Additional “Readers” are needed and welcomed, but it is desired that a certain uniformity to be maintained so that a listener is not presented with “surprises” when going from article to article. One who desires to become a reader for The Audio Library of Christian Ministry should be familiar with what is needed. Therefore this document — “Guideline For Readers” — will provide an outline for what is needed.

Voice Quality
1. Diversity in voices is strongly desired for the Library — both male and female. Do not rule yourself out if you have a desire to serve in this way. What you do must be done as unto the Lord, this is not a moneymaking job.
2. Can you read clearly (a strong accent if it is clear may work) and accurately? As a reader you must be like Ezra who read,“… distinctly out of the book, and gave the sense…” Neh. 8:8.
3. Do you or can you give the sense without doing extreme voice modulation? It is very important that the voice be kept even, without very high and low volume. Extreme intonation or inflection cannot be used.
4. It is preferred that the readers not try to imitate the original speaker in any way, but must give the sense to convey the meaning of the text. This means generally following the original punctuation which, in some cases may need to be corrected, but is normally to be considered correct.
5. Reading must be slow, about 140 words per minute to give the reader time to process what is said.

What to Read
The material to read should be decided upon by the reader since this is a personal exercise, however we would like to suggest some guidelines. Some material may contain thoughts or expressions that could be harmful to a young listener, which we would like to avoid.
1. Reading meetings are not preferred because they are difficult to edit, and difficult to listen to in distracting surroundings. The use of speakers initials make listening very complex.
2. We do not desire to make audio files of current ministry.
3. It has been our exercise to make recordings older addresses or writings that have been well tested by time.
4. We will be happy to speak with the new reader about possible material either by phone or eMail.

Reading Studio
The word “studio” sounds very formal, which it does not need to be, but it will require some forethought. Consider these things when selecting a place.
1. Do you have a place where you can be alone for at least 20 – 30 minutes or so at a time? (Most reading will require about this at one segment.)
2. The place needs to be free of background noise: air conditioner, furnace, traffic, trains or planes, telephone, children, others talking, etc. Background sound is very subtle, just a low rumble that your ear normally blocks out will pick up in the recording. Be very critical when assessing this requirement.
3. You will need to sit comfortably but not lounging. For your best voice sit up erect, but not stiffly. If you need water have it handy.
4. Have your reading area properly lighted. Low lighting makes for mistakes.
5. Have an easy-to-read Bible to use for reading the Scriptures at the beginning, and put numbered markers in it so the various Scripture selections can be easily and quickly found.
6. It will be important that you sit facing the microphone with nothing between your mouth and it. Do not turn your head widely from side-to-side while reading. You may need to experiment with this. Sometimes it works best to have the mic a little above your mouth and far enough away so as not to get breath puffs.
7. It is very important when reading that you not make any extraneous noise; page rustling, hard or long drawn breaths, scratching, etc. These, with the exception of breaths, cannot be removed when editing except if they are between words.
8. If you need to turn the page, take a drink, cough or sneeze, etc. pause from reading for a second or two (do not shut the recorder off) then after the noise pause a second or two and continue reading. This will be edited out digitally.
9. Before beginning a reading project please contact us with the name of the article you wish to read and we will show how it is to be sectioned. This is necessary for speed in editing. Also it is helpful to break a recording up into tracks for playback. This means that you will shut the recorder off and restart it and continue reading in order to make multiple files. For example, the Scriptures used at the beginning should all be in one sound file.
10. If you make a mistake when reading, pause for a second or two and begin again at the beginning of the sentence, etc. You can even say, “Wrong” or some such thing. This will all be edited out.
11. When you do make a mistake and begin to “read over” be careful not to change the normal inflection of your voice. It generally happens that we show disappointment with ourselves by changing the emphasis on the offending word. If you do this — you will need to read it over yet again!!

Equipment
Here are some guidelines for the equipment necessary to provide a reasonably good recording.
1. A digital voice recorder. There are many now available for $100.00 or less. It needs only have a capacity of 16 hours to have many uses, including this. These are now available in very small size, and there may be help available for those not able to afford such expense.
2. It will need to have a USB port in order for the recorded material to be downloaded to your (or someone’s) computer.
3. It will also need an external microphone connection with stereo capability. This is important.
4. The recording quality should be: Stereo, 44,100 Hz, 16 bit.
5. We would prefer, if available to you, a Sony Digital Recorder ICD model, because the software will be interchangeably compatible with mine.
6. Sony makes a very small stereo microphone about the size of a thumb that does an acceptable recording job. A headset with builtin microphone will work as well.
7. You will need some sort of stand that will hold the recorder/microphone level with your mouth when you are reading, unless you use a headset.
8. The distance from your mouth to the microphone will need to be constant at all times. Directly in front and raised a little as you read is best. If recording to a mic on the recorder about 30” away is best — definitely not up close. (Close produces “pops” every time you open your mouth, as well as stronger “s” hisses.)
9. As mentioned above leave short pauses around any mistakes, etc. If a telephone rings you may be able to pause the recorder. Then to resume begin reading over again at the beginning of the sentence . Always, if in question leave a pause — do not shut the recorder off unless you will be away for longer that a minute!

File Preparation
1. After finishing the recording project the files must be uploaded to a computer that has the necessary software to accept the files, which will be “.dvf” or some such file. Then normally that software will provide a converter that will convert the file to a “.wav” file. This is the file we will use for editing the project.
2. At some point, before or after, making the wav file, rename and number the files according to the file number coming from the recorder. For example, you might name the article “Names of Divine Persons by JT” using the file name: “1 NODP – JT.wav” the "1" indicating the first section, then "2" etc.
3. The resulting files can then be put onto a “Data” CD or DVD and mailed to us for final editing, etc.

October 2007