Hi, Donna! Welcome back! Wow, you're gonna be busy! <Smile> "Skipping
Christmas" has been in the collection for a long time, and I believe it's an
excellent scan, if I remember correctly. So, there's one that you can mark
off of your lengthy list! <Smile>
Jana
So now you know that I'm an old Arrow Smith fan. <grin>
Hi all. I've been out of the loop for a while and my good intentions to get
back in a few weeks ago didn't happen. I've kept up with a lot of the
messages on this list and see that we're back to the quality versus quantity
and all the nuances in between discussion again. <grin> We're such an
opinionated group of volunteers! As the whole spectrum of opinion has
already been displayed, I won't add mine, but I do have a suggestion...a
reminder really...for validators. When you download a book for validation,
regardless of genre or submitter, and the text is merged, undecipherable for
paragraph or page at a time, and this occurs repeatedly throughout the book,
then just reject it. If you're concerned about depriving the collection of
this selection of books, then put the title/author on Rui's rejected book
list and those of us who are addicted to scanning will put in a better
quality version. Eventually, as a book submitter gets multiple rejection
notices, s/he will quit submitting poor quality books. Anyone who wants to
know how to improve their scan can get more tutoring than they ever wanted
from this very list. The process currently in place really does work, but
only if we use it. If we keep agonizing over rejecting poor quality books
either because we hate to not see that collection number grow or because
we're afraid of offending the scanner, then we're not using our volunteer
time wisely. I know that there are validators with infinite patients out
there willing to rewrite a book to make it readable, but let's use that
effort on material that truly won't scan well no matter what we do...things
like cookbooks, mathematical and/or science text, books with
illustrations/charts, etc. A 250 page paperback of straightforward,
easy-to-read text is a waste of such valuable effort when it can just be
rescanned in less than an hour and then validated in 20 minutes.
Someone brought up a good point about not wanting to discourage new
submitters. I think that perhaps the guidance to new submitters should
indicate that a few rejections in the beginning should be expected, and that
they can get information from other volunteers via this list about how to
scan in the future to avoid rejections. We all get books rejected sooner or
later, and I know that I always look for the reason why and then fix it
whether it is my problem or some other glitch that kicked it out. Again,
it's how the process is intended to work.
Now, after all that, here's what I really intended to write about. <smile>
Since it has been several months since I interrupted my scan, pre-validate,
submit cycle, I find myself looking at a list of books on my computer
without any recollection of whether I ever submitted them. I will do my
best to check all the available lists as well as the collection itself, but
if any of you notice a submission that is already in the process, just
reject it. In the meantime, here is my list of books already scanned, that
I will clean up and submit within the next couple of weeks. If you
recognize any of these from my list, then drop me a note and you'll save us
all a lot of trouble. <smile>
The Art of Fiction by John Gardner
The Avitar by Jacqueline Cary (this is a replacement for the one in the collection)
Chakra Meditation by Layne Redmond
Chained by Lauren Henderson
My Lurid Past by Lauren Henderson
(These last two are very fun reads if you're not put off by strong language
and otherwise adult material...albeit presented in a very fun way)
City by Allesandro Barricco
Erogenous Zones by Lucretia Stewart
The Goddess Path by Patricia Monaghan
Liquor by Poppy Z. Brite (from my daughter's collection, <smile>)
Little Altars Everywhere by Rebecca Welles
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Welles
(One or maybe both of these are replacements)
Circle at Center by Douglas Niles
Seeking Enlightenment Hat by Hat by Nevada Barr
The Wellness Tree by Justin O'Brien
When Drummers Were Women by Layne Redmond
Finally, I have a pile of books awaiting the initial scan, but I can't
remember what they are and it's too overwhelming to think about them at the
moment. <smile> However, I have requested John Grisham's Skipping
Christmas from the library and will submit it promptly if no one else does
it first.
Peace and Hope,
Donna
