Hello.To whom do we send info on books that aren't Publisher Quality such as synopses and series titles?
Thanks. Christina----- Original Message ----- From: "Pavi Mehta" <pavim@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2008 7:12 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Speaking of synopses..? Fair question E. I should have provided more of an explanation of our process in my earlier email, My apologies. We now have a new methodology for sourcing synopses that involves using an online database called Bowker. For a fee, Bowker provides book metadata and makes it possible for us to pull down the information we need, including synopses automatically for all our PQ books. As you can imagine this helps increase the speed and efficiency with which PQ books enter the collection. Currently the tricky part is the fact when PQ books enter the collection the synopses sourced from Bowker have to each be uploaded individually by a staff member. We are hoping to be able to automate this with the new site, and our turnaround times for this will only get quicker in the future. The duplication of effort comes in if a volunteer writes up a synopsis for a book that we have already sourced from Bowker (which thankfully has not happened). In terms of integrating volunteers into Bookshare's work beyond the scanning and validation realm, that is something that I am more than happy to discuss further with you or any other volunteers who have specific ideas. My email records indicate that we did not turn down your offer E. but responded that we would indeed keep you in mind if an opportunity for staffing a Bookshare table came up near your area in Manhattan. From my discussions with senior staff members here, I understand that Bookshare actually has worked with member volunteers in a number of different ways over the years -- including site development and other engineering related roles. Regarding the bibliography question, I don't quite understand what it is you are suggesting and look forward to clarifying my understanding with you offline. Perhaps what this thread indicates is that we -- or more specifically I -- do indeed need to do a better job of communicating to the volunteer community all the different ways in which you contribute to the work. Thank you E. for taking the time to draw attention to the issue -- and for your thoughtful follow up mail explaining where you are coming from with all of this. The new site roll out is fast approaching and demands a lot of our attention at Bookshare, but I'd like to make explicit to the list, that I'm always willing to listen to ideas any of you may have for contributing beyond the call of scanning & validation. And I genuinely hope to facilitate such contributions as we move forward together. All good things, Pavi Mehta Volunteer Coordinator, Bookshare Benetech 480 S. California Ave., Suite 201 Palo Alto, CA 94306-1609 USA Phone: +1 650 644-3459 pavim@xxxxxxxxxxxx www.benetech.org The Benetech Initiative - Technology Serving Humanity A Nonprofit Organization -----Original Message----- From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of E. Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2008 1:45 PM To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Speaking of synopses..? What goes on with bookshare that they have such a hard time putting in place an efficient system for using the large pool of volunteers at their disposal? Using them for book descriptions is one possibility. Using us volunteers for other tasks has been pretty thoroughly discouraged for the six years I have been with bookshare. No use of programmers. No use of people to put together bibliographies on various subjects. No use of volunteers to go to schools and colleges to talk about bookshare. I have volunteered to go to schools, staff booths at exhibits, write bibliographies. Always I have been turned down. The last trade show I went to had a empty bookshare booth. I would have been happy to volunteer to staff it. No use of volunteers for that either apparently. What complex procedures need to be put in place for using volunteers when you are so short staffed that the work keeps piling up? Elizabeth At 04:31 PM 11/6/2008, you wrote:
Hi All, In terms of what to do when you encounter a PQ book in the collection that is missing a synopsis here is the current process we'd like to set in place for this: PQ files are being added to the collection on a regular basis and the staff is working hard to have synopses attached to every book as soon as possible. Because of various complications there is sometimes a slight delay in synopsis entry. If it is a new book in the collection though, it should have a synopses in by the end of a week. If you notice a PQ book that is not on the new books page and that is lacking a synopses please send me an email with the title of the book and we will make sure to work on it. Down the line we would like to explore having volunteers help with these synopses, but for the moment definitely want to avoid duplication of effort. Once our processes are established and there is an efficient system in place for soliciting volunteer-written synopses we will be sure to let you know. Warm regards, Pavi Mehta Volunteer Coordinator, Bookshare Benetech 480 S. California Ave., Suite 201 Palo Alto, CA 94306-1609 USA Phone: +1 650 644-3459 pavim@xxxxxxxxxxxx www.benetech.org The Benetech Initiative - Technology Serving Humanity A Nonprofit Organization -----Original Message----- From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of My Nickels
Worth
Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2008 1:18 PM To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Speaking of synopses..? Oh, cool-thanks! Caitlyn -----Original Message----- From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of E. Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2008 3:37 PM To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Speaking of synopses..? There is absolutely something you can do. You can send them to Alison who will post them. She used to be in charge of updating book descriptions. If that fails, try sending them to Pavi and perhaps she can forward them to the correct person. E. At 03:10 PM 11/6/2008, you wrote: >Is there anything we can do for publisher quality books which lack a >synopsis? Lots of times, I've read down the list of new books, for >example, and there are quite a few which have absolutely nothing >written as a synopsis, just the copyright date.. > >What can we do, if anything? > >Caitlyn > > To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to >bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx >put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a >list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the
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