At the end of the century, the audiobook industry has much to celebrate. First introduced into the retail bookstore market less than 15 years ago, the audiobook industry has grown into a $2-billion market in that short time. The 1999 APA Consumer Awareness Study found that the market for spoken-word audio recordings grew approximately 360% from 1990 to 1998. In 1995, about 12% of American households were listening to audiobooks; by 1999, that number had nearly doubled, to 21%. The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) reports that during the period 1993-1997, the rate of audiobook sales growth was five times that of the consumer book sector.

But audiobooks can trace their roots back much farther than the 1980s. In 1932, engineers for the American Foundation for the Blind created a durable, long-playing record, the Talking Book, which was the earliest form of the modern commercial audiobook. Two years later, the Readophone, a revolutionary invention for the reproduction of literature and music on Talking Books, was demonstrated to Books for the Blind, part of the Library of Congress. The Readophone had two hours and 20 minutes of recording time, the equivalent of 28,000 words.

In 1948, Ampex began delivering audiotape recorders, the National Bureau of Standards developed specifications for a low-cost, reliable talking-book machine, and the first audio books for blinded war veterans were produced in New York City.

In 1952, the first commercial audio publisher, Caedmon, released its first title, A Child™s Christmas in Wales And Five P ms, written and read by Dylan Thomas. Caedmon was soon joined by Listening Library, which debuted in 1955.

In 1958, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) inaugurated the first annual Grammy Awards, including an award for best spoken-word recording. That same year, the Library of Congress produced prototype books on 16-2/3 rpm audio discs.

In 1963, Philips demonstrated its first compact audio cassette using high-quality BASF polyester 1/8-inch tape that runs at 1-7/8 ips, the forerunner of the modern audiocassette. In 1966, cars were equipped with 8-track stereo cartridge players, but by 1975, audiocassette players were the standard in new cars, and in 1979, Sony introduced the Walkman portable audiocassette player. Today, most audiobooks are played in cars and on Walkmans.

In 1975, Books on Tape began recording and renting unabridged audiobooks to consumers by mail. Recorded Books, the other large rent-by-mail service, debuted in 1979. Both companies soon had a devoted following among literature lovers.

The modern audiobook market was born in the mid-™80s, as large book publishers such as Simon & Schuster, Random House, Bantam Doubleday Dell and HarperCollins launched their own audio divisions. Commercial audiobooks began to appear on the shelves of bookstores, and in 1987 the Audio Publishers Association (APA) was formed with 12 member-companies.The mid-™80s also saw the opening of the first audio-only store, Talking Tapes in Denver. Today, there are approximately 75 audio-only stores in the U.S.

The 1990s have been a decade of milestones for the audio industry. In January 1994, the Herrick Co. launched the Audio Book Club. Columbia House and Doubleday soon followed with their own audiobook clubs. (In 1999, the Audio Book Club acquired both of its competitors.) Audiobooks.com, the first Web site dedicated to selling audiobooks online, also debuted in 1994.

The APA held its first annual conference in 1995. The following year, the potential for downloading audiobooks via the Internet came into view, when Audio Highway unveiled a downloadable spoken-word portable device at that year™s APA conference. At the same conference, the APA held its first annual Audie Awards ceremony to recognize excellence in audio publishing.

Nineteen-ninety-seven represented a big leap forward for consumer awareness of audiobooks. BDD Audio released Ambush at Fort Bragg by Tom Wolfe, the first work by a major author successfully released as a stand-alone audiobook, and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton™s audiobook It Takes a Village (Simon & Schuster) won a Grammy for best spoken-word album. The APA designated June as "Audiobook Month" and launched its first national audiobook consumer awareness campaign. Audible Inc. shipped its first Audible Mobile Player and launched a site offering 3,000 digital audio programs. Audible also released Real Time, the first unabridged audiobook to be published exclusively in digital format.

Now, as the century draws to a close, the future looks bright for audiobooks. Downloading audiobooks is becoming more widespread, as Networks and Microsoft release digital players for the secure playback of digital audiobooks, and the new Diamond Rio 500 player stores up to 28 hours of secure audio. The audiobook industry reports sales near $2 billion and the APA boasts 200 member companies.