[bksvol-discuss] Re: Are volunteers really that important anymore?
- From: "Gary Petraccaro" <garyp130@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 09:10:58 -0400
I think the answer to your question depends on the fate of politically
unpopular titles as well as the back- and mid-list titles.s.
----- Original Message -----
From: Rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 1:36 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Are volunteers really that important anymore?
If I had a stack of those gay and lesbian books on hand I can imagine that I
might send them off to Bookshare and I might be out the postage and the cost of
the books if I had bought them, but I would also be out many hours of volunteer
labor to get them into the collection. I am not particularly interested in
children's picture books, so I have not downloaded any, but I would think that
outsourcers could handle them. I think that Pavi, in fact, said that the more
difficult books have priority for being outsourced. The main thing I have
noticed, though, is that the proportion of books added to the collection by
means other than volunteers is now considerably greater than the proportion
added by volunteers and that proportion is growing. Also, a good many books
already in the collection by means of volunteers are being replaced by other
means. Furthermore, the proportion that are being added by volunteers could ,
in most cases, be done faster and just as easily or more easily, by those other
means. No one has mentioned it. In fact, the Bookshare staff is proceeding away
with more and more innovations for volunteers. What I was really wondering is
whether volunteering is becoming obsolete and nobody has noticed it.
"Can a nation be
free if it oppresses other nations? It cannot." Vladimir Lenin
The Militant: http://www.themilitant.com Pathfinder Press:
http://www.pathfinderpress.com
Granma International: http://granma.cu/ingles/index.html
_
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[bksvol-discuss] Re: Are volunteers really that important anymore?
Date:
8/27/2009 4:25:38 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From:
rwiley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Reply-to:
bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To:
bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Roger, this is an excellent summary of some of the things I have also been
thinking.
When I first started with bookshare a couple of years ago, there were tons of
books whose rating was fair, and in most cases that designation was kind.
But, the books were available, and for a group starving for reading material,
they were great to have.
However, our tastes--and our tolerances--have improved. Where once we would
accept day-old bread because we were starving, we now want freshly baked goods.
(Wow, I must be hungry).
So, I think your comments about the changing role of the volunteer are right
on target. There will always be a need for volunteers to do the specialty books
(such as children's books with pictures), and books of special interest. I
can't imagine NLS having a whole category of gay and lesbian books, nor can
I imagine the department of education wanting their money going toward that
end. (I'm not being critical, just can't imagine it happening.) But, we
volunteers
can make it happen. We can also put books in the collection from those
publishers who won't cooperate with us (after all, we have the law on our
side).
In short, I see the role of the volunteer changing, but not going away any
time soon.
There's an old Chinese proverb that says "may you live in interesting times."
I've always wondered whether that was a curse, challenge or a blessing. Whatever
it is, we live in very interesting times with bookshare.
Bob
“We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us will
live on in the future we make,”
Senator Edward M. Kennedy
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----- Original Message -----
From:
Rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx
To:
bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 9:22 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Are volunteers really that important anymore?
I am not taking a position one way or another. I just thought I would express
some thoughts and questions that have been running through my mind. I have
been involved with Bookshare for just a little over a year now and have seen
some considerable changes. I have also surmised changes that came about before
I came along. As I understand it the name Bookshare was literal in the
beginning. That is, people posted the books they had scanned for themselves and
actually shared them with others who were posting books they had scanned for
themselves. That would have meant that the only source of books Bookshare
had for the most part was from the volunteers. Since then, though, publishers
have come to contribute large numbers of books. Bookshare is acquiring books
from donations or from buying them and scanning them in house or outsourcing
them. It actually appears that the number of books added to the collection
by means other than volunteers is considerably greater than those added by
the volunteers. I have noticed other things being done that volunteers do that
may be being done more prolifically by other means than by volunteers. On
more than one occasion now I have made a quality report for a book that
contained
an error or errors. To my surprise the whole entire book was promptly
replaced by an outsourcer. That makes me wonder why we should bother with
scanning
a BSO. Volunteers are more and more frequently finding that the books they
intend to scan are being added by outsourcers before the volunteer get a chance
to add it. Yes, that means that the volunteer can work on something else, but
it still remains that work that would have been done by a volunteer is being
done otherwise. We were asked for some suggestions about gaps in the
collection and I made a suggestion. As I scan the new books lists I see that it
appears,
to my gratification, that my suggestions are being acted on. I am pleased,
but I cannot help noticing that it is being done without volunteers. If time
is money I wonder if it might be more efficient to donate money to Bookshare
to buy books and pay outsourcers rather than donate our time. If we want certain
books in the collection I wonder if it might be faster and more efficient to
just donate the books rather than put so much of our own labor into them.
As things change devices to accomplish our goals become obsolete when they
are replaced by better devices and certain jobs become obsolete when better
and mor efficient ways are found to do things. I wonder if Bookshare
volunteering is a job that is becoming obsolete. Since we have not even heard
hints
from Bookshare that new volunteers are no longer welcome or that volunteers
can give up on certain jobs I wonder if Bookshare volunteering is becoming
obsolete and the folks at Bookshare do not even realize it yet. It does seem
that the volunteers are becoming less important to Bookshare and that Bookshare
could probably now do quite well without volunteers while still adding books
at a rapid rate. I am not saying that is good or bad. I am not saying that
I want it to be like that or that I don't want it to be like that. I am just
wondering and thinking. What do you guys think about what I have said?
"Can a nation be
free if it oppresses other nations? It cannot." Vladimir Lenin
The Militant:
http://www.themilitant.com
Pathfinder Press:
http://www.pathfinderpress.com
Granma International:
http://granma.cu/ingles/index.html
_
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