For 16 years, Wible has volunteered as a reader for Books Aloud, a San Jose-based nonprofit that produces and distributes audio books via its free library service for blind or physically disabled individuals of all ages. In June, Wible was invited to join the organization's nine-person board of directors.

Wible's long relationship with Books Aloud began by chance. During a visit to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Main Library in 1989, Wible noticed signs that Variety Audio, now Books Aloud, was auditioning for readers.

A cold reading of Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen won Wible a spot as a reader. Wible says she was thrilled. Since 1989, Wible has ventured to Books Aloud's studio for an hour each week and has completed 40 books.

"I love doing it every week since then," Wible says. "It's the metronome in my life; it keeps me steady."

For Wible, reading for Books Aloud was a way to flex her voice-over talents while giving back to the community. Wible's hobby doing voice-overs began while she studied English literature at UCLA.

Her first voice-over gig was narrating a chemistry film on campus and Wible continued to do voice-overs on radio and for Silicon Valley companies.

Although Wible works full time at Cisco Systems as a technical writer, she takes her volunteer work seriously. Her voice, she says, is friendly, relaxed and smart. A job as a bilingual tour guide at Disneyland in her youth also helped her develop a "bad Spanish accent," she jokes.

Wible flexes these talents in the studio, where reading one book can span anywhere from four to 14 hours. Each reading is a cold reading and Wible discovers the stories as she reads and records the books.

To date, the organization has recorded 5,200 adult and children's books in many genres. The books are selected by the nonprofit group's book committee.

"I really like that because they pick books I would have never picked for myself," Wible says. "I've learned so much."

Currently, Wible is reading Madam Secretary, Madeleine Albright's autobiography. Albright's recollections of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden help Wible view current events with historical perspective, she says. She's also found a few favorite books through her recording, including People of the Deer by Farley Mowat and The Survivors by Georges Simenon.

The organization often receives letters from homebound recipients who say the audio books help pass the time, Wible says. But it was a single piece of fan mail addressed to Wible that showed her how the volunteer work could comfort, entertain and educate people who are unable to physically read a book.

The letter was poorly typed and only a sentence long and thanked her for a story. "I cherished that so much," she says.

In the past few years, Wible's work with Books Aloud has expanded. She was integral in getting the group on Cisco's list of organizations to which employees can donate time or money. This caught the attention of Books Aloud's staff and board of directors, who later invited Wible to join.

Wible says she would like to apply her writing skills to help the organization receive more funding through grants. Executive director Joyce Meurer said Wible's presence as a grant writer fills a need on the board.

"That's a perfect spot [for Debbie], so it was a real nice fit," Meurer says.

Meurer has been involved with Books Aloud since it began 32 years ago at the dining table of her friend Florence Peer Carroll. Meurer and Carroll were both members of the West Valley Federated Women's Club.

Carroll's mother was losing her eyesight, Meurer says, and the experience inspired Carroll to create a program for blind children. The original idea was to record children's books for blind children. The women hoped to bring 10 children together.

"Needless to say, we had no idea how it would grow," Meurer says.

Today, it has a nine-person staff and produces up to 300 new books a year. All books are free to qualified applicants. The books are delivered to homes throughout the United States and Canada and returned via mail. Clients can request specific books, authors or genres.

Meurer says the service is a popular one. One San Jose woman, who turns 100 this year, goes through six audio books every two weeks.

Meurer worked for decades as a volunteer for the small organization. After retiring from her business management consulting company, Meurer joined the board of directors for two years and then became executive director in 2003.

According to Wible, Meurer's direction has brought new life to the organization. Meurer says when she took the helm, she warned the staff, "Hang onto your hats. We're taking this on to the next level."

Books Aloud has since added several new programs with generous donations from the Kiwanis Club of San Jose and the Rotary Club of San Jose. Books Aloud will begin working in public schools throughout the county by providing mini-libraries with up to 40 audio books and a "sight and sound" component to help those with learning disabilities read a book while listening to it on audio.

Wible says the board would also like to increase patronage by providing audio books in other languages, such as Spanish.

Wible is glad to serve Books Aloud among volunteers who bring new enthusiasm and ideas to the organization's mission, she says.

"I has a sense of purpose knowing someone with difficulties seeing might enjoy the stories Books Aloud sends," Wible says. "It has been fascinating for me to watch this organization bloom like a flower."

For more information on Books Aloud, call 408.808.2613 or visit www.booksaloud.org.