I've Been Promoted

I've served my apprenticeship; I've proofread the requisite number of pages, I've passed the proofreading test, and I have completed the requisite number of days. So when I logged in to do some proofreading for Project Gutenberg today, I found that I could apply for admission to the next grade. And I was told, Yes.

So now my grade has changed from Apprentice Proofreader to Precise Proofreader. I have to serve some more time. complete another 50 pages at this level and complete a formatting test before I can move on to the next level. I think that as long as I do a good job on whatever I work on, that should be within my capabilities. The next level is also the one where there is the biggest backlog so I should have more things to choose from too, and they will be glad to have someone else to help in what amounts to a backlog of about 18 months' work.

Proofreading

I have already mentioned in previous posts that I am doing some proofreading for something called Project Gutenberg. I've been doing it for a little over two weeks now and for their purposes I am rated as a proofreading apprentice. To be promoted to whatever the next level is I need to have been proofreading for at least 21 days (so I have a few more to go), completed 300 pages of proofreading (I've done nearly 500), and completed a proofreading test (which I took and passed about a week ago). So in a few days time, the people who are in charge of this monumental project will be looking at the pages I have proofread and determine whether my work is accurate enough for me to be able to move on to the next level.

I have to admit that I am trying to stick with proofreading books written in English, but as many of them were written about a century ago, or thereabouts, even being in English does not necessarily make them easy to follow. Tonight I have been working on a few pages of book of a scientific nature. The problem with that is that I didn't really understand what it was I was reading, and there were a lot of words that I needed to check letter by letter. I have a scientific background but unfortunately my knowledge of the way that a creature develops cell by cell from the yolk of an egg isn't deep enough for the reading to be automatic. Some of the terms, particularly those relating to the way that the brain develops were a bit more familiar because one of the modules that I studied for my OU degree was about the brain and behaviour. I always knew that it would come in useful sometime, even if it wasn't anything to do with my job.

Over the last couple of weeks I have worked on pages from about 12-15 books, and they have ranged from children's books, those for juveniles, scientifc works, travel books and autobiograpies. The books for children and young people would not be enjoyed by youngsters today; they are certainly not of the standard of Joanne Rowling's Harry Potter series, so popular with present day youngsters and adults.

I start a new module with the OU in a few weeks time which is going to require me studying for 2-3 hours a day, after which I will have one more module to complete to get a second degree. But the proofreading is something that I can do for a short period each day, and may even provide a little light relief from the studying at times. One thing I do know is that being busy like this does mean that I have less time to worry about how I am feeling particularly when I am having a bad few days. Focussing the mind can have a wonderfully therapeutic effect.

Taking It Easy

As it's my birthday and I find myself another year older and closer to my bus pass, I thought I would have an easy day today. So I had a lie in, then I had a leisurely breakfast. I've been catching up on some emails, and I have been reading a few blogs right from their beginnings. It's been quite interesting to see how bloggers have developed their style over the years.

I haven't had any lunch yet because my breakfast of fruit and cheese is still keeping me going. My aunt (who is also my god-mother) who lives far away and the other side of the equator has rung me to wish me a happy birthday, and to tell me that it is freezing cold where she lives. It probably isn't, but having lived in a hot climate for more than 50 years, what we would consider to be a comfortably warm day is described as freezing by her. But bless her, she is 84 years old and has just recovered from a fractured pelvis.

As to the rest of the day; how am I going to spend that? Well, I shall probably do some proofreading for Project Gutenberg this afternoon if I can find something that is English as I don't feel up to French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish or Gaelic at the moment. Then this evening I shall possibly partake in a glass of wine. After all it is my birthday; why shouldn't I live dangerously?

Doing My Bit For Posterity

I have been a student with the Open University for nearly nine years now, and have found it to be one of the things that has helped me keep going during the difficult times in the last 10 years. The OU has an excellent online library which has many databases, ejournals, and ebooks, and I have been a frequent user of the library, particularly when I was doing my post-graduate courses. It is so useful that I even use it when I have the need of a dictionary. After all, it gives me access to the full Oxford English Dictionary online. While I was trawling through the library a few days ago (I was looking for a particular ebook) I came across something called Project Gutenberg which is attempting to make as many books available electronically as it can.

Project Gutenberg is staffed by volunteers; they are constantly looking for proofreaders, and as proofreading is something that I have some experience of I decided to volunteer. Half an hour later the formalities had been completed, and I was let loose on the huge number of books that were in the stage known as Proofreading 1. They have certain books that are set aside for Beginners and after doing a few pages of these books, you progress onto books for Newcomers. You are limited to the number of pages that you can do in each of these sections so that there are always pages available for new volunteers.

The majority of books are in English, but there are also books in French, German, Portuguese, and even Gaelic, waiting to be proofread. It's all done online, and in Proofreading 1, all you are doing is ensuring that the pages that have been through the OCR match up to photocopies of the original pages. Proofreading 1, just asks you to do a character check, and some very simple formatting (inserting blank lines between paragraphs). The books are all old, and cover a multitude of subjects.

So why do I do it? Well, I think that reading is something that we should all do, and education is something that we should all benefit from. By doing my little bit for this project I am helping to ensure that books that are not easily accessible to the ordinary student can be there electronically for the future. Constant use of the original books will cause damage over the years, and it is difficult to find relevant material without going through the entire book. If a book is available electronically, it means that many people can access it at the same time, remotely, and carry out searches easily.

How much does it cost me? A couple of hours a day, and the electricity to power the computer, which would probably be running anyway. But the rewards are huge, because even though I know that there are hundreds of thousands of pages waiting to be proofread and formatted at the moment, each one that I do helps towards preserving another book for posterity, and allowing it to be available for generations to come.