U know what, yall--the AA prayer really comes into its own in a
situation like this. From my perspective:
1) I am gonna turn out the absolute best product I can.
2) I am not gonna waste my time trying to 2nd guess the quirks of the
braille translator & the stripper & Daisy, because I cannot always
predict what they're gonna do & I certainly cannot change them.
3) I control what I can, I leave alone what I cannot, & I always pray
for wisdom to know the difference. I will not waste my energy lookin
back over my shoulder or hopping thru life on 1 leg while kickin
myself in the butt w/the other.
My view is that every1's pretty much doin' the best they can.
Bookshare staff has got their hands full--you'd think money would
solve their problems but it doesn't--it just creates different ones.
They're still understaffed & spendin their time tryin' to get more
staff, while the expectations of the Department of Education are
*huge*. The volunteer manual isn't perfect but it's better than what
we had. Of course, it might be better if there were a wiki or some
such, but for now... These things all take time & resources.
So, guys, let's not get our grundies in a bundle & let's just all
understand that u, me, & every1 else is doing the best they can. Life
will never be perfect here--all we can do is our little bit to make it
better. & if, at the end of the day, we can say we've done that, then
it's been a good day indeed. & I truly believe that all of us on this
list can in fact say that. So easy does it, yall--it just is not worth
getin' upset over--life's way too short & time way too precious for
that. I'll crawl back in2 the woodwork now where I belong.
On 5/29/08, Amy Goldring Tajalli <agoldringtajalli@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
E and others,
Please, please, please do not mistake sighted readers/members of
Bookshare
with people who can read printed versions/editions of books. I can scan
and
validate books and do many that are ones I have sitting on my shelves but
in
which the print is too small for me to read or the book is too big for me
to
hold or manage turning the pages even if I can hold them. There are all
sorts of reasons why someone cannot use standard printed material.
When I finish writing this letter, I will down-size the print for the
convenience of Bookshare readers and "freelist" receivers. Then
Booksharians
who have readers can have them at whatever size is convenient. I cannot
double-check this at a smaller print as I do not have a screen reader
that
reads mail as I write it. The screen reader that came with my computer
[Dell] reads menus & sub-menus only and not the contents of the pages.
The
only reader I have that reads the text is in my Kurzweil so I have to
move
anything I want read has to be moved to that, including the long, long
letters from my sister in Cambodia. Other mail I can enlarge if it is not
to
long. My ability to read even enlarged material is limited by the strain
of
reading.
I write this not for sympathy any more than members who identify
themselves
as blind do so for sympathy but to help all of you understand why some
members of Bookshare do need and appreciate the service but also want the
books to be as accurate and true to what the author wrote as possible.
Even the blind can benefit from knowing what they cannot see - that there
are pictures with captions and what both are even though the sighted also
cannot see the pictures since Bookshare cannot reproduce pictures or
sketches. It does help to know that the author felt s/he felt they
would
be beneficial to the readers. I wish I had read The Silmarillion before
I
scanned and validated The Tale of Genji or I would have done a much
better
and more consistent job with the drawings. Then the copy really would
have
been excellent.
I am sorry to have gone one so long but there are sighted people who
really
do need Bookshare quite as much as the blind do.
Amy
omsm
--
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