This project is now complete. All audio files can be found on our catalog page here:
https://librivox.org/short-nonfiction-collection-vol-102-by-various/
This is an ongoing collection of short nonfiction works in English, chosen by the readers, which are in the Public Domain (generally meaning that they were published prior to 1929). Nonfiction includes essays and speeches; letters and diaries; biography and history; film, book and music reviews; descriptions of travel; politics and sports; instructional manuals; even a favorite recipe from a Public Domain cookbook! Your recording can be on any topic. Some suggestions for source material can be found here.
For clarification of what "in the Public Domain" means read this. Try to stay with works that run less than 60 minutes [74 minutes is the absolute max]. You may read a maximum of 2 selections per volume. There is no need to sign-up before recording, as long as the work is clearly in the Public Domain. But please note: Transcriptions of public domain texts published on the web by sites other than Gutenberg.org CAN NOT be used as sources! Specifically, Wikisource CAN NOT be used as a source. See "Our policy on text sources."
After 20 recordings are submitted, we will prooflisten, catalog and make them available to the public.
Basic Recording Guide: http://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/Newbie_Guide_to_Recording
1. RECORD:
- Be sure to set your recording software to: 44100Hz, 32-bit.
- At the BEGINNING say: "[Title of Work], by [Author Name]" "This is a Librivox recording. All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librivox.org"
- At the END, say: "End of [Title], by [Author Name]"
- If you wish, you may also say: "Read by...your name."
- Please leave no more than 1 second of silence at the beginning of your recording. Add about 5 seconds of silence at the end of your recording.
- Need noise-cleaning? See this LibriVox wiki page for a complete guide.
- Save or export your recording to an mp3 file at 128kbs constant bit rate. The uploader will add the .mp3 to the end of your file name when it uploads. Please use the format shown. Your file name should have this format before you upload it:
snf102_titleofwork_authorlastname_yourinitials_128kb - After it is uploaded, it should have this format:
https://librivox.org/uploads/knotyouraveragejo/snf102_titleofwork_authorlastname_yourinitials_128kb.mp3 - FILE NAMES HAVE RULES!
Just a word or two to identify the title. Omit "a," "the," etc. Author's LAST NAME only. Everything lower case, including author's last name & your initials!
- Upload your finished recording using the LibriVox uploader: http://librivox.org/login/uploader. When your upload is complete, you will receive a link - copy and post it to the current nonfiction thread. If you don't post that you've uploaded your recording, the nonfiction book coordinator won't know that you did it!
- If you have trouble reading the image above, please send a private message to any admin.
- To upload, you'll need to select the MC, which for the Short Nonfiction Collection is: knotyouraveragejo
- If this doesn't work, or you have questions, please check our How To Send Your Recording wiki page
- Title of the work.
- Author of the work.
- The link to your file you copied from the uploader.
- A URL link to the source from which you read (etext URL). If posting from Gutenberg, please provide the link to the download page, e.g. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/# (where # is the Gutenberg project number for the book). Note: WikiSource is not accepted as a source for a recording.
- Length in minutes.
- If this is your first Librivox recording, we will also need your name as you would like it to appear in the LibriVox catalog, and, if you have a web page and want it linked to your name in the catalog, the URL of the web page.
- All Short Nonfiction (SNF) Collection selections are proof listened (PL'd). . See https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/Guide_for_Proof-listeners#Levels_of_Proof-listening
- The SNF Collection has SPECIAL STANDARDS for PLing, which reflect our concern for accuracy in reading nonfiction material.
- We proof listen for the following:
- Has the recording passed "Checker?" [set on "Gentle Validation," to check File Names and Technical Specifications only]. This LibriVox app looks for common problems associated with LibriVox recordings. https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/Checker
- Does the recording have errors that change the meaning of the text? This includes words accidentally added, omitted, mispronounced, or misread!
- Does the recording have the LibriVox intro? Are there any long silences or pauses, stumbles or repeats that need to be edited out? Are there 5 seconds of silence at the end of the recording?
- We ask that you complete any editing requested by the Dedicated Proof Listener within two weeks of the request, or, if you need more time, that you post in this thread to request an extension. There’s no shame in this; we’re all volunteers and things happen. Extensions are, however, at the discretion of the Book Coordinator. To be fair to the other readers, sections which cannot be edited in a timely manner will be deleted from the current volume of the Nonfiction Collection, but they can always be included in a future volume when the edits are complete.
Magic Window:
BC Admin
Checker is an easy to use "open source tool that looks for common problems with recordings for LibriVox... Checker saves time by checking contributions for common issues before files are uploaded." Thanks! 
Bostwick's exploration of the difference between "more and less progressive-thinking librarians," though written in 1914, doesn't sound out of date in 2023!