Hi, Reggie, I've done a couple of books in the last two months that were educational, though not specifically textbooks. One was a manual on toxicology that I'm assuming would have some kind of practical lab class to go along with it, and another was written as a kind of continuing education book for practicing psychotherapists. I'm usually looking for science, so I check out a lot of books, flip through a couple of pages, then turn them back in before I pick a text to work on. Julie ________________________________ From: Scott Rains <scottr@xxxxxxxxxxxx> To: "bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Fri, January 21, 2011 3:06:28 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Textbooks and download pages? Ah, curiosity Reggie. It will almost certainly get you "volunteered" for a new challenge on this list if you are not careful. All textbooks are done by our vendors. Most are first scanned at Bookshare. (I believe we scanned 125 last month.) Level 5 and 6 books, generally textbooks, sometimes require three scans to capture the colored printing or low-contrast between letters and background colors. A very intensive process. Our vendors are other non-profits around the world that have a social entrepreneurial mission, often training people with disabilities to enter into technology careers, and have specialized proofing experience. Describing the charts, graphs, and illustrations in textbooks requires an entirely new kind of volunteer with expert knowledge in the subject matter of each book. Benetech is pioneering the image description field with a grant from the Department of Education through our DIAGRAM Project: http://diagramcenter.org However, in late 2011 we will pilot ways to include members of this community in textbook proofing. Many logistical issues to resolve but this pilot is actually part of what I am working on today. Don't expect any visible progress on it for many months but keep building the skills. After all the rule of thumb here is, "The reward for good work is more work." ~Scott Rains~ ________________________________________ From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Roger Loran Bailey [rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx] Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 6:15 PM To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Textbooks and download pages? I have not seen any books on the checkout list that would ordinarily be considered a textbook, but occasionally one shows up that might be a likely classroom reading assignment. That is rare though. Those are the kinds of titles that are considered Literature with a capital L and most of those are already in the collection. _ _ _ "Everything must justify its existence before the judgment seat of Reason, or give up existence." - Friedrich Engels Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rogerbailey81 The Militant: http://www.themilitant.com Pathfinder Press: http://www.pathfinderpress.com Granma International: http://www.granma.cu/ingles/index.html ----- Original Message ----- From: "Reggie & Brooks" <regandlon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 8:48 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Textbooks and download pages? > As I find the download list somewhat frustrating and have been mainly > watching the first page, are there textbooks to proof? I am not ready for > that yet, with the footnotes and all, but my curiosity is getting the > better > of me. > Reggie > > To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to > bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list > of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line. > To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line. N‹§²æìr¸›yúèšØb²X¬¶Ç§u¦åjy™¨¥¶†ä²ú%v+ºË+z«ž²×ëyéb²Û(® n¶Ø^Šݺ{.nÇ+‰·›Ê+lzWâžØ^²æãyËeŠw“¢jX¬¶‡Ú½¨¥i¹^r‰¦jwl¦ëm…ì(Ø^––òŠÛ•ø§¶¬¹¸ÞrÙb�