Expand the digital archive: volunteers needed
One of the most time-consuming tasks in digital publishing involves the conversion of legacy PDFs (whether scans or newly created) into clean, clear HTML output. We do this all the time at the Mises Institute but the workload is growing too intense for us to handle. Volunteers have been so helpful in the past, which is why we are hoping that this new volunteer group can help in the future.
The group is Mises Documents, hosted by Google. If you have the skill to turn a rough PDF text output into a clean and proofed .doc or html file, and you want to help expand the archive of liberty, please join. The group has file storage, where the deliverable can be posted or it can be sent to the group.
If you have these skills, please consider a time donation to the cause of liberty!
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Comments (15)
Michael Wilson
Shouldn't the free market take care of this?
Published: November 5, 2009 12:45 PM
Jeffrey Tucker
This is so great. New members and one file already in process!
Published: November 5, 2009 1:29 PM
M.
What tools did the volunteers use? And are there any automated\batch conversion tools available?
Published: November 5, 2009 1:39 PM
Deefburger
@Michael Wilson
It is. It is of value to me to contribute to this effort, because the long term goals enhance my well being.
I need not pay for the service nor do I need to be paid. I need only apply my time and ability to further the goal of the project. The return on the investment, for me, is the knowledge that the ideas presented in the context of the media I'm converting, when read and understood by more people, as a result of my efforts, will make life in general for me and my posterity better. I also give to homeless people, because it is better for me to help them, then to see them suffer. I give aid to my friends, because it is better to see them succeed, than to see them fail.
Charity is, as Ayn Rand said, a rational self-interest.
The Market involves Human value, not just Monetary value. The value in having this information more widely accessible is that is raises the overall awareness of these ideas within the "market" itself, thus inspiring more and more individuals to combat the systems of tyranny, and to understand why it should be done. The market as a whole benefits, me and you included.
Published: November 5, 2009 1:43 PM
Jeffrey Tucker
Every volunteer uses a different approach. I've used 4 or 5, and each has a downside and an upside.
Published: November 5, 2009 1:44 PM
Deefburger
What file? The only one I see is the logo.
Published: November 5, 2009 1:47 PM
Jeffrey Tucker
I didn't put it in files. I attached it to a message
Published: November 5, 2009 2:02 PM
Deefburger
Got it. Converted it. Uploaded it. How's it look?
Published: November 5, 2009 2:20 PM
Jeffrey Tucker
It's great for graphics but the goal here is txt. That's the tricky part. So the OCR has to be exported to create straight text files for html, with embedded notes. this is why it is so time consuming.
Published: November 5, 2009 2:36 PM
FarSide
Right. The text is already embedded with this pdf - it's very easy to get the raw text (in my free copy of Adobe Reader I can just 'Save Text'), but then it must be formatted.
Even with tools that help automate the formatting part, the OCR is not perfect, and rarely is. On the first page of this one, for example, is the sentence:
"It is not my intention, ho\vever, to deal with problems of the history of ideas in the narrower sense."
You can see that the W in 'however' has been messed up. Proofreading is an additional, time consuming, not-easily-automated, part of this task.
Published: November 5, 2009 3:07 PM
jeffrey
first document done!
Published: November 5, 2009 4:41 PM
Keith
Memo to Michael Wilson above, the first post: It looks like the free market is well underway here. And these are volunteers! It's 7:07PM. Not a bad days' work for the free market to kick into action! Keep watching; this is day 1; it's only just begun!
Published: November 5, 2009 6:07 PM
Paul
I think (as mentioned in email the other day) it would be a good idea to install the PGDP software (http://sourceforge.net/projects/dproofreaders/) on mises.org (a little customization needed to replace their logos, etc.) — people can work on as little as a single page at a time, rather than having to do an entire document, and many people can work on the same document at the same time; you also get better quality proofread output, since each page has to go through several people before the final product.
Published: November 5, 2009 6:30 PM
Renegade Division
Love the idea. I hope that helps to cut down the cost(or simply the added benefit) of bringing text to electronic reader platform such as Kindle etc.
Published: November 5, 2009 7:13 PM
EotS
Michael,
As others have noted, this *is* the free market at work.
The free market is based on mutually beneficient exchange without coercion.
Money is not a necessary component of exchange. The Mises Institute has an interest in finding volunteers to help with this work, and volunteers have an interest in contributing their time, for whatever reason they may cite. Both parties are acting in self-interest. There is symmetry in their transaction, because both obtained value in the exchange.
Your misunderstanding likely stems from the idea that you believe "free markets" are synonymous with state-run corporatism.
Published: November 8, 2009 1:04 PM