BTBL Recording Studio History

The Clive W. Lacy Recording Studio was named in honor of its initial benefactor, who was often frustrated by the limitations of the BTBL's collection. Thanks to Mr. Lacy's commitment to expanding the scope of the library's offerings, Perkins now has a professional recording studio environment that produces materials for readers with a broad array of needs and interests.

Planning and research for the studio began in 1987. Pat Kirk, then the BTBL Director, and Kim Charlson, the current BTBL Director, oversaw the project.  Within a year, two reel-to-reel recording booths were installed in the Howe building.

The entire BTBL library, including the studio, relocated in 1999 to a newly renovated building on the west side of the Perkins campus. Additional funding made possible the purchase of four new recording booths and the hiring of the first full time studio manager. By 2002, a careful transition from reel-to-reel analog systems had been completed and the studio was producing all digital recordings on to cassettes.

For its first twenty years, the studio produced books and other materials exclusively for the BTBL collection. It expanded to include fee-for-service custom recording in 2008, when MAB Community Services and BTBL consolidated their recording operations into one program at Perkins. Robert Pierson, formerly at MAB, was appointed Recording Studio Director at Perkins and oversees all its operations.