[bksvol-discuss] Re: question on Complicated Books
- From: Scott Rains <scottr@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 7 May 2010 10:06:05 -0700
Jamie and Melissa,
In general it is true that the outsourcers work on more complicated books.
Textbooks are one type. Last week we had some success with new software tools
for rendering math problems for example. (No, unfortunately the fractions
problem isn't entirely solved yet) Science textbooks are a special priority.
Describing images in science textbooks is still a 100% human-dependent process
that both volunteers and outsources do.
Being paid for through grants outsourcers priorities are determined by the
deliverables promised in the grants. They don't have the freedom to build up
the Bookshare library according to their personal reading preferences as
volunteers do.
Bookshare's Librarian Amy McNeely has come up with something I expect her to
announce very soon. It highlights the unique freedom that volunteers have while
addressing the recent topic of gaps in series. I encourage everybody to read
her announcement and take advantage of the chance to work with someone here who
I find fun to work with.
Scott Rains
Bookshare Volunteer Coordinator, Interim
________________________________________
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Melissa Smith [mdsmith25@xxxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, May 07, 2010 8:07 AM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: question
That makes sense to me, that they should work on the more complicated books.
Perhaps the grant is the reason they are not. I really don't know.
Melissa Smith
On 5/7/2010 7:44 AM, Jamie Yates, CPhT wrote:
> I was sure at one point we were told the whole purpose of the
> outsourcers was that they could work on books that were more
> complicated than volunteers were willing to or could handle.
> Cookbooks seem to fit that bill. Of course that was pre-grant so
> maybe their focus now is just getting a mass quantity of books that
> meet the grant conditions into the collection.
>
> I agree that cookbooks do take a long time and it's not an easy thing
> to do, even with sight. After a while all of those fractions look the
> same when you've seen hundreds of them.
>
>
> -- Jamie in Michigan
>
> Currently Reading: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai
> Sijie Earn cash for answering trivia questions every 3 hours:
> http://instantcashsweepstakes.com/invitations/ref_link/49497
>
> See everything I've read this year at:
> www.michiganrxtech.com/books.html<http://www.michiganrxtech.com/books.html>
> <http://www.michiganrxtech.com/books.html><http://www.michiganrxtech.com/books.html>
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