[bookshare-discuss] Re: Volunteering for Bookshare
- From: "Kim Friedman" <kimfri11@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2014 15:35:36 -0700
Hi, Christine, I have done some proofreading in the past for Bookshare on a
volunteer basis, practically the sort of stuff I'd want to read myself,
which is why I stuck to fiction. Of course I was doing that on a Windows XP
machine and using a BrailleNote mPower 32, but I expect once I know how to
deal with Word 2013, I'll be starting with my Focus 40 Blue Braille display.
I personally prefer to have Braille near me because I'd use it to check the
spacing of a line and to see if there are any scanning errors. What the ears
may miss, the fingers might catch, at least that's what I felt at the time.
It used to irritate me that the publishers would have typographical errors
in their books because Bookshare's policy is that the submitted scan must
contain the printed text of the book warts and all. I really detest leaving
glitches in books as I think it mars the reading experience. There would be
plenty of correspondence between me and the submitter of the file because I
though the submitter ought to know my progress in proofreading their file
and my thoughts about it. It was also handy because I could ask questions
about the text to make sure that such-and-such a line on page such-and-such
was really supposed to say thus-and-so. This was done by me copying the
questionable bits and emailing to the submitter to verify. I never skimmed
through files. I felt I should read every single word. Even if the submitter
did a dandy job, I felt I should do that, since if this person bothered to
scan the book and maybe did a lot of proofreading the file before submitting
it, I figured I should devote equal time to make sure everything was as
perfect as it could be given the policy at Bookshare. So if you are that
sort of proofreader, welcome to the merry band of deranged perfectionists
who knitpick about page breaks, typos, etc. etc. Regards, Kim Friedman.
From: Christine Szostak [mailto:szostak.1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 1:49 PM
To: bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Volunteering for Bookshare
Hi All,
I am considering volunteering for Bookshare and have a quick question. My
particular interest is in proof reading as I have done a fair amount of
general proofing for students, peers, and colleagues and love doing it!
As I am totally blind, I was curious if anyone here without any vision is
a proof reader and how you deal with things like making sure paging is
accurately matching the original hard-copy source and how you deal with
things like knowing that bolding needs to be added without looking
visually at the original source... I know how you check for these types of
things with JAWS so I would know how to check whether they are present or
not, but what I do not know is how to check whether they match the original
text. Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated!
Have a wonderful week!
Chris
Christine M. Szostak, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
Shorter University
Rome, Georgia
szostak.1@xxxxxxx <mailto:szostak.1@xxxxxxx>
If you are interested in a professional consultation for a vision loss
related issue see:
http://findingthevision.wikidot.com
If you are in need of a professional consultation for general
research/statistical related issues see:
http://researchconsulting.wikidot.com
If you are looking for professional proof reading or editorial review
services see:
http://researchconsulting.wikidot.com
Other related posts:
