Wanted: Caring person who likes the sound of her own voice. Has the ability to correctly pronounce words like “mischievous” and “peremptory” while sounding like a man. Hams preferred.
This wasn?t the exact description of the opportunity that presented itself to Diane Stillman six years ago, but it?s a fair description of her experience as a volunteer narrator at the Maryland Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, located at 415 Park Ave. in Baltimore.
One of 18 narrator/monitors at the library, Diane reads books on to tape once a week in a two-hour session with her partner, Maxine Cohen. While one reads inside a soundproof booth, the other follows along, checking for errors, mispronunciations, muffled words and otherdistracting sounds, while running the tape machine, soon to be replaced with new equipment.
There?s an excitement in Stillman?s voice that comes from doing something she clearly loves.
“I had always had it [narrating] in my mind, a desire for many years. So one day I marched down to the library and that?s how I started,” she said.
“As you?ve probably gathered, I?m a bit of a ham, and love the opportunity to exercise a certain dramatic bent. And I love the idea that what I?m doing serves such a great purpose,” she said.
That purpose is to lend books in Braille and large type or recorded on discs and cassettes for those unable to read standard print. Those eligible for the service include the legally blind (vision of 20/200 or less with glasses), visually limited (difficulty focusing to read standard print without aids), physically limited (difficulty handling a book or turning pages), or reading-disabled (such as due to dyslexia).
The search for volunteers like Diane is led by Wilhelmina Hargrave, studio manager and volunteer services coordinator at the library.
“After a screening interview, applicants must pass an audition which consists of three readings ? one dialogue; the other, narrative; and the third, a list of 46 vocabulary words,” Hargrave said. Potential narrators have a “cold read” of such words as “Mayoral,” “ophthalmologist,” “gubernatorial,” “lambaste,” “scofflaw,” and puzzlers like “Youghiogheny River.”
“We complete an average of 16 titles per year. In 2005, the library had an average of 25 volunteers per month, working an average of 409 hours per month,” Hargrave said.
How to volunteer
The Maryland Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped is holding auditions for new narrators mid-summer. Call 410-230-2430.
