Hi Elizabeth. I hear your concern and know you want to make sure Bookshare uses its resources wisely. That's one of the things that I appreciate about you. You are frugal and don't want resources to be wasted. I think adding certain types of books over time is an investment in our future rather than just a drain on resources. I also know it's a mental and emotional stretch to see Bookshare move from a primarily blind organization to a group of people with various disabilities of which blindness is just one. We're not used to that yet, and many of us remember how badly things went with RFB&D. So as you read my note, will you please consider what I'm saying and think about how we can learn from our past and do something better this time? I think the needs of sighted people have to be considered because they make up the majority of people with a print disability. Soon they will outnumber blind users. I have two goals in mind here. I want sighted readers to find books they need for things just like we blind people can. Their need for accessible books is just as great as ours. Sighted people who use services like Bookshare and NLS tend to be more quiet about it, using services as a tool rather than a community. That means you won't see most of them chatting on this list. Nevertheless, they are a significant portion of our population, and their needs, goals, and interests are just as valid as those held by blind users. When they pay for their membership, they should have just as much service and selection as blind users get. Second, I want to head off a war of ideas and priorities between our blind and sighted users by making allies, not opponents. if we insist that Bookshare use its resources based on who is able to use a book, we could set up a dynamic down the road where sighted users could say they object to money spent on books about blindness because it's not relevant to the majority of users. As I see it, the only fair way to do things is to pay attention to everyone's needs and fill gaps in the collection as if Bookshare is a fully functioning library. Then people can freely choose what they wish to read. Btw, I'll read books about all of the subjects I brought up including defensive driving since I have a teenager in my home. I believe it's our job as volunteers to advocate for the needs of all members, even if we don't like some of the books that result from it. Just as we champion the needs of people with varying faiths or political persuasions, I think we have to consider the needs of users who can see. Otherwise, we risk discriminating against them as others have discriminated against us. Finally, in the interest of full disclosure, I have two sighted family members who are eligible for Bookshare and are learning to use it. They have severe learning disabilities, and one of them is now able to read for the first time at age 63. Some sighted people get teased because they can't read and until recently got little support in school. Their disabilities are just as painful, confusing, and frustrating as blindness, and I think the social stigma is just as intense in most respects. We are more alike than different, and we can make a great team if we work together. Monica Willyard "The best way to predict the future is to create it." -- Peter Drucker -----Original Message----- From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of E. Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 3:20 PM To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: gaps in the collection Given bookshare's limited resources, it may be wise to include books of use by as many people as possible first and then go on to books which can only be used by sighted folks later. E. At 03:04 PM 2/23/2009, you wrote: >Hi Carrie. Since Bookshare serves sighted people, I see some gaps >others may not have mentioned. Books about defensive driving, car >maintenance, beauty/fashion, bird watching, scrapbooking, and home >decorating and remodeling are missing from Bookshare. We also don't >have many books about flower arranging, varieties of flowers and >plants, and landscaping. Many of our books about houseplants and >gardening are rated fair and are hard to read. They aren't visible >to new members by default. In fact, our "Home and Garden" category >is fairly anemic, especially since around half of the 181 books are >Shelley's series of children's books about animals that are >"nature's children." If you watch TV, networks like TLC, A&E, Style, >and HGTV are full of shows about decorating, remodeling, and >restoring houses or about planting lovely gardens and landscaping >with designs that flatter the style of a home. > >So far, Bookshare's collection doesn't reflect these types of >interests. I haven't figured out if this lack of content is due to >lack of interest from submitters or if the material is difficult to >scan. It could be a combination of both. I do know that sighted >people read books on these subjects and think they will expect to >see books about these topics in the collection. > >Monica Willyard >"The best way to predict the future is to create it." -- Peter Drucker > > >__________ NOD32 3881 (20090223) Information __________ > >This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. ><http://www.eset.com>http://www.eset.com 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.