At the new Speeches Web site, you can compile customized books and DVDs in a matter of minutes.
How many different ways do customers have to love the new BYU Speeches Web site? Too many to count, perhaps. The sophisticated online storefront affords customers more options than ever before to enjoy their favorite BYU devotionals and firesides. The site offers two new features—customized books and DVDs—and adds hundreds of talks to the database.
With a few clicks of the mouse, visitors to speeches.byu.edu can now compile a personalized book with five, 10, or 15 speeches to read. Shoppers begin by selecting talks according to author, ranging from Angel Abrea to S. Dilworth Young, or subject, such as marriage or testimony. They then choose from five cover designs and add a custom title in the desired type, with room for a personalized message. When the order is placed, the book is printed, bound, and shipped.
With more than 800 authors and 950 speeches to choose from, the possibilities are endless. In addition to the personalized books, shoppers can customize DVDs in a similar manner, with up to three speeches per DVD, choosing from a variety of BYU devotionals to have in their viewing library.
“We’re excited about the customization capabilities,” says Charles D. Cranney, ’80, associate director of Publications & Graphics.
The Speeches Web site also offers special-edition books, such as the one released in February 2004, How Do I Love Thee? which featured six talks on love and relationships. Other special-edition books are in the works.
After teaming with a group of student programmers for a year to develop the site, Cranney says, “The whole new Speeches site is a serious attempt at achieving one of the primary purposes of our area—to extend the blessings of BYU to the world.”
Info: In addition to the customized books and DVDs, speeches.byu.edu offers devotional and fireside speeches in annual book compilations or as individual speeches in a variety of formats: text (hard copy or downloadable file), audio (CD or downloadable file), or video (DVD).
