[bksvol-discuss] Special Thanks to...

From: Scott Rains <scottr@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:57:44 -0700
I don't know who you are but you do.

Special thanks to those volunteers who discretely came to Marty R.'s aid. It 
takes confidence to ask what may feel like a "silly question" especially when 
asked among experts. You made Marty feel right at home as a Bookshare 
volunteer. Thank you.

It's stories of that kind of generosity that circulate among the in-house staff 
and make them brag about you.

Here are bios from two more of you who have earned bragging rights: Debby 
Franson and Jamie Prater

Scott Rains
Benetech Fellow, Bookshare Volunteer Department
________________________________________

Debby Franson

I'm a homemaker.  My husband, Bruce and I celebrated our 33rd wedding 
anniversary last May.

When I was a child, I didn't do a lot of extra curricular reading.  I would 
check out a braille book from our meager supply our school library had when 
our class went to the library.  As I advanced through my grade school 
years, there were few braille books at my reading level, so I'd read books 
that were simpler than what I should have been reading.

I finally got into the NLS program in junior high, and felt that my 
selection of reading material was much increased.  I developed a real joy 
of reading in junior high with mostly talking books.

In 1981, I felt that the whole world of books was opened to me after going 
to philadelphia to be trained to use an optacon, which allowed me to read 
any printed material I could buy from a bookstore or book sale.  It's a 
slow way to read each vibrating letter that passes under my finger when 
compared to the speed of braille reading, but I can't imagine life without 
it.  I have read a variety of books and catalogs for pleasure as well as 
things I needed to read.

I got a scanner and OpenBook in 1994.  I had accumulated quite a few books 
over the years, so I was never at a loss for reading material to scan.  I 
loved the speed of reading, and, although I thought the recognition was 
pretty good, I knew that OCR can't be perfect.

In 2005, a friend was telling me about Bookshare and that she was scanning 
books.  I didn't quite understand what it was all about, so I visited the 
web site, and decided it would be worthwhile to join.  I was almost 
exclusively a member, though I would upload a few books here and there.  I 
was thrilled with so many books available.  I found so many books I wanted 
to read through searches as well as browsing the new books list.

When the new site was launched, I didn't submit any books, because I wasn't 
a formal volunteer.  Last October, I decided that, if I wanted to start 
submitting books again, I needed to join the volunteer community 
officially.  I read the manual twice, since there was so much to absorb, 
and then I signed up.  I'm glad I did.  I joined the volunteer discuss list 
at the same time.

Before I joined up formerly as a volunteer and the list, I was a very light 
Word user, since my writing is mostly done in e-mail.  I have learned so 
much about Word from many kind and helpful list members as well as tips on 
formatting to make the books I have proofread as cleanly formatted as I can 
get them.  I read every word and format as I go along.

I have gotten back into scanning and submitting books also, which I enjoy 
as much as proofreading.  I have become more conscious of formatting while 
scanning also, such as when to recognize columns and when not to, such as 
not to have that setting turned on while scanning the table of contents or 
poetry.  The optacon is a great tool while scanning, because I have 
corrected scannos or cut-off words by checking the hard copy.  I read what 
I have scanned, because I want to read the book and, at the same time make 
it easy for the people who are my proofreaders.  I have also submitted a 
few cookbooks, and used it to make sure that all of the fractions are 
correct, since OCR has a terrible time recognizing them.

I have met several volunteers through e-mail and chat who have enriched my 
life.

Jamie Prater

I've been a member and have been volunteering for almost two years and have 
thoroughly enjoyed proofreading clean children and juvenile literature as well 
as Christian titles to the Bookshare library. 

My first book was a child's book that I had read and I proofread it and added 
it to the collection.  It thrilled me that because of me, one more book was 
added that people could download and enjoy and the collection number was 
higher.  Since then, I have enjoyed proofing books for the nature's children 
set of books about many animals, some Christian romances of the love inspired 
authors, and many books that Jamie Yates and others have  scanned for preschool 
readers. 

I remember what it was like not to have the number of books accessible to me 
and to not be able to read to little kids when they would hand me a book, and 
not to get to read all of what the other kids were reading, so Bookshare 
involvement both as a member and a volunteer has changed my life in many ways.  
I have downloaded recently some classics that I know I will need to read when I 
go back to school to study English and English as a second language teaching in 
a few months.  Bookshare will be a lifesaver for me then. 

Thanks and have a blessed day.  To unsubscribe from this list send a blank 
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[bksvol-discuss] Special Thanks to...

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