[bksvol-discuss] Re: Are volunteers really that important anymore?

  • From: Rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx
  • To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:05:47 EDT

Subcontractors and outsourcers maybe, but I suspect that if demands start 
being made of the publishers they just will not supply books.

                                                                  "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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Subj: 
[bksvol-discuss] Re: Are volunteers really that important anymore?   
Date: 
8/29/2009 7:33:13 AM Eastern Daylight Time  
From: 
kimfri11@xxxxxxxxxxx  
Reply-to: 
bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx  
To: 
bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Sent from the Internet 
(Details) 
table end

Hi, Evan, I take your meaning and if this is so, I think there should be a 
single standard of excellence for all to follow, I.e., if they expect 
volunteers
to do certain things to insure book quality, it seems only right to me that 
the same demands are issued to publishers, sub-contractors, and outsourcers
of books. I don't think they should have it both ways here. Regards, Kim.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of EVAN REESE
Sent: Friday, August 28, 2009 12:54 PM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Are volunteers really that important anymore?

You're probably right about publishers not wanting their books to be 
altered. However, if a volunteer submitted a book without page breaks or page 
numbers,
it would be rejected out of hand--as it should be. 

When I first joined Bookshare back in 2006, I asked here why it was 
necessary to bother with page numbers or page breaks. After all, the book was 
in 
electronic
format; you could search for any word or combination of words in the book 
and find them almost immediately. I was told in quite a bit of detail why 
page
numbers and page breaks were important. Well, I came around on that issue 
fairly quickly. But now, a publisher can get their books added to the 
collection
without either page breaks or page numbers. Seems to be a bit of a step 
backwards. 

I'm not sure what the solution is to that problem. On the one hand, it's 
great to have publishers donating their books. The text quality 
is--usually--very
good, although not perfect. But on the other hand, it seems a bit unfair 
that a book can be accepted from one source with missing stuff that--if 
volunteers
sent it up, would be--rightly--rejected.. 

Evan 

block quote
----- Original Message ----- 

From: 
Rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx 

To: 
bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Sent: Friday, August 28, 2009 2:03 PM

Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Are volunteers really that important anymore?

I don't think the publishers want their submissions altered.

                                                          "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
             _

table with 2 columns and 6 rows
Subj: 
[bksvol-discuss] Re: Are volunteers really that important anymore?   
Date: 
8/28/2009 7:11:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time  
From: 
wyomiia@xxxxxxxxxxxx  
Reply-to: 
bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx  
To: 
bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Sent from the Internet 
(Details) 
table end

There is one real problem with publisher's books.  No page numbers!  I use 
the Stream to read books at night and it has a sleep button that lets me set
the Stream to turn it's self off in 60 min.  I however, go to sleep 
sooner.  When I turn it on the next day I have to go back anywhere from 10 to 
100 
pages
to find where I went to sleep. 

Could volunteers proof the publisher's books to add pages?  That is one 
thing I love over the NLS BARD books is page numbers.  I'm sure others prefer 
Bookshare
books to NLS for this reason too and the fact they take up less room in 
storage. 

I feel sure there are going to be other problems to show up with 
publisher's books that will need volunteers to fix.  If Bookshare and the 
publishers 
will
let them.

block quote
----- Original Message ----- 

From: 
Reggie & Brooks 

To: 
bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 9:00 AM

Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Are volunteers really that important anymore?

I agree.  It seems to me that quite possibly we are, as volunteers, 
becoming less and less important to the whole process.  It is much simpler to 
take
a
book that has already been made electronic and use that.  I personally felt 
much more needed at the beginning when I was proofing submissions from my 
fellow
volunteers.  The idea behind being able to volunteer also was to help 
anyone who wanted to spend the time help themselves build up credits to get free
subscriptions.  For me, this was an important part but not really the 
reason I volunteered.  I wanted to help blind people get books that when I was 
young
I would have had to wait years for NLS to make available.  If BKS decides 
we are an unnecessary part, I am unsure if I would look for books on 
Bookshare
as 50 dollars a year on top of ever higher prices of things is a lot for 
me.  I think I would be heart broken, however, because Bookshare is a way to 
share
with each other, and there is little of that left in this country, in my 
opinion.  Everyone seems to be out for himself.  For me Bookshare is a way I 
can
give back to the blind community.  I don't do anywhere near the books that 
some do, but the time I volunteer I knew was going to give someone somewhere
a book to make them smile, cry, or laugh that he or she might not have 
gotten to read if I and my fellow scanner had not taken the time to give to 
them. 
I don't know if this new publisher books is a good idea and if it will 
eventually be deemed we are no longer needed, but I definitely don't feel as 
close
to the process or to the people who might enjoy my work.

Reggie

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