[bksvol-discuss] Re: Becoming A Black Belt With openbook
- From: "Monica Willyard" <rhyami@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:03:07 -0500
Hi, Roger. Older paperbacks are indeed harder to scan because the ink
begins to smear and fade. In scanning, these older books are akin to
sitting down at a piano and being able to play a concerto on your
first try. It's not impossible, but I wouldn't choose a very old
paperback as a person's first submission. I know you have a passionate
interest in books about early communism and such. I don't want to
discourage you at all. I do think starting out with a more recent book
may help you get a better idea of how your scanner works and can help
you figure out how the different contrast settings work. Scanning some
pages from a more recent book, even if you don't intend to read the
whole thing or submit it, can help you get more comfortable with
scanning so you can tackle older books with more success. If you do
want to work with older paperbacks, sometimes changing the contrast
setting in Openbook can make a difference. The other setting that can
sometimes help is the text type. Normal is what should be used most of
the time, but checking out the dot matrix option sometimes works with
books from the 50s and 60s. If it doesn't work, you can always set it
back to normal. The other tricky part about scanning older books is
that their spines are more fragile. Pressing on the book to make it
lie flat can sometimes loosen pages. This isn't a big deal if you own
the book. It's just something to be aware of. (smile)
I can relate to your library transportation issue. We don't have
public transportation where I live. I ended up resolving it by getting
a card of my own and using it to place holds on books and to request
books I want from other branches. Getting a card wasn't as hard as I
expected, and the librarian set up a pin number for me so I could
request books online. The librarian calls me when my books are ready
to be picked up. I give my mom or dad the card, and they pick up my
books for me and take back the ones I've scanned. It's not a perfect
system, but I feel more independent by having my own card and being
able to order what I want.
--
Monica Willyard
Visit my blog at http://www.scannersguild.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.
Other related posts:
