[bksvol-discuss] Re: Ladies And Gentlemen, Start Your Scanners!

  • From: "Pavi Mehta" <pavim@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "Monica Willyard" <rhyami@xxxxxxxxx>, <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 13:14:38 -0800

Hi Monica,

 

What a great note! It's terrific to have the perspective of someone
whose been volunteering with Bookshare for so long, and who can speak to
the way it's evolved over the years. I wasn't aware of the early on
scarcity of proofreaders - but it's great to know that that gap has been
filled, and to hear the can-do enthusiasm as you rally the team towards
the fun challenge of 50,000 books in the collection! Am sure it's a goal
well within our reach too - Go Team!

 

Pavi

 

 

 

 

From: Monica Willyard [mailto:rhyami@xxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 5:41 AM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: Bookshare.org Volunteers
Subject: Ladies And Gentlemen, Start Your Scanners!

 

Hi everyone. I just noticed something cool and new about our volunteer
community. We have enough dedicated proofreaders that those of us who
like to scan can kick into high gear! In the past, many of us have felt
the need to throttle back our production and take time to proofread
books waiting for approval. For us it was an either/or situation. There
were chronic complaints about not having enough proofreaders and having
very large queues of books to process. At that point, we didn't have the
proofreading support to keep submitting new books. Adding more books was
like putting fuel on the fire. Some of us stopped scanning completely
while others just didn't submit books and kept them on our hard drives.
That's no longer necessary. This means that we no longer need to be
pinch hitters unless we want to. The shift has been quiet and gradual,
and it's definitely here. We've got a lot of world-class proofreaders
now. For the first time since I have joined Bookshare, anyone can freely
work on either side of the equation based on preference and passion
rather than concern for processing the queue of books.

 

Proofreaders are standing by, ready to roll. Let's kick it into high
gear and reach the 50,000 book mark this year. We've only got around
5300 books to go, and we can easily do that this year. We've beaten that
number for the past 2 years with less volunteers and help from staff. We
can do this if we choose to. For those with books on our hard drives,
let's get them submitted. For those with giant stacks of books covering
every surface, let's scan some of them. Your scanner has been feeling
kind of lonely lately. (smile)

 

The caution flag is down, and the pace car is on the move. The fans are
cheering, and you've got a great pit crew. The track is smooth and
clear. So to borrow from NasCar, ladies and gentlemen, start! Your!
scanners!

 

Monica Willyard

"The best way to predict the future is to create it." -- Peter Drucker

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