Axel,
Right now, the clean-up ends up on my plate because it is viewed as a disabled student services issue rather than a universal access issue. You're right about the time needed to render the scanned images into accurate usable etext compatible with adaptive technology like screen readers and braille displays. I'm behind you 100% in supporting going to the source of the text and holding them accountable to some degree with regards to accessibility to their material.
However, from a more practical standpoint, if we can get high quality PDF files of reserve materials on-line, it can make our job faster and easier. By this I mean, if I can jump on my university network and grab a good PDF file to braille for someone, it saves me a lot of time having to physically go to the library and obtain a high quality photocopy of the material before beginning the transcription process. Also, being able to digitally adjust the image file before printing it can assist in maximizing accuracy during the OCR process.
Just a few thoughts from someone who has been doing this for more than a decade.
Jeff
-----Original Message-----
From: Schmetzke, Axel [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 9:33 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: electronic reserve and image-based pdf files
Jeff and others,
Thanks for you thoughts, Jeff. The problem with cleaning up OCRed
documents is the additional time factor. Folks who do it told me that it
takes about 10 times as long to get a document onto e-reserve if they
not only scan and ORC but also clean it up. This puts an enormous strain
on the libraries' resources.
Here's my thinking at this point: If OCR technology by itself, without
additional editing and proofreading, does not provide an acceptable
product (this would be your position), and since additional cleaning and
proofreading of all materials placed on e-reserve puts an enormous
strain on a libraries' resources (this is my sentiment), we should look
for a different solution: We need to think about ways of establishing
e-reserves within the context of a larger system that allows us to get
articles in their original text-based electronic format and to place
them on reserve (without any optical scanning involved) in either their
original format or some converted text-based format. This, of course,
touches on legal issues, involving among others, copyright law and
interpretations thereof.
Greetings,
Axel
-----Original Message-----
From: Senge, Jeff [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 10:32 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: electronic reserve and image-based pdf files
Axel,
My personal opinion is that e-reserve materials are a tremendous step
forward in terms of accessibility but they need to be in accessible
formats. This would mean scanning, running OCR to convert them to text,
and then editing and proofreading them for format and accuracy. This
process should produce very clean and useable accessible e-reserve
documents. One of the biggest problems I've seen so far in this area is
when libraries skip the clean-up step and just post the OCRed documents.
OCR just isn't sufficient to render accurate and usable e-reference
documents without editing and proofreading. So my opinion is yes,
support e-reference documents but create the documents right and invest
the time to clean them up before they go on-line.
Jeff Senge
Information & Computer Access Program Coordinator
California State University, Fullerton
(714) 278-7253
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Dick Banks [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 2:08 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: electronic reserve and image-based pdf files
Actually both products mentioned below are quite good. Even the cheaper
OCR
packages like TextBridge and some others I can't remember the name of at
the moment are quite good. Almost any inexpensive scanner comes with a
scanning package and part of the package has OCR options.
As with any OCR package. The cleaner the text the better the OCR.
Dick
At 10:14 PM 4/15/2002, you wrote:
>Thanks Trevor! I'm not familiar with Omnipage. It sounds as if it is
>similar to Kurzweil 1000, which, as I understand it, is capable of
OCRing
>any document that can be potentially printed, including scanned-in
pages
>of articles. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) I would like to hear
from
>folks who have experience with this Kurzweil 1000 function (or with
>Omnipage). What are the current problems? Are they likely to get
resolved
>as technology advances?
>
>I'm trying to form an opinion on this emerging technology: Should we,
as
>accessibility-advocating librarians, keep up our resistance to an
>electronic reserve system that contains image-based/scanned-in
material,
>or should we concede that advancing technology makes concerns about the
>accessibility of image-based documents increasingly a non-issue? Should
we
>pursue strategies that would result in the placement of accessible,
>text-based materials on e-reserves, or is it wiser to channel our
energy
>into a different direction?
>
>What do you people think?
>
>Axel
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Trevor Wilks [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent: Monday, April 15, 2002 12:50 AM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Docutek's electronic reserve product (ERes)--update
>
>
>Hi Axel,
>
>Our E-reserve just uses PDF format. Last year this was really
problematic
>and we had to test the Acrobat 5.0 OCR plug-in (Paper Capture 3.0)
which
>was a unsuitable both to students and Library staff.
>
>This year we purchased Omnipage 11 which will OCR an image only PDF
file
>and we teach students to do this themselves. Its not always very
accurate
>depending on the quality of the original scanned material but it seems
to
>be working quite well.
>
>Trevor
>
>Trevor Wilks - Manager
>Adaptive Technology Centre
>Student Support Services
>Student, Alumni and Community Services
>University Services
>Auchmuty Library
>University of Newcastle
>University Drive Callaghan
>NSW 2308 Australia
>Ph-02 49218684
>Mobile-0418 753739
>Fax-02 49217410
>Email- [log in to unmask]
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