Audio-Reader
Encyclopedia
The Kansas Audio-Reader Network, generally called Audio-Reader, is a radio reading service
for the blind in Lawrence
, Kansas
. The program began operating on October 11, 1971, and is the second to operate in the United States. Audio-Reader broadcasts the content of books, newspapers, magazines, and other printed materials via a closed-circuit radio to certified users in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. In addition to the radio program, Audio-Reader operates other services for the blind, including a telephone information service called Telephone Reader, audio description of theater in Kansas City, Missouri, and Lawrence, Kansas, cassette taping of printed materials, and a sensory garden.
Audio-Reader is funded through public and private sources, and is run through the University of Kansas
through KU's public radio station, KANU. A staff of thirteen operate the service, supervising three hundred volunteers, who record materials at the on-campus office or through telephone headsets from their homes. In addition, the service has live broadcasts of daily newspaper
s, and some volunteers travel to theaters in the area to provide descriptions of theater performances.
Audio-Reader began its operation in the kitchen of KU's Sudler House in 1971. Shortly after that, the service was moved to a trailer outside of the house, where it remained for a number of years. During this period, volunteers recalled live broadcasts that were interrupted by heavy rainstorms or squirrels running along the tin roof of the trailer. By the late 1970s, Stan Potter and Audio-Reader director Rosie Hurwitz collaborated to create the Association of Radio Reading Services, which came to be known as the International Association of Audio Information Services (IAAIS) over time. Hurwitz also served as one of the two original presidents of the association, Stan Potter being the other original president.
In 1988, Audio-Reader purchased its current facility, a 1920s Tudor-style house down the hill from where Audio-Reader's trailer had been, with funding from the Baehr Foundation. The house had once belonged to Phi Kappa Tau
, a campus fraternity and Audio-Reader took it over and renovated it. Audio-Reader continues to occupy the house, now called the Baehr house, which contains several small recording studios and an 'air studio' for managing broadcasts. In 2002, the University of Kansas moved the public radio station, now called Kansas Public Radio, over to Audio-Reader's site, creating a new building attached to the Baehr house, and putting the two separate staffs in closer proximity to one another.
Audio-Reader's current director as of 2007, Janet Campbell, was made interim director of KANU, and she presently runs both organizations as director.
"For Your Ears Only", an annual music sale in Lawrence begun in 2003, is a fundraiser put on by Audio-Reader's staff at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.
In July, 2005, Audio-Reader hosted the 2005 IAAIS Conference.
frequency 'underneath' KANU's broadcast on 91.5 FM, a common arrangement for radio reading services that allows them to provide copyrighted materials without violating copyright
law by broadcasting to the general public. Only radios that are capable of receiving subcarrier channels can pick up Audio-Reader's (and other subcarrier-based radio reading services) programming. Audio-Reader is only allowed to provide these radios to users who can certify a print-disability from a medical doctor or social service agent.
In 1994, Audio-Reader created software for an information delivery system for the telephone
called Telephone Reader, created by Audio-Reader employees Steve Kincaid and Art Hadley. Telephone Reader is composed of a computer server connected to a number of phone lines which allows recording and playback of material via the telephone. This program is also used by a few other reading services in the United States. Audio-Reader's version is called the Kansas Lions
Telephone Reader, which includes recordings in English and Spanish.
Eleanor Symons, the first person to volunteer for the service, has remained a volunteer for the service from its inception to the present day, reading three times a week.
Listeners to Audio-Reader's service must be unable to use normal printed materials. In most cases, listeners are partially or completely blind, but some listeners have other disabilities, such as dyslexia
or allergies
to newsprint. A number of Audio-Reader listeners are elderly and have the condition macular degeneration
.
Radio reading service
A radio reading service or reading service for the blind is a service of many universities, community groups and public radio stations, where a narrator reads books, newspapers and magazines aloud for the benefit of the blind and vision-impaired. It is most often carried on a subcarrier, with...
for the blind in Lawrence
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. The program began operating on October 11, 1971, and is the second to operate in the United States. Audio-Reader broadcasts the content of books, newspapers, magazines, and other printed materials via a closed-circuit radio to certified users in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. In addition to the radio program, Audio-Reader operates other services for the blind, including a telephone information service called Telephone Reader, audio description of theater in Kansas City, Missouri, and Lawrence, Kansas, cassette taping of printed materials, and a sensory garden.
Audio-Reader is funded through public and private sources, and is run through the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
through KU's public radio station, KANU. A staff of thirteen operate the service, supervising three hundred volunteers, who record materials at the on-campus office or through telephone headsets from their homes. In addition, the service has live broadcasts of daily newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s, and some volunteers travel to theaters in the area to provide descriptions of theater performances.
History
Anne "Petey" Cerf, a Lawrence resident, began working in the mid-1960s to find a way to provide written materials for people unable to use standard print using radio, and hired Midwest Research Institute to determine the feasibility of such a project, originally focusing on using the same radio channels used by Muzak. MRI's report was discouraging, as was the reaction of a major organization for the blind, whose director told Ms. Cerf "The blind don't need a special radio service." On a visit to the Library of Congress, Cerf discovered that Stan Potter and Bob Watson, two amateur radio operators, had developed the first radio reading service, through Minnesota Public Radio in 1969. Cerf contacted Potter, and with his help, she worked to start a similar program in Kansas. Cerf presented the idea to the University of Kansas, offering to fund the first two years of its operation, provided the university would administer the program. KANU began operating Audio-Reader in 1971.Audio-Reader began its operation in the kitchen of KU's Sudler House in 1971. Shortly after that, the service was moved to a trailer outside of the house, where it remained for a number of years. During this period, volunteers recalled live broadcasts that were interrupted by heavy rainstorms or squirrels running along the tin roof of the trailer. By the late 1970s, Stan Potter and Audio-Reader director Rosie Hurwitz collaborated to create the Association of Radio Reading Services, which came to be known as the International Association of Audio Information Services (IAAIS) over time. Hurwitz also served as one of the two original presidents of the association, Stan Potter being the other original president.
In 1988, Audio-Reader purchased its current facility, a 1920s Tudor-style house down the hill from where Audio-Reader's trailer had been, with funding from the Baehr Foundation. The house had once belonged to Phi Kappa Tau
Phi Kappa Tau
Phi Kappa Tau is a U.S. national collegiate fraternity.-History:Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity was founded in the Union Literary Society Hall of Miami University's Old Main Building in Oxford, Ohio on March 17, 1906...
, a campus fraternity and Audio-Reader took it over and renovated it. Audio-Reader continues to occupy the house, now called the Baehr house, which contains several small recording studios and an 'air studio' for managing broadcasts. In 2002, the University of Kansas moved the public radio station, now called Kansas Public Radio, over to Audio-Reader's site, creating a new building attached to the Baehr house, and putting the two separate staffs in closer proximity to one another.
Audio-Reader's current director as of 2007, Janet Campbell, was made interim director of KANU, and she presently runs both organizations as director.
"For Your Ears Only", an annual music sale in Lawrence begun in 2003, is a fundraiser put on by Audio-Reader's staff at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.
In July, 2005, Audio-Reader hosted the 2005 IAAIS Conference.
Technology
Audio-Reader operates on a radio subcarrierSubcarrier
A subcarrier is a separate analog or digital signal carried on a main radio transmission, which carries extra information such as voice or data. More technically, it is an already-modulated signal, which is then modulated into another signal of higher frequency and bandwidth...
frequency 'underneath' KANU's broadcast on 91.5 FM, a common arrangement for radio reading services that allows them to provide copyrighted materials without violating copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
law by broadcasting to the general public. Only radios that are capable of receiving subcarrier channels can pick up Audio-Reader's (and other subcarrier-based radio reading services) programming. Audio-Reader is only allowed to provide these radios to users who can certify a print-disability from a medical doctor or social service agent.
In 1994, Audio-Reader created software for an information delivery system for the telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
called Telephone Reader, created by Audio-Reader employees Steve Kincaid and Art Hadley. Telephone Reader is composed of a computer server connected to a number of phone lines which allows recording and playback of material via the telephone. This program is also used by a few other reading services in the United States. Audio-Reader's version is called the Kansas Lions
Lions Clubs International
Lions Clubs International is a secular service organization with over 44,500 clubs and more than 1,368,683 members in 191 countries around the world founded by Melvin Jones Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States, the organization aims to meet the needs of communities on a local and...
Telephone Reader, which includes recordings in English and Spanish.
Volunteers and Users
Audio-Reader presently has a group of over three hundred volunteers, serving 5,000 registered clients. Volunteers record books and magazines for later airing on Audio-Reader's radio service, and do live broadcasts of daily newspapers starting at 8 a.m. Telephone Reader volunteers come in starting at 6:00 a.m. CT to begin recording newspaper materials.Eleanor Symons, the first person to volunteer for the service, has remained a volunteer for the service from its inception to the present day, reading three times a week.
Listeners to Audio-Reader's service must be unable to use normal printed materials. In most cases, listeners are partially or completely blind, but some listeners have other disabilities, such as dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
or allergies
Allergy
An Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. A substance that causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid...
to newsprint. A number of Audio-Reader listeners are elderly and have the condition macular degeneration
Macular degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration is a medical condition which usually affects older adults and results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field because of damage to the retina. It occurs in “dry” and “wet” forms. It is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment in older adults...
.