Books Aloud
What They Do:
Located in San Jose, Books Aloud mission is to "to improve the quality of life for people unable to benefit directly from the printed page by providing a service to stimulate minds, stir emotions and foster independence through a 'reading by listening' program." The group provides recorded audio versions of myriad reading materials for a wide-range of audiences. This allows people such as those with blindness, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, cataracts, or failing vision, among others, to enjoy all the benefits of reading.
How Books Aloud could "Be Extraordinary!"
Right now, Books Aloud features about 5,000 titles for listening. But, what if Books Aloud could leverage a ready and able volunteer base, and crowdsource the recording of printed materials into entertaining audio formats? Volunteers would launch the Extraordinaries' application on their phone, and be presented with their choice of printed material. They could select one, and utilizing the phone's recording capability, begin reading aloud the text on their phone which would be steamed to Books Aloud's headquarters to be saved and archived.
Huge barriers to getting lots of dynamic, broad, and far-reaching content recorded exist in the form of cost (buying expensive audio-books) and in limited time for people to volunteer to record content. The Extraordinaries addresses both, and would allow those with a few free minutes to make written stories and articles accessible to everyone.
Want to Learn More?
What do you think?
Could The Extraordinaries' volunteers make a difference in making this content more accessible? We'd love to hear your thoughts in our comments section.
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Alex Budak is a recent graduate of UCLA and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Public Policy at Georgetown University , with a focus on Technology and Social Entrepreneurship. He is joining The Extraordinaries this summer as a Research Fellow.
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