[bksvol-discuss] Re: Which books count toward the grant?

  • From: Debby Franson <the.bee@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:47:44 -0500

Hi Carrie!

I'm glad the choosing of books from volunteers will not change. It's nice to share whatever we like to read, since, chances are others will find it interesting as well, aside from what is going on on the "mother ship".

Debby


At 01:37 PM 10/28/2009, Carrie Karnos wrote
Hi Lori,

No, your question is not a dumb one. I'm hoping that the work of the volunteers is not affected by the grant. I think it would be a great disservice to the Bookshare community if everyone suddenly stopped scanning romances and religious works, and focused on "educational" books. We inhouse have to focus on "educational" books, and we're looking to the volunteers to continue working on those books that we can't touch. Please work on whatever books are of interest to YOU. If you prefer non-fiction, that's great, your book will count. But if you prefer x-rated books or romances or books with graphic violence or religious proselytizing tracts, please continue scanning them since there are a lot of other people who like to read them too.

One of Bookshare's greatest strengths is the fact that the collection is self-selected. If there's a book someone wants to read, he can put it into the collection. The percentage of self-selected books is going down of course, but it's still the case that you can put in any book you want. And per the CEO, it will remain that way ever more.

So please continue working on those books that you like, regardless of what's going on here in the mother ship!

Carrie


From: Lori Castner <loralee.castner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wed, October 28, 2009 6:04:51 AM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Which books count toward the grant?

Carrie, I have always heard that there are no dumb questions, but I fear I may be asking one now.

How is the work of volunteers affected by what categories count under the grant? Is there a difference if I submit an adult romance or an "educational" book?

Lori C.
----- Original Message -----
From: <mailto:ckarnos@xxxxxxxxx>Carrie Karnos
To: <mailto:bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 10:47 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Which books count toward the grant?

Any book written for children or teenagers is considered "educational". We can all point to various children's books that really aren't educational, but the whole point of defining "educational" is to avoid having to look at each book that's in the collection and pass judgment on it. Better to say if a book is in such-and-such category, then it is (or isn't) educational.
Carrie


From: siss52 <siss52@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tue, October 27, 2009 9:42:11 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Which books count toward the grant?


You said teen romance books were okay, so I just do not get it either.

Sue S.

----- Original Message -----
From: <mailto:ckarnos@xxxxxxxxx>Carrie Karnos
To: <mailto:bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 10:13 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Which books count toward the grant?

Well, in one sense, EVERY book is educational because it teaches or shows you something you didn't know before. But that doesn't help here, making every book "educational," so we can throw that definition out.

It's difficult to know where to draw the line between educational and non-educational. We've been discussing what an "educational" book consists of, since we got the grant 2 years ago, and going round and round and round about it. Now that the Feds have signed off on the definition, we're going with it. No turning back.

No one has explained the logic of why genre fiction counts and romance doesn't count to me, but maybe it's because most romances are very formulaic, whereas there's a great variety of plots and situations in the other genre categories. There are several romances that I've said were educational, and of course all of Jane Austen's works are educational and quite romantic. So there are exceptions to the rule.

Now the librarian has been tasked with coming up with a definition of a "textbook". Here we go, round and round again! Whee!

Carrie


From: Melissa Smith <mdsmith25@xxxxxxxx>
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tue, October 27, 2009 4:33:30 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Which books count toward the grant?

I completely agree here, Roger. Yes, I am a romance fan, though I read most of my romance from NLS, and my nonfiction from bookshare. Not really sure why, but that's the way it is. Anyway, if thrillers, science fiction, etc count why not romance. Romance is no more fictionalized than any of these, and depending on the book, no more adult than any of these.

Melissa



<mailto:Rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx>Rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx wrote:
> I know that this sounds like an indignant question from a romance fan, but I am not a romance fan. I am just a little stunned and surprised. If thrillers, horror, mystery and science fiction are considered educational then what the blue blazes is wrong with romance?
>
> "If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything.
> " Malcolm X
> The Militant: <http://www.themilitant.com>http://www.themilitant.com <http://wwww.themilitant.com>Pathfinder Press: <http://www.pathfinderpress.com>http://www.pathfinderpress.com > Granma International: <http://www.granma.cu/ingles/index.html>http://www.granma.cu/ingles/index.html <http://granma.cu/ingles/index.html>
>              _
>
> table with 2 columns and 7 rows
> Subj: [bksvol-discuss] Which books count toward the grant? Date: 10/27/2009 7:01:39 PM Eastern Daylight Time From: <mailto:ckarnos@xxxxxxxxx>ckarnos@xxxxxxxxx Reply-to: <mailto:bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To: <mailto:bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx CC: <mailto:pavim@xxxxxxxxxxxx>pavim@xxxxxxxxxxxx Sent from the Internet
> (Details) table end
>
> Hi gang,
>
> A volunteer asked which books qualify for the grant, so I thought maybe there are others who don't know about this either. This is a quick email to the
> group, so everyone knows which books count.
>
> To explain this by what's excluded, all books qualify, except romances, books that are adult content, and books that proselytize religion. Factual books > about religion are fine, since they explain what it's about, but books that push agendas at you do not qualify. It doesn't matter where the book comes
> from - volunteers, outsourcers, publishers, or anywhere else.
>
> To explain this by what's included, all kiddie books (including teen romances) are okay, most non-fiction is okay, "good" literature is okay, and finally, > at long last, a decision was made, and it was decided that genre fiction is okay. So books that are mysteries, thrillers, Westerns, historical fiction, > science fiction, fantasies, and horror are okay too. But the minute you add romance to any of the adult genre fiction books, the book doesn't count towards
> the grant.
>
> Of course, there will always be edge cases. We look at those books on a case-by-case basis, and sometimes ask the Bookshare librarian for a decision.
>
> I would encourage those people who are scanning and proofing romances to continue to do so. We at the office can't put any in, since all of our time has > to go towards fulfilling the grant. But there are lots and lots of people who like romance and want to see more of it in the collection. Please continue > to put romances in! The Bookshare publisher liaison mentioned that while most of the book markets dropped when the economy dropped, the romance market
> is continuing to climb. So there you are.
>
> HTH, Carrie
>
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