[bksvol-discuss] Re: 550 books in the download queue
- From: "J.M." <inlovewithchrist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 14:44:21 -0700
Hi, Cindy. Well, what happens if a blind person scans a science-related book
and can't describe these things because they can't see the pages and don't
have sighted help? Well, and not just science, but any other type of book
that might have these problems where they might not scan well. If the
initial text is of an acceptable quality, I don't think they should decide
not to submit it just because they can't describe what the OCR package
couldn't scan. Take care.
Julie Morales
Email and Windows/MSN Messenger:
inlovewithchrist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise. --Unknown
The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his
tongue. --Anonymous
----- Original Message -----
From: <socly@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 12:01 AM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: 550 books in the download queue
Ken and Julie,
I guess I didn't make myself clear. I wouldn't reject a book until I'd
looked at it and was sure that I couldn't fix it without *too* much trouble.
I've modified my offer to fix anything and everything, having found myself
working on one book that not only was awful but was boring to
me. I was afraid the one I'm working on now would require too much work,
from what had been posted about it, but it's quite interesting and
so the work is not a problem. I keep working beyond the time I'dplanned to
stop just because I want to know what happens next, and I'm so
involved with the characters.
But Ken, science and history books don't have to be rejected or be
considered unreadable because of the things that don't scan well. The
maps, diagrams, etc. that you mention can be described, or explained
briefly. Formulae can be expressed in English or with Greek letters or
Greek letters written as English, e.g., {Greek beta]. I've downloaded and
saved the Greek alphabet because I had just such a situation in a
book I was validating. Fixing the dates in some histories is a job I won't
offer to do again, though. I finally gave up reading Society in
Medieval Italy (I can't remember the exact title) and just skimmed looking
for the dates and footnotes and used the spell check and wrote in
the synopsis that I'll keep the file and if any reader has a problem
figuring something out they can contact me.
I don't understand why some books which are submitted with an Excellent
rating, as Shelley recently posted, appeared on the download list
as Fair, unless either the scanner didn't put the rating or the automatic
rater over-rode what the scanner put. In case the latter occurs, I
suggest that scanners check their submissions when they appear on the
download list, which I gather is instantly, to see the rating. Then
maybe they can post in the discussion or validate it themselves if there's
no way they can change the rating at that point.
Cindy
Let me present another point of view. Almost all advanced science
books
will have maps, diagrams, figures, pictures, formulae, and other
material
which will not scan well. I don't want to be denied science scans
just
because of this. I would rather have the book in a quasi-readable
form than
no book at all. In a similar vain, many history books have elaborate
maps,
figures, pictures, and foreign words which scanning in its present
form
won't make accessible to the blind. Again, I would prefer to have
what can
be scanned.
I have read many books which have poor scanning of the top
line--title or
whatever--but where the total content of the book is perfect.
Now I will grant that the more pedestrian the book, the more readable
it is
likely to be, but there is need for the others. And, by the way,
anything
like twenty thousand books, currently in copyright rather than public
domain, is a goal we are no where near.
--
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