If I am wrong about this then I stand to be corrected, but I don't think
the outsourcers scan books anyway. From what I have seen they seem to
proofread only and I assume that the books they proofread are scanned by
Bookshare.
___
Carl Sagan
“Every aspect of Nature reveals a deep mystery and touches our sense of wonder
and awe. Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to
nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will
prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition. They avoid rather than confront
the world. But those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the
Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will
penetrate its deepest mysteries.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos
On 6/5/2020 6:54 PM, Deborah Murray (Redacted sender blinkeeblink for
DMARC) wrote:
Hi Lissi,
First, the pdf files are used in place of the print book for someone to proofread with. The pdf is not the copy being proofed.
No one has said that wish list books are’ meant for blind folks. The pdf’s that sighted proofers can use to proof a book with are necessarily for the sighted because they are images. No one is discriminating against you.
The wish list books are scanned in-house by staff or interns—no outsourcer is being paid to do these books.
The books that outsourcers prepare for Bookshare are completely proofread and are generally of high quality—and that’s what they get paid for.
The idea of paying volunteers real money potentially opens up a real problem for those volunteers getting any kind of disability and is a terrible idea.
And finally, all of the issues that you listed in wish list book scans are issues that can be fixed by any competent computer user who knows hw to use their word processor. Could the scans be better? Absolutely. But largely they are able to be proofread.
Deborah
*From:* bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] *On Behalf Of *Estelnalissi
*Sent:* Friday, June 5, 2020 6:20 PM
*To:* bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Subject:* [bksvol-discuss] Re: Question for other deranged perfectionists
Dear Valerie, Judy, Beverly and Booksharian Friends,
First I don’t understand PDF very well because my JAWS doesn’t read it but how can you proofread that kind of file if it isn’t RTF?
Second, I believe those books are prepared by an out sourcer. Can’t they be expected to deliver books prepared to a higher standard? Are they paid. Are they adults? Books I’ve proofread from the wish list are full of invisible optional hyphens, speak in foreign languages with JAWS, have invisible text that won’t allow me to delete it in the normal ways using Word 10, Have missing portions of pages. I’ve had to buy the books I’ve done so Evan could rescan many pages. The dust jackets aren’t scanned at all and I feel Bookshare members deserve the right to read the book jacket information like any other sighted reader.
Our volunteer scanners do a far better job scanning books. If the out sourcers are paid, then why not pay scanners a nominal sum per book in actual money?
Third, Did I read correctly that wish list books aren’t meant for blind volunteers? That makes me feel overlooked, and left out as if offering wish list books for blind proofreaders is too much trouble for Bookshare which was founded because blind people were sharing their scans of books. So sad.
I remain here, grateful to be able to proofread, which I love doing more than anyone could believe.
Always with love,
Lissi
If you use
*From:*Judy <mailto:cherryjam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Sent:*Thursday, June 04, 2020 9:24 PM
*To:*bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Subject:*[bksvol-discuss] Re: Question for other deranged perfectionists
*grin*
Judy
On June 4, 2020 8:16:44 PM CDT, Evan Reese <mentat1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:mentat1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Oh well, I didn’t know that.
So I guess my advice to buy the book is kaput. <smile>
Evan
*From:*Judy <mailto:cherryjam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Sent:*Thursday, June 04, 2020 9:01 PM
*To:*bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Subject:*[bksvol-discuss] Re: Question for other deranged
perfectionists
Hi Valerie,
Every wish list book scanned by staff has a pdf available from
staff that contains a scanned image of every page.
Send an email to volunteer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:volunteer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, tell them you are proofreading a
wish list book that you'd like to have the PDF for, and list the
title and the author. They will send you a link that lets you view
the PDF online, and that will let you download the PDF as well.
Judy
On June 4, 2020 7:46:44 PM CDT, dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In recent weeks I have picked up a couple of books off the
wish list on checkout. One of them is a YA book set in Hawaii
with a lot of dialect. I have put a ton of work into it
already, realizing that the scanning had not only stripped
most of the italics, but had inferred traditional words in
place of dialect words. I guess my question is more often for
sighted volunteers, but how often do people feel the need to
have confirmation from the physical print in trying to achieve
high accuracy? I'm debating about the necessity of paying
$6.50 to have the Kindle copy available to continue making
corrections. The first chapter was available as a peek and it
made me realize how much was missing or improperly handled in
the scan. Money is tight, and I hate to spend the money, but
I've also already invested so much in getting this to where it
is now that I almost feel compelled.
Everyone's thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Valerie
