Hi Mike, Normally, I hate I-agree messages, I do wish to express my complete agreement with everything you have said in your message quoted below, and I thank you for expressing said sentiments so succinctly. Paula ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Pietruk" <pietruk@xxxxxxxxx> To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, December 10, 2004 10:56 AM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Monday's meeting > While everyone else jumps in with their thoughts, let me be no exception > <smile>!! > > Obviously, the better the quality of the Bookshare book, the better off > the reader, the service, et al are. > However, let us not forget the spirit upon which BookShare is based. It > is not professional scanners -- though some of us are contributing vast > amount of material either through scanning or validating -- but it is a > medium for individuals to share what they've done. > And since folks for themselves don't necessarily strive for perfection, > what they attempt to contribute will be just that. > Cannot books be labeled to indicate to the downloaderthat page breaks > aren't present, whatever. > Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds -- the downloader is forewarned > while, at the same time, still having the ability to read something > otherwise not available. > Certain things are far more important in a textbook than they would be in > a Harlequin romance novel. > While I might not consider it acceptible to read a history text with > countless errors which might impact the accuracy of the information; the > mystery I am curling up with on a Sunday afternoon is for the story. > Hence, if I can follow it, I will put up with a lot of errors. > It seems, to some degree, in our drive for perfection we're forgetting > what BookShare was set up as. > What worries me far more is why it takes so long, in some instances, for > books to be validated or once validated to be accepted or returned to the > validation pool. > That, from where I sit, is a far greater concern as those time delays are > keeping many folks from enjoying or profiting from material. > Those processing delays and bureaucratic issues are the very concerns many > of us express about NLS. > As Bookshare grows, let us not fall into that same trap. > A less than optimum book can always be replaced; it doesn't have to be > posted forever unless we choose it to be. > > > >