As the Library continues to offer more and more eBooks and other digital resources to its users, it is important to remember that it offers books in another increasingly popular format. The Neuse Regional Library System holds a wonderful collection of audiobooks for all ages. An audiobook is a voice recording of the text of a book that one can listen to rather than read. The Library owns physical copies of audiobooks in CD format as well as digital eAudio copies that can be accessed via Overdrive using the Libby app as well as NC Kids Digital Library.

An audiobook allows its reader to listen to a book while relaxing, driving, or doing other routine activities. Audiobook narrators provide a performance for their listeners, taking them on a journey to distant lands and allowing them to create vivid pictures in their minds. Changes in the narrator’s voice signal different characters in the story with background music and sound effects being used when appropriate to heighten the listeners’ experience. Some authors serve as the narrators for their own books giving listeners the opportunity to hear the author’s words in his or her own voice. Producing audiobooks can be a lengthy process. A narrator might spend up to full work week (eight hour days, five days per week) to produce a 12-hour audiobook.

Audiobooks are not without controversy. Listening to a book being read proves to be a sticking point for some people, because they feel audiobooks are “cheating” or “not reading,” because one is simply listening. I respectfully argue that audiobooks allow you to read with your ears.

Consider this: Listening is a skill. As a society, we are expected to learn through listening. Speaking, reading, writing, and the language arts all require listening as a fundamental skill. Parents and caregivers talk and sing to little ones so they will start to mimic those sounds and begin speaking themselves. Parents, teachers, and librarians read out loud to children as they are learning to read, and those children start reading out loud in turn to their caregivers. Just like any other skill, listening can be improved with practice. When reading, one needs to understand the content of the story, think critically about that content, use their imagination, and make connections. Audiobooks allow for all of those things.

In addition to strengthening your listening skills, the benefits of audiobooks are numerous. Audiobooks can be paired with physical books so the reader can see the written words on the page as he or she listens to the book being read. Audiobooks are a wonderful option for those who suffer from visual impairments. They can serve as entertainment for family road trips, and are a great alternative to watching television. If you are not a regular audiobook reader, step out of your comfort zone and choose to read with your ears by checking out an audiobook today. To learn more about the Library’s audiobook collection or how to get started with digital eAudio through Overdrive and Libby, please call 252-527-7066, Ext. 134.