Making A Difference in Your Community : Recording for the Blind Rewarding

As Bette Jewett checked to make sure that the tape was in the correct position, Irene Nevil stepped into the recording booth and found her spot in the book “Certified Flight Instructor Test Preparation.”

“It’s claustrophobic in here,” Nevil said before closing the door.

On cue, Nevil began reading about the problems of hyperventilation, as Jewett, the sound monitor, took care to ensure that her words matched those in the text. Nevil, an actress “in my youth” stumbled on only one word as she read the page.

Jewett, a retired nursing administrator from Woodland Hills, and Nevil, who lives in Brentwood, were taping a book for Recording for the Blind. They are two of the more than 4,500 volunteers across the country who put books on tape for the organization.

At the end of February, the group opened a new recording studio in West Hills--a satellite of their Los Angeles chapter office in Hollywood. A grand opening is scheduled for May 17.

“We found there was an interest from potential volunteers in the West Hills area, but people didn’t want to commute,” Jewett said. The agency draws a wide variety of volunteers, from retirees with technical experience who read manuals, to students who record novels.

“We all learn a lot,” said Jewett, who because of her background will read books in the field of medicine.

The volunteer work has forced her to keep current on the latest innovations in science since retiring five years ago. “They didn’t tell me they were going to keep inventing all these new drugs,” she said.

Nevil, who enjoys reading French literature, had to learn such aircraft terms as yaw--the rotation an airplane may experience in flight--during the recording of the flight instructor certification manual.

Recording for the Blind was founded in 1948 to help veterans blinded during World War II, but today many of those using the service are not blind. About half are dyslexic--which explains why manuals on flight instruction and medicine need to be recorded. Other books are taped for people who have handicaps that make reading difficult.

The group’s main library in Princeton has 80,000 books on file, from fourth-grade textbooks to works needed for graduate school research and course work.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” may be the most requested fictional book in the library, but it is technical manuals--especially for computers--that are the most in demand, said Karen Parti, the studio manager.

“Almost as soon as they are on the shelf, there is something newer coming along,” said Parti.

“I like my job. It’s always fun to work with people who want to do what they are doing.”

The West Hills studio has recruited about 60 volunteers through a word-of-mouth campaign. Each new recruit must first be trained as a sound monitor for six to eight weeks before taking the test to become a reader. But many volunteers opt to remain monitors, essentially the sound editors to readers, who are akin to voice actors.

Those interested in volunteering with Recording for the Blind can call (800) RFB-Text. The number for the Hollywood studio is (213) 664-5525. The West Hills studio can be reached at (818) 226-6055.

Other volunteering opportunities:

TreePeople needs masons and carpenters. For more information call Dee Call of the Burbank Retired Senior Volunteer Program at (818) 953-9503.

Bret Harte Children’s Center, 1421 N. Ontario St., Burbank, needs volunteers who can help its staff in classroom activities such as reading, art projects and playing games, as well as to teach such skills as woodworking, knitting, cooking or sports. Help also is needed for the nurse, and office workers who can file, type and answer phones are needed. For more information call Dee Call of the Burbank RSVP program at (818) 953-9503.