Friends,
We would like to inform you with the deepest regret that we have considered calling off our plans to set up a Wikipedia stall at the Kolkata Book Fair 2012.
Even though it was a late initiative on our part considering the enormity of the KBF, we had put the extra effort in pursuing matters with the organizers. However, as reported before in this thread, negotiations with the organizers regarding the stall booking failed to reach any suitable conclusion. The amount of 2 lakhs for the space itself not only exceeds our overall budget for the programme, it is too large a sum to be considered for an investment into an outreach programme, the return from which may not be tangible in the near future. Finally, the organizers did let us know that they won't be able to provide any space even if we have a recommendation from the Chief Minister. And with the inauguration barely less that week away, we are left with no other option to explore from our end.
We thank everybody for their support, especially Hisham and Nitika, the India chapter and the WMF. We are hopeful of overcoming the disappointment and prepare early for KBF 2013, while we continue with our other activities in Kolkata.
Thanks and regards, Kalyan Sarkar
On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 5:07 PM, Anubhab Baksi anubhab91@gmail.com wrote:
Dear Jayantada, What I intended to ask is that, how much amount they demand from a professional book seller/ publisher for a stall.
Regards.
On 1/17/12, Jayanta Nath jayantanth@gmail.com wrote:
As mention Biswarup da, They demanded initially 2 lakh, yesterday they
have
demanded 4 lakh. Even Mr Ramen Guha said that If we give them recommendation from Chief minister's letter, they could not give us one stall.
Thanks
Jayanta, Kalyan and other Bengali Wikipedians
It is sad that after your best efforts the plan did not materialize. But, I appreciate dropping the plan considering the cost and other issues.
One way to make best use of book fair is to sell books / CDs based on Wikipedias. Don't just use them for outreach.
Taking the case of Bengali Wikipedia which has a good community and chapter support from Bangaladesh too, I would recommend the following:
* Try using services like http://pediapress.com/ or tie up with a local publisher to print books regarding Kolkatta, West Bengal, Bangaladesh and any relevant local content.
* Besides using similar content from Bengali wikipedia, we can release mini collection of books based on animals, plants, countries etc., etc.. written in Bengali language. Even if you can compile 3 pages per article, a 30 article book will cross 100 pages and a decent material to publish.
I am sure that Wikipedia content is unique and exhaustive which may not be available from other publications. The cost can also be less than the market price due to the free content and non-profit model of publishing we do. This will also be a huge PR and branding initiative. Making a book should be lot easier than doing a CD. CDs are losing usage but books are here to stay. This may be also another route to circumvent the IT sector classification and get better support from the organizers. Ideally speaking, we need to do lobby well and get venues for free or at the most spend only very minimally for securing venues.
The same case applies for all Indic languages too.
Thanks,
Ravi
On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 16:54, Ravishankar ravidreams@gmail.com wrote:
- Try using services like http://pediapress.com/ or tie up with a local
publisher to print books regarding Kolkatta, West Bengal, Bangaladesh and any relevant local content.
PDF generation has issues with rendering complex scripts. This has been one of the major issues which multiple Indic communities have asked to fix for sometime now. Open bug[1]. During WCI Nasir khan(Bengali wikipedian) asked about the same and Santhosh had mentioned it might take some time as its not easy to fix.
[1] https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/28206
Off-topic
But two bug till date not fixed https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=20403 https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=19412
On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 8:13 PM, Srikanth Lakshmanan srik.lak@gmail.comwrote:
On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 16:54, Ravishankar ravidreams@gmail.com wrote:
- Try using services like http://pediapress.com/ or tie up with a local
publisher to print books regarding Kolkatta, West Bengal, Bangaladesh and any relevant local content.
PDF generation has issues with rendering complex scripts. This has been one of the major issues which multiple Indic communities have asked to fix for sometime now. Open bug[1]. During WCI Nasir khan(Bengali wikipedian) asked about the same and Santhosh had mentioned it might take some time as its not easy to fix.
[1] https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/28206
If something needs to be done, there is always work around for example
via Libreoffice. Check out the Telugu User guide for Ubuntu that I brought out last year with content from Wikibooks. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UbuntuUserGuideTeluguEbook.pdf
Cheers Arjuna
Hi,
On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 8:13 PM, Srikanth Lakshmanan srik.lak@gmail.comwrote:
On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 16:54, Ravishankar ravidreams@gmail.com wrote:
- Try using services like http://pediapress.com/ or tie up with a local
publisher to print books regarding Kolkatta, West Bengal, Bangaladesh and any relevant local content.
PDF generation has issues with rendering complex scripts.
Yes, I am aware of this issue. Just to clarify, my suggestion for using services like PediaPress is for content from English Wikipedia only.
Ravi
My dear friends from Kolkata,
So sorry to hear that your book fair plans could not come through! Many times hard work goes for a six for banal reasons. Never mind, do not lose hope. Keep fighting the good fight!
I enclose a virtual Mishti Doi for each of you with this email (my favourite Bangali sweet). Enjoy!
Warm regards,
Ashwin Baindur ------------------------------------------------------
On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 10:55 PM, Ravishankar ravidreams@gmail.com wrote:
Hi,
On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 8:13 PM, Srikanth Lakshmanan srik.lak@gmail.com wrote:
On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 16:54, Ravishankar ravidreams@gmail.com wrote:
- Try using services like http://pediapress.com/ or tie up with a local
publisher to print books regarding Kolkatta, West Bengal, Bangaladesh and any relevant local content.
PDF generation has issues with rendering complex scripts.
Yes, I am aware of this issue. Just to clarify, my suggestion for using services like PediaPress is for content from English Wikipedia only.
Ravi
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