[bksvol-discuss] Re: New Guy would appreciate your thoughts ...
- From: mark hunt <guidedog4bookshare@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, John Glass <john.g@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 11:09:52 -0700 (PDT)
Hi Grandma Cindy (and others), thanks!
Altho' I've been working with computers since '69 (even-then-obsolete Air
Force pre-Star-War computer, filled an air-conditioned room), I've not the
experience that you folks have with high-end scanners.
(Nor have I gone in the direction, the paths, that you folks have taken ...
when I signed-on for BookShare, I skimmed over the three-page "agree with each
page" information provided: it was small print, and, well, LOTS of people want
me to read "the small print". I'm not interested in "small print". I don't
read "small print". *I now see* that you folks work with copies that you've
scanned in the "***here&now***" ... [clearly, ladies, most lengthy text "has
been scanned" at SOME point ...])
I've owned/used several - all of them "single page" - and all of them with
only the supplied software (one of them DOS-based, from Europe, never did work
very well).
AND my current scanner's several thousand miles away, just now. Well,
actually it's my fathers - and it's a Lexmark, if that matters. It OCR's a
single page at a time (factory-supplied software) ... in any event, it's a long
ways away from me, right now ...
I'd brought with me, from my "home base" in Nebraska - I'm traveling
in/traveled to China - my collection of books. Books that I've
scanned/downloaded/obtained thru' CDROM's (public domain, these). Quite a few
titles ... and quite a few of'em titles that don't appear on BookShare's
shelves.
AND I FIGURED that those less-sighted than I just might appreciate being able
to read'em ...
'Course, I've made a deliberate attempt to remove all pagenumbers - I'm
describing novels, shorties, plays and poetry here - from the text. And why
not?
AND such trivia "takes up room". I run a DOS system, mostly - I've only had
this XP system for a few weeks, 'till then, my "hottest" computer was a 233
MMX. BUT UNDER DOS, one tries to save HD room, when one can. There's not much
"fluff", in DOS.
*My impression is* (from reading the comments of you three ladies) that I'll
not be able to work with you.
Sorry, but I don't want to purchase a scanner here ... the OS required would
need to be in Chinese ('cause the available OCR software would be in Mandrin).
AND, there's few books in English, here (smile).
AS FOR VALIDATION, well, altho' I'm not quite sure, now, just what that
entails - I'd previously thought that it only meant "checking the (C)opyright -
but I'd clearly not be able to "check a source copy of this or that material
from the library". How could I "validate"?
***I'll await comments from John Glass, of BookShare. It might be that
BookShare's opinion is that, really, "fair" text & author's name & (C)opyright
information is all that they really want.*** I'd sent a copy of my first email
to him ... I'll await his answer, and then I'll decide whether or no I can
continue with BookShare/BookShare's Volunteers.
IF NO - and this appears likely - then that's OK. Altho' I'd know of
BookShare FOR YEARS, then time then "wasn't right", and, as now seems likely,
if it's "not right now either", well, I'm used to that.
Pity.
I'll await comment from John.
Thanks for your time, your thoughts, ladies ...
Mark.
Cindy <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Mark,
Your efforts as a volunteer would be much appreicated.
I'm assming, since you're talking about submitting,
that you intend to scan books. If you scan and save in
rtf, the page breaks should occur naturally, and the
page numbers should be retained if you press down on
the book at the binding and make sure that the scan of
the page includes the line with the page numbers. And
you don't have to worry about lines for title, author,
copyright etc as long as you scan the copyright and
title pages.
After you scan and before you submit, you should go
through the book and be sure all the pages are there.
You can do this by using the page down key. It's too
easy, I've found,to lose one's attention when scanning
and either skip a page--perhaps two pages stuck
together, or we thought we'd done that page--or, on
the other hand, to re-scanpages we've already scanned.
Also, before submitting, it's helpful if you can get
rid of garbage that shows up along the outside margin
of the book if it isn't held down firmly enough.
The other things the validator will take care of.
Grandma Cindy
--- mark hunt wrote:
> Hi:
>
> My name is Mark. I'm a new BookShare volunteer:
> I'm here 'cause I really, really would like to help
> these readers/would-be-readers who're blind.
>
> Could use/would appreciate your thoughts.
>
> I've been reading your postings for a week now -
> reading about "blank pages", about "page numbers",
> about "I wouldn't read a fair book", about "copies
> of the (C)opyright page(s)", about scanning and
> fonts and descriptions of pictures and ...
>
> I'm new ... and I think that all that *I'd* want,
> were I blind, is - regards novels, that is - is "a
> good read". I'd not care about page numbers and
> blank pages and ... and I'm not trying to criticize
> the directions and the concerns of which I've
> recently read - rather, I'm writing that these
> concerns "just aren't concerns that I share".
>
> I'm interested in submitting short stories novels
> in the following "style" - and I'm asking you, here
> & now, if what I'm interested in doing is what
> all-of-you are interested in validating ...
>
> First page, first line - *Name of the Book"*
>
> First page, second line - (blank)
>
> First page, third line - *Name of the Author*
>
> First page, fourth line - (blank)
>
> First page, fifth line - *(C)opyright date*, plus
> *who owns/owned the (C)opyright*
>
> First page, sixth line - (blank)
>
> First page, SEVENTH line - *(Novel starts here
> ...)
>
> Last page, last line - (... Novel ends here)*
>
> I'd be submitting books that I've enjoyed as,
> well, as a teenager and young adult. Science
> Fiction, mostly - Van Vogt, Clemens, Simak - older
> stuff, mostly out-of-print.
>
> I don't think that this - call it "a style" - is
> likely to be accepted by you validators ... but
> perhaps I'm wrong, PERHAPS such a novel or story
> might be used "as is" (judging by the email that
> I've received, I think not ... but I *could* be
> wrong). OR, perhaps it could be accepted by you
> validators as a "fair book" (if I understand what a
> "fair book" is?). OR perhaps someone would like to
> take what I might submit, and then (saving
> themselves some work?) - and then add whatever ELSE
> they might feel to be appropriate. Polish it.
> Whatever. I don't care. I just want to help.
>
> Folks, I just don't know. I'm new here. And I've
> asked for thoughts - I asked for thoughts when I
> submitted a couple of books, and I asked for
> thoughts last week (in an email sent to this
> discussion group), and I'm asking now.
>
> See, I'd known of BookShare for YEARS ... and it
> had always seemed to be an exciting way to help
> people! I'm a nurse officer, now retired, but *I
> still like to "be involved"*, and, well, if there's
> room for me and my work, then *that'd be great*.
>
> And if not, that'll be OK, too. I'll find
> something else to do with my optional time ...
>
> Let me know what you think, please. I've got text
> that could be submitted. AND I'll submit it in
> Micro$oft's .RTF (or is it .RFT?) - ug! - format.
> But I'll not bother if it won't meet the needs of
> BookShare (as validated by you volunteers).
>
> Send me a private email, if you feel that to be
> appropriate.
>
> Thanks for your time.
>
> Regards.
>
> Mark.
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Yahoo! Small
> Business.
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