What is it about?

This article explores how referencing materials are treated when books are transposed into audiobooks. At the moment, there is no standard practice for treatment of referencing materials in audiobooks. Often, footnotes and other referencing information is simply omitted. For those who take seriously the act of recognising others' research, this is a problem. Do listeners mind when footnotes are added into audiobooks? Are research-based or academic audiobooks even a feasible or desired genre? This article explores these questions and more, and concludes by offering a few suggestions in working towards best practice for conveying referencing materials in audio formats.

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Why is it important?

We stand on the shoulders of giants. Research engages with ideas that have come before, weaving together new and dynamic dialogues that press forward with creativity into the future. It's essential to recognise the dialogical nature of research and ideas, and that's what referencing does. These issues have not been given a great deal of attention as increasingly more books have been transposed into audio format. Audiobooks are growing in popularity at an incredible rate. They are enjoyed for pleasure, but they also make literary materials more accessible for those with print access challenges. So, it is important to think about how we bring together these two aspects of literature and research: on the one hand, affirming the crucial importance of referencing systems, on the other, recognising the importance of listener experience. Can the two be held together? This is what this article explores. Read more here: 10.1163/18784712-03104016

Perspectives

As well as being a researcher and writer, I work as an audiobook producer and narrator for an Australian company named Voices of Today. I have recently been experimenting with producing academic and research based audiobook materials, and this naturally raises the question of how referencing materials should be treated. In academia, referencing is a huge deal—plagiarism is one of the most detested behaviours—and yet, in the world of audiobook production, I was unable to find any solid discussion addressing this issue. So, I decided to address it myself. This article is part of what I hope will be a fruitful and ongoing discussion.

Sarah Bacaller
Western Sydney University

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Academic Integrity and Audiobooks, Logos, December 2021, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/18784712-03104016.
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