Listening Books Annual Review 2012-13 Page 6

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Sound Learning

For many years now, we have sought permission to
record a number of educational titles in our in-house
digital studios. We choose to record titles to support
the National Curriculum from Key Stage 2 to A-Level
which do not exist elsewhere in an audio format. This
is undeniably a great help to the many children and
young people who struggle to read these texts that are
so vital to their schoolwork.

These recordings are made available through our day-

to-day library but we have recently increased access through our Sound Learning through Educational
Grids project, whereby we sought permission from a selection of publishers to offer print-impaired pupils
access to over 100 titles through their schools learning platforms using Shibboleth technology. This
means that pupils or their teachers need only sign into their usual online learning resources centre in order
to access these audiobooks, rather than having to separately sign into the Listening Books website and
having to download a licence for each computer they wish to stream on. To date, Listening Books has
partnered with three educational grids across the country, helping us to reach a potential audience of over
30,000 children and young people who struggle to read the printed word.

The clear benefit of providing our audiobooks in this way is that we are able to reach print-impaired
children and young people in an extremely efficient and effective manner who may not otherwise be able
to experience the joy of reading first-hand or reap the rewards of this vital learning tool. We were proud to
receive a Highly Commended for this project at the 2013 Nominet Internet Awards, celebrating the
internet as a force for good.