[bksvol-discuss] Re: Frustration over missed opportunities for perfection

  • From: "Jill O'Connell" <jillocon@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 16:05:31 -0700

I don't think '"we're doing the best we can" when the book obviously isn['t being read by the submitter or the validator. I'm talking about the frequent scanning errors in books rated excellent that wouldn't be there if the book had been read as it was being scanned or validated. Jill ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donna Smith" <donnafsmith59@xxxxxxxxx>

To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 2:11 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Frustration over missed opportunities for perfection


Hi all.

First, thanks to Maria and others for providing such great detailed
information about how to make scans/validations better.  I am aware of
Jake's web site, but often get overwhelmed by all that is possible to
do to clean up a book and so don't make it through all the tips listed
there.  This one about smart quotes is one that I have never addressed
at all in all my years of scanning.

Second, (and the real point of this message), is to plead with
volunteers to remember why it is that we do all this.  We want to make
available print information to people who can't use the print
versions.  We're trying to put books in the hands of those who want to
read them.  We are volunteers, not paid staff, and we freely give of
our time and effort to make this happen.  While most of us do the best
job we can do and are looking to improve on that job at every
opportunity, what we put up is better than not having the access in
the beginning.

I know that there is a lot of discussion on this list about rejecting
fair quality books and I'm not trying to reopen that discussion.  I'm
just trying to say that a book that contains smart quotes and doesn't
translate perfectly with Daisy is (1) okay, and (2) not our fault but
the fault of the translator.  For those of us who want to make this
next leap about how to make our already good scans/validations even
better by replacing smart quotes to make Daisy happy, then great!  But
there is no reason at all to feel bad because of other books we have
sent through without doing this.
Perfectionism is good and we tend to really reinforce it on this list,
but if it begins to take away our volunteers, then we begin to defeat
our purpose.  At least four  of you who responded to this thread
trying to get more information about how to make a better book in the
end, Sue, Christina, E and Tracy, have all validated books I've
scanned and you are all superb validators.  If we lose any of you,
BookShare will suffer as will all the folks who depend on BookShare
for reading material.  So take a moment and pat yourselves on the
back, take a deep breath, save Maria's messages in a file for later,
and when you're ready, read them again and add in the new technique as
you can.

Here's to doing the best we can without demanding more of ourselves
than anyone should expect!

Donna
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