[bksvol-discuss] Re: Hold fors
- From: "EVAN REESE" <mentat3@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:52:19 -0500
The point about contacting the person for whom the book is being held is a good
one. Last year, I had a Hold for up there for three weeks before I found out
about it because I don't check that list very often unless I'm expecting
something. I did know the book was coming, and had asked for it to be held for
me, but I didn't know exactly when it would be submitted. I only learned of it
because someone else, not the submitter, told me I had a Hold for up there.
In general, I use Hold fors quite a lot because its the only way of ensuring
that a book will actually be proofread, not just passed through to the admin
queue with the bear minimum. Even if I read through something I submit, someone
else will always find something I missed in their read through of the book.
Then there are books that I scan that I do not choose to read through. I
absolutely want to ensure that those get at least one read through before
getting into the collection. Those are scanned to order though, so that isn't a
problem, and I always contact the proofreader so the books get picked up, often
within minutes.
I also get hold fors from others for the same reason. They trust me to actually
read through the book and make corrections. I still put books up there without
hold fors, but I often feel uncomfortable just submitting a book and hoping for
the best.
So for me and others that I know, the hold for has become the best kind of
quality assurance.
But there definitely needs to be good communication between the submitter and
the proofreader to make things work efficiently.
Evan
----- Original Message -----
From: Monica Willyard
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 10:45 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Hold fors
Hi Mickey. Over time, I am slowly shifting my point of view on the hold for
issue. It used to be that less than ten percent of books were hold fors, and I
was content with that level. I still think it has value and is needed in
instances like Marilyn's or when someone needs help with fixing up recipes,
charts, and such. I have seen it abused though, and I'm beginning to think
we're going overboard as a group. I don't mean that any specific person is
doing this. I think it's more of a group drift. I was startled Sunday night
when I discovered that the entire first page of books were hold fors when I
went to look at books. I have mine set to 50, and I didn't find one single book
on that page that wasn't being held for someone. In fact, only 16 books from
page 2 didn't have holds. I don't mind it if a person is actively working on a
project or is taking the books to proofread on a consistent basis. I recognized
some of the names like Marilyn's and understand what's going on with her holds.
After some thought, I wrote to a few of the people with books being held for
them, and three of them didn't even know someone had posted books for them.
I don't have a great solution here. I'll bet we can come up with one that
works well, if not perfectly. I guess I would just ask people to take a couple
of very quick precautions. If a book is being held for you and you find that
you can't handle it, just post to the list. We understand that life happens and
would rather get the book proofread than have you tied up in knots because you
can't do it. If you are someone who submits books with holds on them, I ask you
to consider doing two things. First, if your book is going to be held for
someone, please make a point of writing or calling them to let them know the
book is available once you submit it. Second, if your book has special needs
like recipes that need to be fixed, please note that in the comments. That way,
if your proofreader can't take on the book after some time, Carrie could remove
the hold with your permission and let another qualified volunteer work on it.
These things would keep communication flowing for all of us. Maybe that would
be enough to help us get back on track with each other. What do you think?
Monica Willyard
"The best way to predict the future is to create it." -- Peter Drucker
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mickey
Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 8:48 PM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Hold fors
Hi. I just went to get a book to validate, but I'm truly discouraged. There
are so many hold for books that I have the definite feeling that only the ones
nobody else wants are available. There are some people who have 10 and 12 books
waiting for them.
I'm sorry, I'm just discouraged. Some of those books have been there for a
long time. Maybe if a book has been in the queue for two weeks, the hold should
be removed? Just a thought, and probably a very unpopular one. <smile>
Not trying to be destructive, only trying to get books out there.
Mickey
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