Kansas Audio-Reader Network

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The Kansas Audio-Reader Network (generally called Audio-Reader) is a radio reading service for the blind in Lawrence, Kansas. The program began operating on October 11, 1971, and is the second to operate in the United States.^[1] Audio-Reader broadcasts the content of books, newspapers, magazines, and other printed materials via a closed-circuit radio to certified users in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. In addition to the radio program, Audio-Reader operates other services for the blind, including a telephone information service called Telephone Reader, audio description of theater in Kansas City, Missouri, and Lawrence, Kansas, cassette taping of printed materials, and a sensory garden.^[2]

Audio-Reader is funded through public and private sources, and is run through the University of Kansas (KU) through KU's public radio station, KANU. A staff of thirteen operate the service, supervising three hundred volunteers, who record materials at the on-campus office or through telephone headsets from their homes. In addition, the service has live broadcasts of daily newspapers, and some volunteers travel to theaters in the area to provide descriptions of theater performances.