I wonder whether it is because the number of submissions is going down, the number of books being proofread is going up, or a combination of the two. Either way, the trend can't keep going the way it is indefinitely. Whatever the case, the number of submissions needs to go up. Evan ----- Original Message ----- From: Julia To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:06 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Ladies And Gentlemen, Start Your Scanners! I remember when there was four hundred books on that page too. I used to have fun browsing through it. Julia ----- Original Message ----- From: Jamie Yates, CPhT To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2009 6:51 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Ladies And Gentlemen, Start Your Scanners! I was really surprised to see the step 1 list has only 134 books on it. I remember when 400 was not unusual. I have to work tomorrow night and then I have four nights off and so I will try to scan some interesting things this weekend. Maybe I will go out to storage and unearth some books. Jamie in Michigan Currently Reading: A Lion Among Men by Gregory Macguire My new website: http://www.michrxtech.com/books.html Print postage from your PC. Try Stamps.com today! --- On Wed, 3/4/09, Shelley L. Rhodes <guidinggolden@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: From: Shelley L. Rhodes <guidinggolden@xxxxxxxxx> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Ladies And Gentlemen, Start Your Scanners! To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2009, 10:22 PM I remember when the "step 1" page had over 700 titles on it, and I know it was one of the times, as I absolutely don't like editing, or proofreading, but I stopped scanning. it is truly awesome. Shelley L. Rhodes, M.A., VRT And Guinevere: Golden Lady Guide Dog guidinggolden@xxxxxxxxx Guide Dogs for the Blind Alumni Association www.guidedogs.com The people who burned witches at the stake never for one moment thought of their act as violence; rather they thought of it as an act of divinely mandated righteousness. The same can be said of most of the violence we humans have ever committed. -Gil Bailie, author and lecturer (b. 1944) ----- Original Message ----- From: Pavi Mehta To: Monica Willyard ; bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Cc: Bookshare.org Volunteers Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 4:14 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Ladies And Gentlemen, Start Your Scanners! Hi Monica, What a great note! It’s terrific to have the perspective of someone whose been volunteering with Bookshare for so long, and who can speak to the way it’s evolved over the years. I wasn’t aware of the early on scarcity of proofreaders – but it’s great to know that that gap has been filled, and to hear the can-do enthusiasm as you rally the team towards the fun challenge of 50,000 books in the collection! Am sure it’s a goal well within our reach too – Go Team! Pavi From: Monica Willyard [mailto:rhyami@xxxxxxxxx] Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 5:41 AM To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Cc: Bookshare.org Volunteers Subject: Ladies And Gentlemen, Start Your Scanners! Hi everyone. I just noticed something cool and new about our volunteer community. We have enough dedicated proofreaders that those of us who like to scan can kick into high gear! In the past, many of us have felt the need to throttle back our production and take time to proofread books waiting for approval. For us it was an either/or situation. There were chronic complaints about not having enough proofreaders and having very large queues of books to process. At that point, we didn’t have the proofreading support to keep submitting new books. Adding more books was like putting fuel on the fire. Some of us stopped scanning completely while others just didn’t submit books and kept them on our hard drives. That’s no longer necessary. This means that we no longer need to be pinch hitters unless we want to. The shift has been quiet and gradual, and it’s definitely here. We’ve got a lot of world-class proofreaders now. For the first time since I have joined Bookshare, anyone can freely work on either side of the equation based on preference and passion rather than concern for processing the queue of books. Proofreaders are standing by, ready to roll. Let’s kick it into high gear and reach the 50,000 book mark this year. We’ve only got around 5300 books to go, and we can easily do that this year. We’ve beaten that number for the past 2 years with less volunteers and help from staff. We can do this if we choose to. For those with books on our hard drives, let’s get them submitted. For those with giant stacks of books covering every surface, let’s scan some of them. Your scanner has been feeling kind of lonely lately. (smile) The caution flag is down, and the pace car is on the move. The fans are cheering, and you’ve got a great pit crew. The track is smooth and clear. So to borrow from NasCar, ladies and gentlemen, start! Your! scanners! Monica Willyard "The best way to predict the future is to create it." -- Peter Drucker