[bookshare-discuss] Re: Missing Annotations
- From: Cindy Rosenthal <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:12:50 -0800 (PST)
As a matter of fact, as a sighted person, if I see a
title in the the online card catalog or on a
best-seller list, yes, I do have to look it up
somewhere. Fortunately, libraries are now putting
reviews on the online catalog with many titles, but
those are for the newer books. If I want to find out
about a book otherwise I don't google but I do check
amazon or B&N. I also, as I said in an earlier post,
often read the customer reviews which give opinions
more than the publisher synopses.
Cindy
--- Elfqueen <elfqueen@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Honestly, is it that big a deal? If we spend our
> whole lives complaining
> about what sighted people have and we don't--well,
> we'd probably get more
> out of them by "googling them away." If you don't
> have time to type a few
> words into a search engine and look at what comes up
> and you like the way a
> title sounds, take a risk. What's life without a
> little risk, after all?
> Sure, it would be great if every book had a really
> good synopsis, but
> Bookshare *is* maintained by volunteers, and
> publishers, as I understand it,
> are not required by any law to submit a synopsis.
>
> Just my two cents. Personally, I don't mind if
> everything isn't one hundred
> percent picture perfect; I just feel so blessed to
> have access to this many
> books, and to see so many added every day. I can
> definitely remember a time
> in my life when that wasn't true, when I couldn't
> read as much as I wanted
> simply because I didn't have the resources, when the
> quickest way to get a
> new book was to search the public libraries in my
> area for the one with the
> best audio section and then go there and have to ask
> a sighted person to
> read the titles and synopses to me--and that could
> be an all-afternoon
> ordeal and then I'd get through the book in a matter
> of a couple of days at
> most, and hours at least, and would have to wait a
> week or two before I
> could bring myself to ask to go back. That's
> frustrating. Bookshare, missing
> synopses and all, is one of the best things that's
> ever happened to me, and
> it has improved greatly even in the time that I've
> been a member. I just
> can't find it in my heart to complain, or agree with
> complaints, about
> anything this trivial when there's already such an
> amazing and terrific
> resource available and there is a way of finding out
> missing information or
> getting more if one wants it. If I really want to
> read something, or I think
> I might, I'm willing to take up an extra five or ten
> minutes of time to find
> out more.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 2:39 PM
> Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Re: Missing Annotations
>
>
> > Good afternoon again,
> >
> > I believe we're all missing something here.
> Every time a sighted person
> > wishes to obtain information about a particular
> book are they being forced
> > to Google the title? I don't think so. Now should
> we put up with being
> > forced to doing so when the information exists
> which could be placed on
> > the
> > listing page for busy members to obtain an idea of
> a book's content and
> > purpose? Some of us are very busy and don't have
> time to Google our lives
> > away; not when you have several Web clients
> jumping your gate concerning
> > their site's content. If Bookshare.org and its
> members fail to address
> > this
> > and other issues related to the content of its
> holdings perhaps a little
> > competition would cause them to do something about
> it.
> >
> > Peter Donahue
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Elfqueen" <elfqueen@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 12:48 PM
> > Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Re: Missing
> Annotations
> >
> >
> > Maybe there's a reason why they're restricted. If
> a book doesn't have a
> > satisfactory synopsis, it's not difficult at all
> to google the title and
> > get
> > as much info as you could want on it.
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 1:46 PM
> > Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Re: Missing
> Annotations
> >
> >
> >> Good afternoon Cindy and listers,
> >>
> >> The character limit can be raised to accommodate
> a longer scinopsis.
> >>
> >> Peter Donahue
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Cindy Rosenthal" <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx>
> >> To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >> Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 2:03 AM
> >> Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Re: Missing
> Annotations
> >>
> >>
> >> As I said in my post,the short synopsis is
> restricted
> >> to 250 *characters.* The synopses to which you
> refer,
> >> usually on the cover flap or the back cover of a
> book,
> >> are more than that and have to be edited. Plus,
> some
> >> books, especially paperbacks, and possibly the
> ebooks
> >> donatged by the publishers--I have no idea about
> >> them--have no such synopses. (the word is spelled
> s y
> >> n o p s i s in the singular and s y n o p s e s
> in the
> >> plural form, btw. smile.)
> >>
> >> The publishers, as I think Bob said, don't so
> anything
> >> but send the books, I gather in ebook form, to
> >> bookshare. Designated personel prepare them for
> >> bookshare form. My solution to avoid upsetting
> people
> >> would be not to add them to the collection until
> the
> >> synopses are added, and I think I suggested this
> to
> >> Carrie to be passed on, but I don't remember. The
> PQ
> >> books added yesterday or the day before did have
> short
> >> synopses.
> >>
> >> There is no excuse for volunteer-processed books
> not
> >> having short synopses, and I think they all do
> now.
> >> There is a place on the submission form for both
> long
> >> and short synopses, and people have been told not
> to
> >> write in the short synopses space "See long
> synopsis."
> >> Upon occasion I've gone to the long synopsis and
> >> edited it to fit the short synopsis and added it
> to my
> >> list that I mail out (I don't think you receive
> it but
> >> if you want to, let me know. Since only 6 books
> were
> >> added today (Tuesday) I'll post the list at the
> end of
> >> this and you can see how it differs from the
> Browse
> >> New Books list, from which it's taken ). On one
> >> occasion all I had to do was take the first
> couple of
> >> lines; I don't know why neither the scanner nor
> the
> >> validator didn't do that.
> >>
> >> Cindy Ro
> >>
> >> 6 English-Language books, added to the collection
> Dec.
> >> 9
> >> All Books are downloadable in BRF and Daisy
> unless
> >> otherwise stated; May include (or not)
> Adult-rated
> >> books. THIS LIST DOES NOT INCLUDE books only
> available
> >> to public K-12 schools and organizations in the
> United
> >> States for use with students with an IEP (NIMAC)
> >>
> >> Abbreviations Used: LJ= Library Journal;'
> SLJ=School
> >> Library Journal; PW=Publishers' Weekly;
> PD=Product
> >> Details--from Publisher; A=Amazon;
> BN=Barnes&Noble;
> >> K=Kirkus; BL = Booklist; CL=Children's
> Literature;
> >> CM=Child's Magazine; KL (KLIATT=bimonthly
> magazine,
> >> publishes reviews of paperback books, hardcover
> >> fiction for adolescents, audiobooks, and
> educational
> >> software recommended for libraries and classrooms
> >> serving young adults V (VOYA)
> >>
> >> ***My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John
> >> Adams by Margaret A. Hogan (editor), C. James
> Taylor
> >> (editor)
> >> Quality: Excellent, almost no errors.
> >> Nonfiction
> >> Synopsis: Letters that were sent by Abigail and
> John
> >> Adams during their courtship, marriage
> (separation
> >> when John Adams was in Europe) and when they were
> >> apart in the States. Touching history brought
> into
> >> life.
> >> Copyright Date: 2007
> >>
> >> ***The Hemingses of Monticello: An American
> Family by
> >> Annette Gordon-Reed
> >> Quality: Excellent, almost no errors.
> >> Nonfiction
> >> Synopsis: Not only a biography of Sally Hemings,
> who
> >> bore 7 children by Thomas Jefferson, this book
> details
> >> the extraordinary lives of her ancestors and
> >> descendants also. Winner of the National Book
> award.
> >> Copyright Date: 2008
> >>
> >> ***A Country Christmas by Bonnie Lou Risby
> >> Quality: Excellent, almost no errors.
> >> Chlildrens/adult fiction
> >> Synopsis: It's such a hard year in the Ozarks
> even
> >> Santa's broke. A tornado, illness, and being
> teased
> >> and cheated can't keep Francy and her large
> family
> >> down. They use what they have in surprising ways
> to
> >> make a beautiful Christmas. Ages 6-9 and all
> ages.
> >> Copyright Date: 1996
> >>
> >> ***Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial
> Crime
> >> Unit by John Douglas, Mark Olshaker
> >> Quality: Excellent, almost no errors.
> >> Nonfiction
> >> Synopsis: True stories of how some of the most
> >> notorious serial killers and rapist were tracked
> down.
> >> Learn how they think by understanding the way
> they
> >> think and reason.
> >> Copyright Date: 1995
> >>
> >> ***The Promise by Chaim Potok
> >> Quality: Excellent, almost no errors.
> >> Fiction
> >> Synopsis: The Promise is the sequel to and
> continues
> >> the story begun in The Chosen
> >> Copyright Date: 1969
> >>
> >> ***Halo: The Cole Protocol by Tobias S. Buckell
> >> Quality: Excellent, almost no errors.
> >> Science fiction
> >> Synopsis: In the first desperate days of the
> >> Human-Covenant War, the UNSC enacted the Cole
> Protocol
> >> to safeguard Earth and its inner colonies from
> >> discovery by a merciless alien foe.
> >> Copyright Date: 2008
> >>
> >> ***WISH LIST (CALLED REQUESTED ADDITIONS TO THE
> >> BOOKSHARE COLLECTION)IS AVAILABLE AT
> >> http://www.friendsofbookshare.org/
> >> www.lljfm.net/bookshare/home.htm
> >>
> >> A LIST OF BOOKS CURRENTLY BEING SCANNED IS
> AVAILABLE
> >> AT http://www.friendsofbookshare.org/
> >> www.lljfm.net/bookshare/home.htm
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --- Peter Donahue <pdonahue1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Hello Cindy and listers,
> >>>
> >>> How many books have you read that contain a
> >>> scinopsis or a brief
> >>> annotation at the beginning. It's just a matter
> of a
> >>> volunteer or publisher
> >>> copying and pasting this information in to the
> >>> validate along with the other
> >>> data and it's done!! This whole business about
> this
> >>> requirement being too
> >>> time-consuming is nothing but first-class poppy
> cock
> >>> if you asked me! And
> >>> that also goes for Braille titles not being
> >>> proofread before they're posted.
> >>> My wife Mary over heard me writing this note and
> >>> said, "Amen!!" That's to be
> >>> expected from her since she's a Braille
> proofreader
> >>> at the Education Service
> >>> Center Region Twenty in San Antonio. If
> >>> Bookshare.org wants someone to
> >>> assist with proofreading their Braille titles
> they
> >>> need only give Mary's
> >>> boss a call. All the best.
> >>>
> >>> Peter Donahue
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> ----- Original Message -----
> >>> From: "Cindy Rosenthal" <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx>
> >>> To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >>> Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 4:40 AM
> >>> Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Re: Missing
> Annotations
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> The PQ books have been put on the list by
> bookshare
> >>> staff--certain ones are assigned to this--and at
> a
> >>> later time they will fill in the synopses. They
> >>> aren't
> >>> validated by anyone.
> >>>
> >>> For a while Mayrie and I were suppling short
> >>> synopses
> >>> but it is very time-consuming--not as easy as it
> >>> sounds, Peter, because of the restriction of 250
> >>> characters. I was very relieved to learn that
> they
> >>> would be supplied later and that I needn't
> bother
> >>> doing them.
> >>>
> >>> I think I did write and suggest that maybe it
> would
> >>> be
> >>> better not to post them until the synopses were
> >>> ready--but maybe I just thought about it. I did
> >>> notice, though, that the PQ books added to the
> >>> collection today all had short synopses, though
> not
> >>> perfect ones--not really synopses but something
> that
> >>> gave one an idea of what the book was about.
> >>>
> >>> Sometimes, when I know the book or have read
> about
> >>> it,
> >>> if I see a synopsis that is way off the mark,
> I've
> >>> rewritten it for my list and notified Carrie in
> case
> >>> they want to take what I wrote.
> >>>
> >>> As Bob said, anyone who had time can write one
> and
> >>> send it to Allison to be added--we aren't
> allowed to
> >>> just take what's posted on B&N or Amazon because
> >>> that
> >>> is copyrighted, but we can use what is on the
> back
> >>> cover if it is up there.
> >>>
> >>> Cindy Ro
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> The problem
> >>> --- "Shelley L. Rhodes"
> <guidinggolden@xxxxxxxxx>
> >>> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> > Hi Peter and Bonnie and All.
> >>> >
> >>> > The fact of the matter is that no one writes
> the
> >>> > synopsis' for the publisher
> >>> > quality books. For a while volunteers were
> >>> mailing
> >>> > synopsis's to Alice
> >>> > hilliger and she was adding them, I believe
> she is
> >>> > still doing this. So if
> >>> > you see a book, do some research figure out
> what
> >>> it
> >>> > is, write a short and
> >>> > long synopsis and send it to Bookshare they
> will
> >>> add
> >>> > it to the database so
> >>> > the book has one.
> >>> >
> >>> > I know right now I don't have the time or
> energy
> >>> to
> >>> > devote to that project
> >>> > with the other projects I am doing. have way
> to
> >>> > much on my plate as it
> >>> > stands, and can't do that too.
> >>> >
> >>> >
> >>> >
> >>> >
> >>> > Shelley L. Rhodes, M.A., VRT
> >>> > And Guinevere: Golden Lady Guide Dog
> >>> > guidinggolden@xxxxxxxxx
> >>> > Guide Dogs for the Blind
> >>> > Alumni Association
> >>> > www.guidedogs.com
> >>> >
> >>> > Though force can protect in emergency, only
> >>> justice,
> >>> > fairness, consideration
> >>> > and cooperation can finally lead men to the
> dawn
> >>> of
> >>> > eternal peace. -Dwight
> >>> > D. Eisenhower, U.S. general and 34th president
> >>> > (1890-1969)
> >>> >
> >>> > ----- Original Message -----
> >>> > From: "Peter Donahue"
> <pdonahue1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >>> > To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >>> > Sent: Monday, December 08, 2008 6:37 PM
> >>> > Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Missing
> Annotations
> >>> >
> >>> >
> >>> > > Hello everyone,
> >>> > >
> >>> > > For some time I have been greatly
> troubled by
> >>> > the number of
> >>> > > publisher-quality titles posted to the
> "Browse
> >>> New
> >>> > Books" area of the site
> >>> > > with missing annotations or book summaries.
> Its
> >>> > this brief scinopsis that
> >>> > > often determines whether I feel a book is
> worth
> >>> a
> >>> > read or not. I've had
> >>> > > previous communications with the folks at
> >>> Benetek
> >>> > concerning this matter
> >>> > > and
> >>> > > received a less than satisfactory answer.
> This
> >>> > problem should be caught
> >>> > > during the validation process and corrected
> >>> before
> >>> > a book is posted for
> >>> > > membership access. For God sakes it doesn't
> take
> >>> a
> >>> > week to extract a book
> >>> > > annotation and paste it in to the
> appropriate
> >>> > validation field. If I'm
> >>> > > going
> >>> > > to pay a subscription to this service I
> expect
> >>> to
> >>> > have access that will
> >>> > > enable me to choose whether to download and
> read
> >>> a
> >>> > particular book or not
> >>> > > and I'm sure there are others of you who
> feel
> >>> the
> >>> > same way.
> >>> > >
> >>> > > When asked what particular titles were
> >>> missing
> >>> > a scinopsis I explained
> >>> > > that there are way too many for me to list.
> For
> >>> a
> >>> > while an effort was made
> >>> > > to include book annotations in the listings,
> but
> >>> > the number of titles
> >>> > > which
> >>> > > don't include them is on the rise again
> >>> including
> >>> > a missing scinopsis to a
> >>> > > book entitled, "Raising Hell" by Ronin Ro.
> >>> > >
> >>> > > I would again urge the folks at Benetech
> to
> >>> > remedy this problem and
> >>> > > would appreciate the battle joined to ensure
> >>> that
> >>> > this solution is put in
> >>> > > place. It shouldn't be too much to ask a
> book
> >>> > publisher to include an
> >>> > > annotation when they send files for
> inclusion in
> >>> > the collection. Now I'm
> >>> > > done ranting. Here's hoping 2009 will bring
> with
> >>> > it a solution to this
> >>> > > problem and more ways for us to find
> information
> >>> > about particular titles
> >>> > > quickly and easily.
> >>> > >
> >>> > > Peter Donahue
> >>> > >
> >>> > >
> >>> > >
> >>> > > "Given a chance to dream it can be done
> >>> > > The promise of tomorrow is real.
> >>> > > Children of Spaceship Earth the future
> belongs
> >>> to
> >>> > us all."
> >>> > > Flying for Me,
> >>> > > John Denver
> >>> > >
> >>> > > 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
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> >>> commands,
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> >>> >
> >>> >
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> WISH LIST (CALLED REQUESTED ADDITIONS TO THE
> >>> BOOKSHARE COLLECTION)IS
> >>> AVAILABLE AT
> >>>
> >>
>
http://www.friendsofbookshare.org/wish_list/wish_list.htm
> >>> www.lljfm.net/bookshare/home.htm
> >>>
> >>> A LIST OF BOOKS CURRENTLY BEING SCANNED IS
> AVAILABLE
> >>> AT
> >>> http://www.friendsofbookshare.org/
> >>> www.lljfm.net/bookshare/home.htm
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank
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> >>>
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> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> WISH LIST (CALLED REQUESTED ADDITIONS TO THE
> BOOKSHARE COLLECTION)IS
> >> AVAILABLE AT
> >>
>
http://www.friendsofbookshare.org/wish_list/wish_list.htm
> >> www.lljfm.net/bookshare/home.htm
> >>
> >> A LIST OF BOOKS CURRENTLY BEING SCANNED IS
> AVAILABLE AT
> >> http://www.friendsofbookshare.org/
> >> www.lljfm.net/bookshare/home.htm
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank Email
> to
> >> bookshare-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >> Put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the
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> >>
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> >> Put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the
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> >>
> >
> > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank Email
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> >
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> >
>
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>
WISH LIST (CALLED REQUESTED ADDITIONS TO THE BOOKSHARE COLLECTION)IS AVAILABLE
AT
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www.lljfm.net/bookshare/home.htm
A LIST OF BOOKS CURRENTLY BEING SCANNED IS AVAILABLE AT
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