Title: Selecting Audiobooks: Towards a Core Collection of Narrators
Abstract: Audiobooks seem to fulfill a particular need to make the story experience a portable and multitasking one so that the mundane activities of our lives, such as cleaning, cooking, exercising, and commuting, become story-rich. This need is reflected in the steady, even increasing, focus on audiobook circulation. Given both public and academic libraries' needs to shape and grow collections, how do we ensure that our efforts result in the best selections possible--collections that reflect the particular strengths of audio? This is a difficult proposition because a large part of audiobook collection development is focused on title selection. Selectors must ensure that they build collections that serve patrons seeking materials in the growing variety of formats they demand. Yet the most critical component of audiobook selection is not the title, but the narrator. The narrator of an audiobook is as important to the experience as the author. Indeed the narrator joins forces with the author to create the audio experience. All avid audiobook listeners know the disappointment of a story ruined by the narrator, or more happily, a story transformed by the deft choices of a skilled reader. Given the performer's importance, collecting the best narrators, as well as key titles, should be a part of any well-developed collection. This column offers a way to begin this dual work for those new to audiobook selection and serves as a checklist for those more familiar with the particular demands of this facet of collection building. Written by four members of The Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration (the newly created CODES award for audiobooks), it offers a mix of popular authors and titles read by important narrators. The column works towards the creation of a core list of narrators, a must-buy list of top performers, and also offers further reading and resources. The Listen List highlights the twelve best audiobooks published each year based on the quality of their narration quality. The inaugural list will be announced during the 2012 ALA Midwinter Meeting.--Editor KEY NARRATORS Josephine Bailey Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Narrated by Josephine Bailey. Old Saybrook, Conn.: Tantor, 2008 (ISBN: 978-14001-3633-9). Austen's beloved novel, which mediates the temperament of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy as the two clash and court one another, is brought to life by Josephine Bailey's extraordinary vocal skills. Bailey's ability to capture the essence of a scene and translate its emotional weight makes each work she reads, be it a classic like Austen's or a more modern tale, an immersive experience. Her steady pace and lovely home base voice are compelling and carry listeners through lengthy sections of exposition. Her dramatization of scenes, inflected as they are with deft changes in pace, volume, and tone, makes the works she reads vivid listening experiences. Scott Brick Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles. Narrated by Scott Brick. Old Saybrook, Conn.: Tantor, 2010 (ISBN: 978-14001-4824-0). From classics and occasional nonfiction titles to thrillers and science fiction, prolific narrator Scott Brick has read a wide variety of audiobook titles. A popular and critically acclaimed narrator, Brick is known for his ability to allow listeners to make a personal connection with his characters. The clear pleasure he takes in his work enhances and transforms the listening experience. Brick enlivens Bradbury's classic science fiction tale of life on Mars, a reading that makes the most of his talents. He captures all the drama of space exploration, but he also reflects the elegiac tone evoked by this thoughtful examination of the human condition. A treat for listeners new to the work and for those reexperiencing it. Jim Dale Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Narrated by Jim Dale. New York: Listening Library, 1999 (ISBN: 9780-8072-8195-6). …
Publication Year: 2011
Publication Date: 2011-12-22
Language: en
Type: article
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