Volunteer at JBI
Image: A pair of JBI volunteers, one recording at the microphone, and the other directing
JBI offers many wonderful opportunities for volunteer services in our state-of-the-art recordings studios in midtown Manhattan.
Narrating Talking Books If you pass an audition, we will train you to record Talking Books. JBI records Talking Books mostly in English but also in Russian, Yiddish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, and Spanish. If you are a native speaker of any of these languages, and would like to try to record, we want to hear from you.
Directing Talking Books Every recording session requires a narrator (who sits inside the recording booth) and a director (who sits outside the recording booth). The director monitors and shapes the level and quality of the recording, and provides editing on-the-go. JBI will train you to do this. You need no professional experience.
"Thank you to all the wonderful people involved in keeping JBI running. It makes my affliction more tolerable and keeps me more active as a human being."
Pauline H. • Capetown, South Africa
Image: A group of JBI volunteers chatting while reviewing books in the recording studio
Quality Control When a recording of a Talking Book has been completed, it is reviewed by a third party for quality control. This, too, is an essential part of Talking Books production and we will train you to do it.
Our studio is open from 11am to 7:30pm, Monday through Thursday, and until 3pm on Fridays. We are flexible, and we will work around your schedule.
Over the years, we've had hundreds of volunteers of all ages (minimum age 18, please) and professions. About 120 volunteers are currently active in the recording program. Volunteers meet each other in our lounge (stocked with free coffee, tea and snacks) before and after each session. Many lasting friendships have been formed at JBI over the years.
In addition to studio recordings, JBI has other opportunities to volunteer in other capacities. Please download and fill out this form and email it to our Studio Manager, or fill out the form below.
Image: The Gitlins, a pair of JBI volunteers, sitting in the recording booth preparing to read a book Image: A JBI volunteer directing a narrator
Thank you for offering to volunteer at JBI! Please fill out the following fields (required items are marked with *):
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