Voices of Home

The whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. In June 2024, Stone Child College, a tribal land-grant community college in Box Elder, Montana, invited its community to record audiobooks for the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS).

Funded by the collective annual contributions of Friends of the Library of Congress, NLS staff members set up equipment for volunteers to narrate books in English and Cree. Alice Baker O’Reilly, chief of the Collections Division of NLS, highlighted the value of community members narrating stories in their library’s collection: “Someone who sounds like home is reading you a book about home — you can’t fake that.”

Volunteers joined NLS staffers in the makeshift recording booth, many narrating books for the first time. One woman drove five hours to record. Joy Bridwell, the Stone Child librarian, said, “I was super excited about the opportunity and immediately wanted to get my students, staff and community involved. I was so happy that Jennifer Tendoy came out and read ‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?’ in Cree. Whenever I see Jennifer in the community, I let her know that her recording is reaching many people.”

This work has made it possible for children of the Chippewa Cree Tribe with visual or print disabilities to participate in reading stories in a rich, engaging and authentic way, which has enriched and increased the overall value of the NLS collections. The 15 audiobooks they recorded are now available to patrons across the country, and O’Reilly and Bridwell are hoping to record more in the future. Gifts to Friends of the Library of Congress start at just $50, but they can make a priceless difference for readers of all kinds.