Attachment J-2 - Specification 1201 (March 2025).pdf

Version 1.2 February 2025

Specification 1201:2025 Narration

NLS Spec No. 1201:2025 February 2025

Revision History Revision Issue Date Change Description

1.0 06/30/2017 Initial release

1.1 08/01/2019 Fixed omission section

1.2 2/10/2025 Updated branding Added dictionary websites Removed audition requirements Added cultural sensitivity restrictions Added sidebar requirements Added image description requirements Removed monitor requirements Minor fixes and edits

Table of Contents

1. Scope

2. Suggested Reference Sources

3. Requirements

3.1 Narrator Criteria

3.1.1 Characteristics

3.1.2 Aesthetic/Interpretative Requirements

3.1.3 Casting

3.1.4 Multiple Narrators

3.1.5 Narration Accuracy

3.1.6 Pronunciation

3.2 Speaking the Written Text

3.2.1 Omitted Text

3.2.2 Relocated Text

3.2.3 Reading Notes

3.2.4 Location of Notes

3.2.5 Explanatory Notes

3.2.6 When Source Notes (Citations) Are Omitted

3.2.7 When Footnote Numbers Are Omitted

3.2.8 Reading Sidebars

3.2.9 Image Descriptions

3.2.10 Special Instructions

4. Quality Assurance

4.1 Contractor Inspection

4.1.1 Quality Assurance Procedures (QAP)

4.1.2 Responsibility for Compliance

4.1.3 Review

1. Scope

This document specifies the narration requirements for audio materials produced for the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS), Library of Congress.

2. Suggested Reference Sources

Random House

The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, current edition available at:

https://www.dictionary.com/

Columbia University Press

Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World, current edition http://www.columbiagazetteer.org/main/Home.html

The New Columbia Encyclopedia, current edition https://www.encyclopedia.com/

Merriam-Webster Inc.

Webster’s New International Dictionary, current edition Webster’s Biographical Dictionary, current edition Webster’s Geographical Dictionary, current edition A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English, current edition Encyclopedia of Literature, current edition https://www.merriam-webster.com/ https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/

Pearson Education Inc.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/ https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/

The New Century Cyclopedia of Names, current edition

J.B. Lippincott Company

Universal Pronouncing Dictionary of Biography and Mythology, current edition

Omnigraphics Inc.

Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names, current edition

Oxford University Press

BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names, current edition

Online Guides

Say How: A Pronunciation Guide to Names of Public Figures available at:

www.loc.gov/nls/who-we-are/guidelines-and-specifications/say-how The ABC Book: Acronyms, Brand Names, and Corporations www.loc.gov/nls/who-we-are/guidelines-and-specifications/abc-book

3. Requirements

3.1 Narration Criteria

The narration shall meet the requirements stated below. Conformance to these requirements may be subjective. Final authority for judging the acceptability of a narration shall rest with the NLS Quality Assurance Section.

The NLS director must be sent written notification and must approve in advance any solicitation of authors, agency administrators, or well-known individuals for narration of NLS materials.

3.1.1 Characteristics

Important characteristics of narration include but are not restricted to:

a. Delivering the narration in a conversational manner

b. Conveying the sense of the text

c. Conveying the appropriate emotional levels of the text

d. Using emphasis, inflection, phrasing, stress, timing, and other appropriate speech art skills to distinguish narrative from dialogue and characters from each other without calling undue attention to the manner of delivery

e. Ensuring that, if character voices are used, the voice of each character possesses the same ease, flow, and vocal range as the normal narrative voice and is appropriate to the text

f. Avoiding a delivery that is stilted, mechanical, or monotonous, unless one or more of these characteristics is an artistic necessity for specific sections of the text

g. Avoiding strained, unclear, inconsistent, overplayed, stereotyped or offensive character interpretations, dialects, and accents

h. Avoiding narration characteristics that might become a distraction during extended periods of listening

i. Using appropriate conventions for speaking written language

j. Accomplishing the narration at a pace that enables the narrator to most naturally convey the energy, mood, sense, and style of the text

3.1.2 Aesthetic/Interpretative Requirements

The narrator must be attentive to the sense of the text, skillful in choosing proper emphasis, and must avoid a stilted, mechanical, or monotonous delivery. The emotional content of the voice shall at all times be appropriate to the emotional level of the source material. The narrator, by proper use of timing and inflection, must clearly differentiate between narrative and dialogue, and between various characters depicted. If character voices are utilized, each separate vocal characterization must possess the same ease, flow, and vocal range as the normal narrative voice. Character interpretations, dialects, and accents that are strained, unclear, inconsistent, or overplayed are not acceptable.

3.1.3 Casting

The narrator selected for the source material should possess the vocal personality, vocal qualities, and vocal style which are well suited to the content of the source material and to speaking the written text in a way that is as consistent as possible with the intent of the author.

When considering the cultural appropriateness of narration, it's important to select narrators who accurately represent the author’s intent with regard to culture, gender identity, dialect, and accent.

Producers should avoid stereotypes in casting and ensure the tone and delivery align with the cultural context to prevent misinterpretation.

Narration that is found to be cast inappropriately shall be subject to rejection and/or re-record.

3.1.4 Multiple Narrators

The use of multiple narrators within individual source material is permitted without prior approval from NLS when the source material is clearly divided into multiple distinct points of view (POV.) This includes parts, chapters, sections, stories, etc. told from the perspective of different characters over the course of the material.

Once established, the relationship between narrators and their associated POVs must be maintained for the duration of the recording.

To the extent possible, consistency in pronunciations, character voices, and other narrative or audible qualities of the recording as outlined in this specification as well as specification 1202 section 8.6 shall be maintained throughout the recording.

Requests for the use of multiple narrators in scenarios other than those outlined above must be approved in writing by NLS.

For magazines different narrators may be used for the different articles, but no change of narrator shall occur during an individual article.

3.1.5 Narration Accuracy

Narration shall conform to the source material text, as supplied by NLS, in its entirety and include bibliographies, references, appendixes, and notes, etc. (See Section 3.2 regarding the handling of notes). Typographical errors in the source material text identified during the recording process shall be corrected, after consultation with the studio recording director. If substantive errors are discovered contact NLS for direction. Quotations from works such as the sacred text of any religion (e.g., the Bible, the Torah, the Koran, etc.), historical documents, poems, and direct quotations shall be word perfect. Final authority for judging accuracy of the narration shall rest with the NLS Content Quality Assurance Section Head.

The following points will be cause for immediate rejection:

a. Mispronunciations

b. Changing the original meaning of the text by improper inflection or interpretation

c. Failure to accurately follow the text of the source material.

3.1.6 Pronunciation

Pronunciation shall be appropriate to the style and period of the print text and the nature of the characters. Proper names and foreign words and phrases shall be pronounced in a natural and accurate manner. For general vocabulary usage, any of the sources listed in Section 2 of this specification shall be considered an authoritative source. Specialized reference works (music, law, medicine, British speech, etc.) may be used for specialized requirements. Additional research is required if published sources do not give the needed pronunciations. In case of dispute, final authority rests with the NLS Content Quality Assurance Section Head.

3.2 Speaking the Written Text

3.2.1 Omitted Text

Unless otherwise instructed in writing by NLS, studios may omit the following items without an accompanying reader’s note:

a. Elements that label, credit, or list visual materials without giving additional information

b. Index and index references

c. Items that upsell other products Any omission of material apart from the enumerated list above must be accompanied by the following reader’s note to be placed at the end of the table of contents. (If there is no table of contents, read the note before chapter one or its equivalent.):

“Reader’s note: (name of material) located throughout the (source material) have been omitted. End of reader’s note.”

3.2.2 Relocated Text

When appropriate to the specific title; captions, charts, graphs, illustrations, and other typographical elements, may be relocated from where their original positions in the source material, provided they are not essential for clarity at their original locations. These elements may be relocated individually or read as a group at the end of the source material division (i.e. chapter, part, article, etc.) or at the end of the source material, whichever is most appropriate to the style of the specific title. Relocation of elements shall be consistent throughout the audio recording.

Any relocation of material must be accompanied by the following reader’s note to be placed at the end of the table of contents. (If there is no table of contents, read the note before chapter one or its equivalent.):

“Reader’s note: (name of element or elements) located at/throughout the (source material) has/have been relocated to (identify the new location). End of reader’s note.”

3.2.3 Reading Notes

The generic term “note” followed by the reference text or number (when applicable), shall be used in the spoken text for end notes, explanatory notes, etc. The term “footnote”, followed by the reference text or number (when applicable), shall be used for footnotes. Notes shall be set off from the text by saying “Note . . . end of note” or “Footnote . . . end of footnote.”

When notes are read in the spoken text, they shall be read as near as is practical to the point in the written text where they occur. Notes shall normally be read at the end of a sentence, provided the nature of the written text makes it practical, but always in a manner that least interrupts the flow of the spoken text.

3.2.4 Location of Notes

When it is appropriate to the specific title, for instance to avoid interrupting the flow of the narrative, notes may be relocated from where they occur in the print edition. They may be read as a group at the end of each source material division (i.e. chapter, part, article, etc.)

or read as a group at the end of the source material, whichever is most appropriate to the specific title. The appropriate announcement shall be used for the following situations.

a. When notes are relocated to the end of a division:

i. The following announcement shall follow the table of contents or, if there is no table of contents, precede the main text of the source material: “Reader’s note: All notes will be found at the end of the (name of the division) in which they appear. End of reader’s note.”

ii. If there is a heading for other notes that appear at the end of a division, that heading is used for reading those notes and the relocated notes. If there is no heading, the following announcement shall be used to introduce the relocated notes:

“Notes for (division name or number).”

b. When notes are relocated to the end of the source material:

i. The following announcement shall follow the table of contents or, if there is no table of contents, shall precede the main text of the source material: “Reader’s note: All notes will be found at the end of the (source material). End of reader’s note.”

ii. If there is a heading for other notes that appear at the end of the source material, that heading is used for reading those notes and the relocated notes. If there is no heading, the following announcement shall be used to introduce the relocated notes:

“Notes for (source material title).”

iii. Unless otherwise directed by written instructions from NLS, notes read as a group at the end of the source material shall be read after the body of the main text and before any back matter.

3.2.5 Explanatory Notes

Each explanatory note shall be read in its entirety. It shall be read with a note number, if present in the source material text, and as near as is practical to where it occurs in the source material. Information repeated from the main text may be omitted unless its omission would make the note unclear.

Citations within an explanatory note should be omitted unless their absence would make the note unclear.

3.2.6 When Source Notes (Citations) Are Omitted

Source notes (citations) shall be omitted. This announcement shall be used when citations are omitted:

“Reader’s note: The source notes found in the (source material) are not included in this recording. End of reader’s note.” If appropriate, add the following statement: “… Explanatory notes have been retained. …” within the reader’s note.

This announcement shall follow the table of contents or precede the start of the print text if no table of contents is present.

3.2.7 When Footnote Numbers Are Omitted

Footnote numbers shall not be read when footnote numbering begins anew on each page.

3.2.8 Reading Sidebars

The generic term “sidebar” shall be used in the spoken text for sidebars.

When sidebars are read in the spoken text, they shall be read as near as is practical to the point in the written text where they occur.

Sidebars shall normally be read at the end of a sentence, provided the nature of the written text makes it practical, but always in a manner that least interrupts the flow of the spoken text.

3.2.9 Image Descriptions

Image-based content shall be described according to the guidelines of QA202501. NLS Content Quality Assurance Section retains final authority over the proper application of image descriptions

3.2.10 Special Instructions

NLS will provide any special instructions to the recording contractor when there are requirements for a specific source material that are not covered in this document. The contractor may ask the NLS contract monitor for changes to special instructions that will improve clarity of narration or usefulness of the source material. All such changes must be approved in writing by NLS.

4. Quality Assurance

4.1 Contractor Inspection

The contractor is responsible for the performance of all inspection requirements specified herein.

4.1.1 Quality Assurance Procedures (QAP)

The contractor shall create a quality assurance plan to document the processes and procedures that ensure products delivered comply with the requirements of this specification. Quality assurance procedures shall include, but are not limited to, those pertaining to narration, monitoring, and reviewing. The quality assurance plan shall be augmented and modified when rejections demonstrate existing procedures are inadequate. The contractor shall submit the QA plan to the NLS Content Quality Assurance Section at the beginning of each new contract or at any time required by NLS. Modification of the contractor’s QA plan shall be made if, in the opinion of the NLS QA section, it does not adequately ensure delivery of conforming products.

4.1.2 Responsibility for Compliance

The requirements set forth in this specification shall become a part of the contractor’s overall inspection system or quality program. The absence of any inspection requirements in the specification shall not relieve the contractor of the responsibility for assuring that all products submitted to NLS for acceptance comply with all requirements of the contract. Sampling methodology in quality monitoring does not authorize the submission of known defective material, nor does it commit NLS to the acceptance of defective material. Should NLS determine, within the warranty period, that a product does not conform to this specification, the contractor shall correct the product and if necessary submit a corrective action report and modify its QA procedures to prevent similar failures. The correction of the non-conforming product shall be performed without additional charge to NLS.

4.1.3 Review

The audio recording shall be reviewed in its entirety against the source material to ensure compliance with this specification.