Learn how we bring textbooks to life and how you can help

volunteer in the sound booth recording a video

Volunteers are a critical part of the Learning Ally team.

Thanks to our dedicated volunteers nationwide, both in studios and virtually, we can continue to grow our extensive library of nearly 80,000 audiobooks and help improve the lives of families all across the country. See how volunteers make it possible.

algebra book

Step 1

It all begins with a book. The same books used in classrooms across the country as well as books being read for enjoyment are placed in the hands of our volunteers.

volunteer preparing the books

Step 2

Volunteers prepare the books, setting up the files that will let us synchronize audio to text and creating guidelines to help other volunteers find their way through a complicated page layout. This lets others focus on quality in the recording.

volunteer recording a book

Step 3

Volunteers record the prepared text. As a volunteer records, quality assurance checkers review the work for total accuracy and quality and provide feedback to the reader to correct any flaws.

volunteers doing post production work

Step 4

The recording goes through a special post-production process, including a final quality check, and is translated into a Learning Ally audiobook. Now a user can skip straight to pages or chapters, place bookmarks, search for keywords, read along with highlighted text, and speed up or slow down the reader's voice.

student using audiobooks on Learning Ally Link software

Step 5

The completed books are added to the online library on LearningAlly.org. Users can download the files to listen and read on PC, MAC, Chromebook computers, iOS and Android devices. Our library is available in the classroom, at home, on the road, or anywhere else our users study, learn, or simply enjoy reading a good book.

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