[bksvol-discuss] Re: Three Asterisks: An explanation from the staff

Hi Madeleine,

 Thanks for this, but I think Iâm either confused or really, really dense!  Donât we need to put in a blank line between the page break and the chapter heading any more? Then it would be:

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Page break

blank line

Chapter heading

* * *

text of page

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Again, thanks you!

Marty

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From: Madeleine Linares

Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2012 5:43 PM

To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cc: mailto:cynthr@xxxxxxxxxxx

Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Three Asterisks: An explanation from the staff

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Hello everyone,

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My sincere apologies for my delayed response re. asterisks but here is whatâs going on:

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In Braille, neither bolding nor font size changes show up, which means that it is really difficult to tell when there is a new chapter or section. Therefore, three asterisks are added after each chapter title or chapter name to make it clear where the chapter title or name ends and where the text begins. For example:

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-----page break---

Chapter Three

***

[text]

----page break-----

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It could also look like this:

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-----page break-----

[text from ch. 4]

***

Chapter Five: Kristy Kills

***

[text for ch. 5]

--------page break---------

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This is especially important if there is a chapter name. For example, Chapter Three: The Woman in Red (or whatever). Without the star, Braille readers would have no way of knowing whether or not âThe Woman in Redâ was the first line of text or a chapter title.

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Three asterisks are NOT needed at the beginning of a page before a new chapter (if the new chapter starts at the very top of a page) but ARE needed if the chapter starts in the middle of the page. Three asterisks are also used to show other breaks in the text, whether itâs a change in narration and the sighted reader sees a font change or all italics, if there is a symbol in the page to indicate a time change or something, and when there is a new section of the book (such as Part One or Book One of several).

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Many volunteers already do this, which is wonderful. Since we want Bookshare books to be as accessible to everyone as possible, we strongly encourage adding in three asterisks after the chapter number or name. I know there has been a lot of confusion about this. From my understanding it is not a new idea, but it has never been enforced, which is likely why some people do it and others donât and have never been aware that they should. We want to encourage it going forward.

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Please contact me directly with any questions or concerns.

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Thank you all so much for your hard work and dedication!

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Best,

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Madeleine Linares

Volunteer Coordinator

Bookshare, a Benetech Initiative

650-644-3459

madeleinel@xxxxxxxxxxxx

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Join us in celebrating our 10^th Anniversary!

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