A Letter to Libro.fm: “Thank You for This Wonderful Gift”

The following is reprinted with permission from ABA affinity partner Libro.fm. Visit Libro.fm’s blog to see the original post and learn more about the latest audiobook bestsellers. Booksellers can also visit Libro.fm’s Bookseller Hub, the place for all important links, tips, and assets.

At the end of 2018, we received an email from Howard about how Libro.fm and partner store RJ Julia Booksellers has impacted his Aunt Nell. Thank you, Howard, for sharing your story!

Hello Libro and RJ Julia people,

I want to let you know how the Libro.fm service has literally changed a life.

This past summer, my wife and I were in Connecticut visiting her aunt, who is 90 years old. At 90, she is mentally sharp, and relatively healthy physically except for the fact that she is losing eyesight due to macular degeneration.

We were out walking around town, and Aunt Nell told us she wanted to take us to her favorite bookstore, RJ Julia. As we were looking through the aisles, she said that the one thing she truly misses due to her failing eyesight is the ability to read. At almost the very same minute, I saw the Libro.fm brochures at the bookstore’s check-out area. I grabbed one, and talked to my wife about getting Aunt Nell signed up.

One quick trip to the Apple Store for an entry-level iPad and a few minutes signing up online, and we were all set. We were able to get Aunt Nell comfortable with playing books on the iPad, and she has a next-door neighbor who is able to come over and help her with any difficulty, or in loading new books onto the iPad.

Every time Aunt Nell finishes a book, we talk on the phone about what she’d like next, and I make the purchase on her account with our credits. Neighbor Diane pops over, and we have a brief conversation while she downloads the next book. So far she has read James Herriott, Rosamund Pilcher, the new book about Mister Rogers, and now Maeve Binchey.

It is hard to express what a change this has made in her world — she can still see well enough to email, and she has been just so appreciative. In her most recent email, she said, “Every time I start to read I think of you both and thank you for this wonderful gift.”

So there you have it. A Libro/RJ Julia success story. Thought you should know.

—Howard