

DIY – Doing It Yourself

There are advantages to producing your own audio recordings inhouse - for instance, if the material is needed urgently, or the material contains a lot of jargon or technical terms that need to be pronounced correctly.  There could also be many graphics which need to be described by someone who knows the subject area.

Some tape recorders allow tone indexing – an aid to finding specific sections.  Digital recorders are now available with USB connections so that recordings can be saved as mp3 files, and even later converted to text files using voice recognition software.

It is useful to use Braille and large print labels on the recorded media.

Pronunciation guides are useful tools available online.

More information

Sound Advice

Roundtable on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities Inc.

http://www.e-bility.com/roundtable/

Guidelines for the production of audio materials for people with print disabilities can be purchased at a low cost.  The Roundtable has also produced draft guidelines for conveying visual information using text descriptions and tactile graphics.

Creating MP3 Files

High Tech Center Training Unit

http://www.htctu.fhda.edu/trainings/manuals/tutmain.htm

Choose the "Creating MP3 Files" document from the list of training manuals.

For more important information on converting materials, go to:

What to consider when converting materials in accessible formats (CD)