On September 29, 2015, we cut the ribbon for our new state-of-the-art ABLE Sound Center. Two years later we are going strong! Over fifty books recorded at ABLE were uploaded to the Library of Congress website, making the books available to almost 550,000 blind and physically handicapped patrons nationwide. By the end of 2016, over 2,600 people had accessed these books. This relationship with the National Library Service and the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library expanded our reach exponentially throughout the nation.
Blind people desire the same access to a wide range of written materials that most people who are sighted take for granted. Of the estimated 175,000 books published in the U.S. each year, the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped produces only 3,000 titles. ABLE’s Sound Center allows us to record books of a quality that meets the digital recording standards of the National Library Service. We’re proud of this achievement, and grateful to all who were and are involved!
Volunteer Carlee Ihde recording in the ABLE Sound Center. Editing will occur at the same time in an adjacent room.