I like having the best of all worlds. I get some magazines in my email, some on cassette, and books online, and some through the mail. I love having the freedom of choosing what I want to read and if it isn't available, than I make it available. Web Braille is nice, but they also have errors, just not as many. Course doing transcription, I can see why it takes months, and sometimes years for books to become available. Shelley L. Rhodes B.S. Ed, CTVI and Judson, guiding golden juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx Guide Dogs For the Blind Inc. Graduate Alumni Association Board www.guidedogs.com Dog ownership is like a rainbow. Puppies are the joy at one end. Old dogs are the treasure at the other. Carolyn Alexander ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sherry Gomes" <sherriola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, February 17, 2006 2:31 PM Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Re: How Many NLS Members? (was) Re: Bad scan Wheel of Time 3 Hi, I'm new to this list and new to bookshare. Only been a member of bookshare for less than two months. As a child growing up in the 60's, when you could not buy braille or commercial audio books, my dream was to be able to own books someday. Now with commercial audio, sites like audible.com and especially web braille and book share, I can own all the books in the world I want. Already I've discovered that bookshare has books that aren't available through NLS, authors they don't have at all. or I can get beloved books in braille, as I've longed to have them. there's also the benefit of being able to get new released books long before they are available on NLS. Technology has given us many ways that we can now access books, and I am delighted. Anyone who can participate in all the ways to obtain books is lucky and shouldn't be denied that possibility, just because they can get books from NLS. As for scanning books that aren't available from NLS, I'm glad that many people seem to do that, because i've already been able to discover new authors and random books I wouldn't be able to read otherwise. just my perspective after longing for many years to be able to fill my life and home with hundreds and hundreds of books. Now, I fill my computer with them, but there are hundreds you can be sure. Sherry -----Original Message----- From: Shannon A. Reece [mailto:shazza@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Friday, February 17, 2006 10:47 AM To: bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Re: How Many NLS Members? (was) Re: Bad scan Wheel of Time 3 Evanwhile you are totally right in saying that many books are available from both Bookshare andNLS, in most all cases Bookshare can get new books much faster than NLS. Let's take The Motive by John Lescroart. While it is now available on NLS, Bookshare had it several months ago. I love John Lescroart and the only reason I chose to wait for the book through NLS is because my favorite narator is reading it and he's worth the wait. If a narator whom I do not like was reading the NLS copy, I would have read it from Bookshare. To imply or feel or say that books which are now or may be in future available through NLS should not be scanned for Bookshare is wrong, in my very humble opinion. Some people, like our very own Julie, don't do talking books. It doesn't matter why she doesn't use Talking books/cassettes, she does not and this is her own personal choice. Why should she be deprived of books through Bookshare, where she may read them in her media of choice, which is Braille in our Julie's case. I wanted to read the latest Tes Gerritsen book, Vanish, which still isn't available through NLS though it is inprocess with a book number, and didn't want to wait. for NLS to get it out. I read it through Bookshare and don't plan on reading it through NLS. So for me, I have choices--a choice to wait for The Motive through NLS because of my favorite narrator--a choice to read Vanish as soon as it is available through Bookshare. Now if you really feel that you want to scan books for Bookshare that cannot be gotten anywhere else, by all means go for it. I mean what you do for Bookshare is your choice and whether I read books or not, I thank God every time I see the new books page for Bookshare because I have more books at my disposal--books I don't have to return and can take my time in reading. These are just one old lady's thoughts. I've been with NLS since I was 7. I am now 46. I love NLS. NLS, as my daughter says, "rocks my socks." I would never ever give up my NLS, but Bookshare is one more way of getting more of what I love, books. Shannon ----- Original Message ----- From: "Evan Reese" <mentat1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, February 17, 2006 9:36 AM Subject: [bookshare-discuss] How Many NLS Members? (was) Re: Bad scan Wheel of Time 3 > This reminds me of a question I've been meaning to ask: Does anyone here > have any idea what proportion of Bookshare members are NLS members? I was > reminded because _The Dragon Reborn_ as well as all the other Wheel of Time > books except _Knife of Dreams_ are available from NLS. > > I would expect that anyone eligible for Bookshare membership should be > eligible for NLS membership except for people who are not U.S. citizens? > Are there any other categories of people who can get Bookshare but not NLS? > Are there people who can get NLS but not Bookshare? > > I am curious because there are some really great books which are not on > Bookshare which are available from NLS. If the number of Bookshare members > who are not - or cannot be - NLS members is very small, then I don't know > whether it would be worth the time and effort to scan books that are already > available there. But if - for whatever reason - a substantial minority - I > don't know what fraction that would be exactly - aren't able to get books > from NLS, then these books should be scanned even though they are available > there. My first inclination is to want to put up books which aren't > available anywhere else, either NLS or RFB& > D; RFB&D I don't think should count, though, but perhaps it should? I don't > know. But I would be willing to scan some books that I feel should be > accessible and put them up here if there are a lot of people who can't get > them from NLS. Sorry, but I'm not inclined to do it just for people who > simply prefer reading in Braille, though. I'm an avid Braille reader > myself, but if something is already available on tape, then that's how I > read it. > > There are already quite a few books up here which are recorded from NLS, > maybe because people didn't know they were available, or because they didn't > want to wait the inordinate amount of time NLS seems to take. I have > submitted books for that reason myself. But books that are already > available from NLS and which are not yet on Bookshare are the ones I'm > talking about, or, in the case of _The Dragon Reborn_, books which seem to > have quality problems. > > Thanks for any insights. I would imagine this has been discussed here > before. I would expect that the issue of duplicating work done by other > services has been brought up here, but it was before my time. If so, sorry > for bringing it up again, but maybe someone could give me the gist of what > the thinking was about this. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Tony Baechler" <bookshare@xxxxxxxxxxxx> > To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Sent: Friday, February 17, 2006 12:19 AM > Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Bad scan Wheel of Time 3 > > > > Hello all, > > > > I've noticed that The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan apparently needs > > work. It is book 3 in the Wheel of Time series. I've finished the first > > two books and liked them but book 3 is difficult to read at best. The > > scan is OK but the words run together without spaces. Often there will be > > a word, period to indicate the sentence end, and another word with no > > space. Sometimes I just get clumps of letters which I suppose are > > supposed to be words but I can't figure them out. Would someone look into > > this and possibly rescan? Maybe someone on the volunteer list can help. > > It looks like a great book if it was more readable. Be warned, it's huge > > though! > > > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank Email to > > bookshare-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 > bookshare-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 bookshare-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 bookshare-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 bookshare-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.