Very nicely put, Monica. G.Cindy --- Monica Willyard <rhyami@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Hi, Dave. I'll grant that you do make some valid > points here. I can see > how it might look like an exclusive club in a way. > However, there are a > couple of reasons why I think the practice of using > holds will continue > until Bookshare rethinks the step 1 page. The first > issue is when there > is a need for a book to be processed quickly. If I > request a book for a > class I'm taking or a project I'm working on, I > would like to have the > chance to validate it since I need it quickly. I > requested a book for a > class I was taking a year ago, and a volunteer > submitted the book for me > in just 3 days. I was thrilled and went to get the > book. Another > volunteer took it before I could get to step 1, and > that person held it > for four months before releasing it untouched. Since > the volunteer was > not on this list or wouldn't respond to my request > that it be processed, > I ended up having to acquire the book in another way > so I could take my > class. I could have cheerfully strangled the person > who did this because > it cost me extra money and time to get my book. To > top it all off, when > I finally got the Bookshare copy from step 1, the > scan was nearly > perfect and could have been validated in less than > an hour. > > Second, there is a dynamic you probably don't see > since it's not done on > the list. Many submitters and validaters work > together to proofread > certain books, using the phone, chat room, or Skype > to go through the > book together. They can't do this if someone else > takes the book. This > is especially helpful if pages need to be rescanned > since replacing the > offending page can be done in a matter of minutes. > When two people work > closely like this, books can be fast tracked into > the Bookshare system, > and they are in the best quality possible because > there are two sets of > eyes/ears doing the proofreading. > > Finally, in your post, you have mentioned that you > don't think a > submitter wanting his/her books to be handled in an > appropriate way is a > valid reason for a hold. I would agree if all > validaters had a set of > quality controls guiding their work. They don't > though, and there are > some books where that really matters. I rarely put a > hold on a fiction > book that I scan. However, I scan a lot of > nonfiction books with > recipes, charts, and Scripture references in them > and work hard to make > sure each page reads correctly. I have had a > validater remove the charts > and Scripture references or fail to proofread them, > and that doesn't > work well when the references are an important part > of the book. I want > to work with a validater who will ask me about > scannos that don't make > sense and who will contact me if I've overlooked > something important. > For these types of books, I look for validaters who > understand the > importance of the references so I can be sure our > readers will be able > to use them. > > If you watch Nascar drivers on TV, have you noticed > that they have a > specific pit crew? They don't let just anybody come > in and start > fiddling with their tires. They use the skills of > people who they know > to be careful, reliable team members. After the > race, they don't just > take their car to the local Jiffy Lube to be looked > over. They take it > to a garage where experienced mechanics inspect the > car and get it ready > for the next race. > > When I make a point of putting a hold on a book for > someone, it is > because there is something about this validation > that is best handled by > someone with some skill. I suppose that is a value > judgment on my part. > Still, there are literally hundreds of books for > validaters to work on, > so a hold on a book doesn't lock a new volunteer out > of working on things. > > Monica Willyard > WISH LIST (called Requested Additions To The Bookshare Collection)is available at http://people.delphiforums.com/jamiecalton/Book_Requests.htm http://www.friendsofbookshare.org/ http://studentpages.alma.edu/~07jmyate/book_requests.htm www.jbrownell.com for miscellaneous and useful threads ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs 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.