Thursday, April 30, 2009

LibriVox - A Free Online Audiobook Library

In my last post, I mentioned Munseys.com, a website that hosts an extensive free library of public domain e-books in various formats. If you've been to that site and wondered if there might be a site where you can download audiobooks for free, wonder no more. There is such a site. It's called LibriVox, and the concept behind it is just as intriguing.

LibriVox provides a large catalog of audiobooks that are free to download and keep. The subjects include novels, short stories, poetry, plays, and non-fiction. You can download all the files directly, subscribe to LibriVox's podcast, or get the files free from iTunes. The sound files are divided by chapter and provided in three different formats: 64kb MP3, 128kb MP3, and OGG.

All of LibriVox's audiobook titles are unabridged. They have English language titles and titles in other languages, which can be useful for those who are studying foreign languages. All titles are in the public domain and are recorded by the readers. LibriVox readers are volunteers from around the world. If you would like to volunteer to be a LibriVox reader, all the information you need is provided on the site, which includes a message board forum for readers and non-readers alike.

Created by book lovers for book lovers, LibriVox is a great way to enjoy audiobooks at no cost.

1 comment:

Karna Converse said...

Eric: Thanks so much for this post and the post about Munsey's. I'm familiar with Project Gutenberg and plan to explore these two sites in more detail.