[NFB-Talk] NLS questions about books removed from BARD

[Buddy Brannan]

You’re right. You shouldn’t be so cynical. There have, for one, been plenty of books posted that are critical of the President, current as well as past. There have been books reflecting all political ideologies. These two books were pushed out pretty fast. I mean really fast. Less than a month between commercial release and adaptation to BARD format. Obvious the demand forth was there. I definitely noticed a pretty glaring skip of material in Mary Trump’s book, very close to the beginning. Sure, if these got missed during QA, that’s a concern. If the books were rushed out without any QA ahead of time, that’s also a concern. But to suggest some government abridgment of a free flow of ideas, in this case, is just not supported by the facts. 


Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Email: buddy at brannan.name
Mobile: (814) 431-0962



> On Aug 17, 2020, at 2:48 PM, Mark Tardif via nFB-Talk <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Thank you, Marci.  I shouldn’t be so cynical, but it does seem like a fantastic coincidence that two books highly critical of Trump disappeared just like that and we weren’t notified until people pushed back and demanded information.  
>  
> Mark Tardif 
> Nuclear arms will not hold you.
>  
> From: Marci Carpenter via nFB-Talk
> Sent: Monday, August 17, 2020 1:54 PM
> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
> Cc: Marci Carpenter
> Subject: [NFB-Talk] NLS questions about books removed from BARD
>  
> Hello Friends,
>  
> This weekend I and many of you noticed that two books which had recently been added to BARD were no longer there. This was very alarming and no explanation was given. As the National Federation of the Blind representative on the NLS Collection Development Advisory Group, I wrote to my colleagues and NLS and received the response below. I just checked my BARD app and there is now a notice about this issue posted there. 
>  
>  
>  
>> From NLS: 
>>  
>> “All,
>>  
>> NLS apologizes for any confusion. We found that there were missing text and chapters in the Bolton and Trump books, so we are trying to restore them and get them back on BARD as soon as possible.
>>  
>> We will keep you all updated. Again, apologies for not communicating this issue.
> 
> Part of the National Federation of the Blind’s commitment to literacy for blind people is our advocacy for access to all kinds of reading material. Public libraries notify patrons when there is a technical issue with a book and we have a right to that same information. We will continue to monitor the situation.
>  
> Your Colleague,
>  
> Marci Carpenter, President
> National Federation of the Blind of Washington and
> Member, NLS Collection Development Advisory Group
> 206-604-5507
> mjc59 at comcast.net
> 
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