[bksvol-discuss] Re: What is Mandatory Vs what Are Guidelines for Books (was Re: Re: was Navigation what do members prefer?)
- From: Regina Alvarado <reggie.alvarado@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2012 09:14:24 -0500
Question: Unless my fossil brain is failing me again, (smiles), the manual
is at this time being rewritten. CouldBKS please make it downloadable when
it is done so that we don't always have to go into the site? It would be a
lot easier for me to just find it in My Documents and search the document
there. Would this be a possibility?
Reggie
-----Original Message-----
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Lori Castner
Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2012 8:54 PM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: What is Mandatory Vs what Are Guidelines for
Books (was Re: Re: was Navigation what do members prefer?)
I'm with you on this, Judy.
The most frustrating times I've had as a volunteer have been those when I
scruptulously followed an instruction in the Manual and then was told
directly or indirectly that I was in error.
The examples I recall most clearly were how to deal with the ellipsis and
footnote numbers in the text. And please let's not start a discussion of
these issues.
I expect that a manual exists to let us know what procedures to follow, but
that has not always been the case.
But like you I'm not in charge.
Lori C.
-----Original Message-----
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Judy s.
Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2012 4:41 PM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] What is Mandatory Vs what Are Guidelines for Books
(was Re: Re: was Navigation what do members prefer?)
HI Evan and all,
Again, I entirely agree that and heartily promote that we follow what I
originally posted, as that was pulled directly from the manual. smile.
However, we've all been told repeatedly that these are not required
standards and that books will not be rejected if they don't precisely meet
them, and that most of what is in the volunteer manual is not mandatory.
We volunteers can all argue about this until the cows come home, but there
is very little that has been written down as mandatory and required.
Here's what's required and mandatory, straight from Bookshare. Log in as a
volunteer and go to this link for the full details:
https://wiki.benetech.org/display/BSO/2.+Topics+for+Submitters+and+Proofread
ers
A. Must contain both copyright holder and copyright date B. Cannot be
copyrighted dramatic works C. Cannot be proprietary digital books, or
obtained in breach of contract, or illegally D. Cannot be standardized
testing materials E. Must not already be in the library, or must be of
higher quality than the current version F. Must contain Page Breaks that
correspond as closely as possible to the print edition (a book must have at
least 90% of its page breaks) G. Must contain Page Numbers that correspond
as closely as possible to the print edition (required to have page numbers
on at least 90% of their page) H. Books must be complete (Title/author
page, Copyright page, Table of Contents, Dedication, Acknowledgments, Main
text of the book) I. Must be submitted in a single file J. Cannot be
exams, Teachers' Editions, course packets, or sample course materials
That's it. That's all that's required. Everything else we do is
encouraged, and often strongly encouraged, and often we're told it's
required and then we're told it isn't, but when it gets down to it, those
ten things are all that are mandated under Bookshare policy, at least as far
as it's been shared with volunteers in writing.
As a volunteer, I find this frustrating. As staff rotate we get told various
things are required, then they aren't, then they've changed, then they
haven't. The confusion on this list reflects that constantly.
We volunteers remember what we were taught under one staff member, and then
another one comes in and someone else is taught something else, and that of
course is what they remember. And then what we're supposed to do shifts back
to what the first volunteer was told to do. There is no one standard that
sticks.
Personally, I've begged Bookshare staff for over five years now to make a
whole lot of what we do, like font sizing for daisy navigation, very
specific and required. But I've been told again and again that setting
these things as requirements chases off new volunteers, that it's too
intimidating, and that the majority of volunteers who stay won't continue if
they have to follow a whole bunch of standards other than the 10 listed
above.
For me, it does the opposite. if I have a specific clearly laid out list of
what has to be done that I can check off and say, yup, I did that, I learn
how to do it through the process of meeting that standard. And I feel we
wouldn't end up with the confusion that we constantly have going on here.
But that's my opinion and I'm not in charge. grin. Plus, I don't work with
the hundreds and hundreds of volunteers that the staff do, so I can only
speak from what I perceive from my own little corner of my own little house.
The big picture that staff sees of what works and what doesn't to train and
retain volunteers could be vastly different. smile.
Judy s.
On 11/24/2012 1:26 PM, Evan Reese wrote:
> Hi Judy,
>
> While what I wrote earlier was technically correct, I do think it is
> better to follow the approach of 16-point chapter headings. In
> addition to having the advantages of consistency and simplicity, it
> can also eliminate unnecessary work.
>
> As an example, I had a book which I recently submitted in which I
> started by putting the titles of the parts in 16-point and the chapter
> titles in 14-point. But then, well into the book, the author decided
> to put some subheadings into one of his chapters. So I had to go back
> and resize all of the fonts I had done. It didn't take a huge amount
> of time, but it was still extra work.
>
> So I am backpeddling -) on what I said earlier. Because although it
> wasn't exactly wrong, following the guidelines is a better approach
> for multiple reasons: First, as others have pointed out, it is
> consistent. Second, it is simpler to remember. And third, unless you
> page through the entire book ahead of time, (and how many of us are
> going to do that?), you can't be sure you won't have chapters with
> subsections in them at some point.
>
> Apologies for any part I may have played in causing confusion.
>
> Evan
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Judy s."
> <cherryjam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2012 12:49 PM
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: was Navigation what do members prefer?
>
>
>> Hi Ann,
>>
>> While I agree with you in spirit regarding "how it's done", in fact
>> Bookshare has very few actual requirements on what a book must have
>> to enter the collection. The volunteer manual, with few exceptions,
>> provides guidelines on what a book should have in terms of contents
>> and quality, and how it should be formatted, not requirements. smile.
>>
>> Judy s.
>>
>> On 11/24/2012 6:44 AM, Ann Parsons wrote:
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> Gary, the need for stars when there is a change of scene in a book
>>> is not at issue here. This all started because instead of repeating
>>> that volunteers should follow the manual, some people have been
>>> advocating a laissez faire attitude which is detrimental, especially
>>> to new volunteers and to the consistency of copy on Bookshare. They
>>> talk about the preferred method instead of saying this is how it's
>>> done. They talk about what you can do instead of what you should do.
>>> You can't have laissez faire, you have a manual, it should be
>>> followed, period!
>>>
>>> BTW, please do not abbreviate Bookshare like that. As you can guess
>>> it looks odd, especially to Americans. We all know we're talking
>>> about Bookshare, if you need to specify, just say staff. I, for one,
>>> find the abbreviation offensive.
>>>
>>> Ann P.
>>>
>>
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>
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