2019 Partners
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Written by Francisca Goldsmith in Literacy
Thursday, October 10, 2019
We frequently note the importance of improving listening skills as a route to better social and civic engagement. What exactly happens when we listen, in distinction to what hearing means?
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in Literacy
Thursday, October 3, 2019
While many people consider audiobook listening to be a sidelight of a physical activity to which they are giving priority in their planning--whether the mundane tasks of cleaning house or the aspirational ones of training for a marathon--a lot of times audiobook listening happens when we're sitting around.
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in Literacy
Thursday, September 26, 2019
There ae some things we can do in a hurry and some that, when we hurry, no longer can be done. While we can eat and drink in a hurry, we need to slow down to savor what we eat or drink. We are generally pretty good at reacting in a hurry and less good at crafting the best response when we hurry to supply one instantly.
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in Literacy
Thursday, September 19, 2019
September is a lot of things, including National Library Card Month and Hispanic Heritage Month. It’s also World Kid Lit Month so we took a look back at the 10 years of free audiobooks we’ve offered to see how many came from beyond the US. With just 10 days left in the month, you still have time to go back through your collection and listen to some World Kid Lit:
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in Literacy
Thursday, September 12, 2019
For those who are in constant want of new narrative listening, the world of podcasts is rich and deep--and free! This week we remind you of a couple such podcasts that speak specifically of and through teens who are using their voices and their ears to examine teen history.
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in Literacy
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Our host, AudioFile Magazine, is featuring the vast array of day jobs audiobook narrators hold, or have held, beyond their work in the booth. We think teens will be amazed by some of the possibilities for their own pursuit.
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in audiobooks
Thursday, August 29, 2019
As the new school year swings into opening days, and you find yourself with a nicely filled shelf of new audiobook listens, we thought we'd call your attention to recent research about the benefits of listening. These benefits include ones of mental and physical health, academic engagement, and pure relaxation and wonder-feeding.
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in audiobooks
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Thank you to the nearly 4,000 SYNC participants who took the time to provide us with responses to our 2019 survey! We use this information to build a better program each year so be assured that your opinions are noted. We heard from teen listeners, librarians and teachers, parents and grandparents, and adults who might be teenless but have a deep interest in audiobook listening.
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in audiobook SYNC titles
Thursday, August 8, 2019
As you might imagine, preparing for next SYNC season of free audiobooks starts even as the current season winds down. As we begin our outreach to publishers to start collecting titles for you to download next year, we need your evaluation of this year's program.
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in Literacy
Thursday, August 1, 2019
By now, you may be in possession of as many as 28 new audiobooks for your listening enjoyment. SYNC's 2019 season of free audiobooks has run its course. However, we don't disappear when the season ends. What can you expect until the free audiobooks start up again next spring?
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in audiobook SYNC titles
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Our final week of SYNC’s tenth season comes with a pair of audiobooks that are kissed by the possibility of magic. We hope this finale brings you both immediate delight and the invitation to keep exploring both your own world and those created and presented through the many audiobooks available all year at your library.
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in audiobook SYNC titles
Thursday, July 18, 2019
We make assumptions about other people in our lives all the time—and yet, we also know that assumptions others make about us can be way off base. This week’s pair of audiobooks explore just such situations and let listeners consider both sides of the assumption trap.
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in audiobook SYNC titles
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Even when we know a lot about the achievements of a famous person, learning more about them during the parts of their lives before they became well known can both surprise and inspire us. This week’s pair of free audiobooks introduce us to the lives and times of two well-known men and provide listeners with insights beyond the spotlight of their fame.
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in audiobook SYNC titles
Thursday, July 4, 2019
This week’s two free audiobooks share some paranormal—and humorous—highlights. Just right for late night listening, they provide enough suspense to keep listeners in thrall and enough romance to satisfy anyone who would rather spend time with human affairs than apparitions.
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in audiobook SYNC titles
Thursday, June 27, 2019
This week our audiobooks offer a couple of contemporary high school stories. In keeping with that theme, expect characters who experience self-consciousness, make assumptions about others around them, and take leadership roles among their peers even when those peers might not have looked to them in particular to move others toward change.
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in audiobook SYNC titles
Thursday, June 20, 2019
This week SYNC participants meet characters from the past as they appear in new short stories and a novel. Be prepared to discover how changes in perspective can inspire and delight!
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in audiobook SYNC titles
Thursday, June 13, 2019
This week we’ve paired fiction and nonfiction, both of which will appeal to anyone who is curious about what happens out of view. Thank you to Candlewick on Brilliance and to Tantor Audio for these contributions to SYNC.
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in audiobook SYNC titles
Thursday, June 6, 2019
What we assume about others can miss the truth about their situations by so much that we can become blinded to their reality. The pair of audiobooks available for you to download and keep for free this week, one an #OwnVoices title and performance and the other adapted from a Western classic, may put a check on our being too quick to assume we know how to value the intentions of others.
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in audiobook SYNC titles
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Friends and family are important people in all our lives. Sometimes, however, instead of looking to others for support and rescue we need to get through hard times on our own. This week’s pair of audiobooks from Penguin Random House Audio/Listening Library shows how some fictional teens face such events.
Written by Francisca Goldsmith in audiobook SYNC titles
Thursday, May 23, 2019
From 1961 to 1989, a barbed wire-topped concrete wall divided Berlin, Germany, preventing free movement of family members, friends, and anyone engaged in daily business from crossing the more than 800-year-old city. Our audiobook pair this week bookends the night that wall was built with the call for its destruction in a speech by a U.S. President. With the topic of border wall building frequently in today’s news, we think this visit to the recent past is in order.
