[bksvol-discuss] Re: Romances and grants

  • From: "Bob" <rwiley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 15 May 2009 20:12:10 -0500

For a politician it's ok to do romance and erotica, just don't let their 
constituents read about it.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Shelley L. Rhodes 
  To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 9:02 PM
  Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Romances and grants


  Hi Roger, the simple answer is it is a Federal Government grant, and need I 
say more.  Guidelines of our fine Government state that romance and irratica 
are not educational no matter what we feel to the right course.

  the Complicated answer is politics, politics, politics, smile.


  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: Rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx 
    To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
    Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 9:57 PM
    Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Romances and grants


    My first message on this topic was copied to volunteer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
because I would like some official clarification of this, but I suppose that we 
will have to wait at least until tomorrow for that. In the meantime, though, I 
would ask if anything but romances and erotica is classified as educational 
then why are romances and erotica not? It is undoubtedly true that one can 
learn something from virtually any book that has ever been written even if some 
have a lot more to teach than others, but if virtually every book that has been 
written can be classified as educational then the classification of educational 
loses its meaning. If the grant money can be spent only on educational books 
then it would seem, in this case, that the grant money can be spent on any book 
at all. If that is the case, then why is it a grant for educational books 
rather than a grant for just books? And still, how is a romance not educational 
and a book about the adventures of an elf queen in the land of the ogres is? 

                    "Philosophers have merely interpreted the world in various 
ways; the point is to change it." Karl Marx     

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    Subj: 
    [bksvol-discuss] Re: Romances and grants   
    Date: 
    5/10/2009 9:03:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time  
    From: 
    airadil@xxxxxxxxxxxxx  
    Reply-to: 
    bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx  
    To: 
    bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx  
    Sent from the Internet 
    (Details) 
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    Dear Tammy,Shelley, Roger, and Booksharian Friends, 

    Thank you, Shelley, for your lucid, experience based explanation of how it 
is that most books qualify for grant support at Bookshare. A good example of
    the popular fiction books Bookshare is scanning by the dozens is the 
Goosebumps series. Some kids love 'em and teachers use 'em so into the 
collection
    they go! 

    Tammy, as a romance lover you're going to find plenty to read in the 
Bookshare collection. Bookshare isn't shunning romances, but when spending 
grant funds,
    it must follow grant guidelines from the government which supplies the 
money. Several active volunteers contribute quality scans and proofreadings of 
romances.
    In fact, though it isn't my favorite genre, I've scanned and proofread some 
romances myself.  

    As for why Bookshare isn't encouraging donations of romances, aside for the 
fact that the grant doesn't supply funds for staff to process it in house,I
    suspect lack of space to store donated books is part of the problem. 
Bookshare rents office space. I've heard from staff that at times boxes of 
donated
    books have lined the walls of the conference room and they can only be 
stacked so high before becoming a hazard. 

    Did you notice that the first several books on John's list of new books are 
romances? Bookshare and many readers welcome them. The cool thing is that we
    volunteers are free to submit and proof any type of book we like. I love it 
that we aren't bound by grant specifications.  

    Since I'm a volunteer like you and only communicate with the staff on the 
rare occasions, 2 or 3 times a year, when I need information I can't get on this
    list, or botch information I've filled in on a form and want it corrected, 
I can't answer your questions officially. In my experience the staff are patient
    with our questions so don't hesitate to ask them the questions you asked in 
your post.  

    I'll be glad to talk to you off list about your scanning and proofreading 
questions. When I began volunteering about three years ago, and all along since
    then, I learn techniques and tricks on this list and off list with helpful 
volunteers who enjoy sharing what they know. Like Allisa who is new and already
    giving good advice, you'll soon be answering questions yourself. 

    Always with love, 

    Lissi  

    block quote
    ----- Original Message ----- 

    From: 
    Tammy Blaker 

    To: 
    bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 

    Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 9:04 AM

    Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Romances and grants

    Lissi, 

    I don't understand , why would Romances not be covered?  I love romances 
and lots of other women do too.  If it covers SCI-FI and other fiction books 
then
    why would it not cover romance?  If it is the sex in romances they should 
read some SCI-FI and mystery books, because sex is in lots of other books too. 

    I scan Harlequin books and other romance all the time so I can submit them 
if there are proofreaders for them.  I want to get the rest of Catherine Coulter
    books and scan them too. 

    Why wont Bookshare do a training class for scanners and proofreaders like 
they do for Victor Reader and Read Out Loud?  The manual does not give much info
    on what is the best fonts, how to do the best headers and how the auto 
computers work with the scan programs.  I want the books I submit to sail 
through
    without problems and would take the time to fix them so they would. 

    I set my OCR to English UK and it is doing great now and I'm scanning 50 
pages a day.  I hope to get faster as I learn.  Almost every romances is in UK
    English not American.  

     I have a question.  On the book I submitted.  Radha Ayalasomayajul  
Checkout the book and it says:  Active artifact id 421897 (RFT) 

    Then it say Radha Ayalasomayajula Checkout Active artifact id 421898 
(Daisy) 

    I understand the first Radha Ayalasomayajul is proofing my rft file of the 
book.  But the second part does it mean she is turning it into a Daisy book so
    it can be checked out?  Does she work for Bookshare?  I'm just trying to 
understand the steps from my rft book file to a book that can be checked out at
    Bookshare. 

    Tammy

    block quote end



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