[bksvol-discuss] Re: Wrote just now to Pavi
- From: Rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 16:14:24 EST
Let me make something clear. I did not urge Kim to spend money on wish list
books just to make people happy per se. It was simply that she mentioned
making people happy as a strong reason for buying books and sending them to
Bookshare and I suggested that if she was going to spend the money anyway she
could be better assured that it would make someone happy if she selected
books from the wish list to buy. It occurred to me that she might not have
thought of that. As for myself, I don't have much money to spend on books, but
even so, I have bought some for Bookshare myself. In my case, though, given
that limited budget, I have bought some books to scan myself and if I am
going to put all the effort into them that scanning entails my prime criteria
for selecting them is to make me happy. I have put a number of titles on the
wish list that are a bit too expensive for me and are not available in my
local library, but I have no intention of asking anyone else to spend money on
them for me. I simply figure that if they are on the wish list they might
stand a better chance to make it into the collection by whatever means than if
they are not there. One of them, in fact, I have my eye on as a possible
scan for myself. I just might fulfill one of my own wishes. If, on the other
hand, my motivation was to just make other people happy by either spending my
money or time on books I do think I would look more closely at the wish
list for making a selection. Even so, though, I would, of course, look for
books on the wish list that I was interested in too and give those priority. I
think any of us would do that. Whatever the case, though, I just wanted to
make it clear to anyone who might have misunderstood that I am not trying to
tell anyone how to spend their money.
"I have no country to fight for; my country is
the earth, and I am a citizen of the world." Eugene V. Debs
The Militant: http://www.themilitant.com Pathfinder Press:
http://www.pathfinderpress.com
Granma International: http://www.granma.cu/ingles/index.html
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Subj:
[bksvol-discuss] Re: Wrote just now to Pavi
Date:
11/2/2009 3:43:23 PM Eastern Standard Time
From:
rhyami@xxxxxxxxx
Reply-to:
bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To:
bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent from the Internet
(Details)
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Kim, I think you make people happy by choosing books that make you happy. I
know Roger's desire is to be helpful and let you know about the wish list.
What
he says makes sense. I think our community is so large and diverse that
there are bound to be many members who like the things you put into the
collection.
Yes, we have a large and active wish list. That doesn't mean you
necessarily want to read or pay for what someone else is wishing for. By
purchasing
books
you want to read, you are actively taking steps to fill your own wish list
requests. You're not adding books to the ever-expanding wish list; you're
taking
a tangible step toward getting them into the collection. So the net result
seems to be the same. (smile)
I think my email may sound somewhat stern. I don't intend that and think I
should explain why I'm saying these things. The nature of our wish list is
that
there are some people who have requested over 100 books at a time while
being unwilling to help get them into the collection, whether through
volunteering
to proofread or by providing the books to be scanned. I'm not referring to
people who physically can't volunteer or to people who request books and who
help with the proofreading. In theory, I do want those hundreds of books to
be added to Bookshare, no matter who requested them, because I want
everyone
to be able to access any book they wish. Still the reality is that the
burden of buying, locating, and/or scanning these books falls on our shoulders.
This also means that if we spend our time and money on these books, we
can't spend our time and money working on books that are important to us. So I
feel
frustrated when someone says that a volunteer should spend money working on
the wish list books instead of buying her own to make people happy.
When I get books from Amazon or Paperback Swap, I tend to get 2 books for
me and 1 book from the Bookshare wish list. Even then, I primarily use my
credits
on books I'm willing to read so I can prepare my scan well. I'll take books
somewhat outside my interests if the request is clearly for a student or an
adult needing a book for their employment.
I used to try to be totally fair, doing a book for me and then a book for
someone else, whether I liked it or not. I've taken on books in the past that
didn't interest me at all, and I found that proofreading them was rather
like pulling out my eyelashes strand by strand. I felt drained and burned out
pretty quickly. Now I focus on what I do well and trust that others with
interests in other areas will do likewise. Sue and Jill taught me to do this,
and I am so grateful that they taught me how to keep from overwhelming
myself.
Monica Willyard
"The best way to predict the future is to create it." -- Peter Drucker
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