Crowdsourcing Transcription: Who, Why, What, and How

Ben Brumfield, Perian Sully

Why?

• You can’t OCR cursive!– 1 in 3 letters correctly recognized at best

• Engagement/Outreach

Who?

• Genealogy Community

Who?

• Genealogy Community

• Natural Sciences

Who?

• Genealogy Community

• Natural Sciences

• Open Source/Creative Commons

Who?

• Genealogy Community

• Natural Sciences

• Open Source/Creative Commons

• Libraries

Who?

• Genealogy Community

• Natural Sciences

• Open Source/Creative Commons

• Libraries

• Archives

Who?

• Genealogy Community

• Natural Sciences

• Open Source/Creative Commons

• Libraries

• Archives

• Museums!

(I’m saving this for Perian.)

Why?

• Sense of Purpose

Why?

• Sense of Purpose

• Love of the Subject

Why?

• Sense of Purpose

• Love of the Subject

• Immersion in the Text

Why?

• Sense of Purpose

• Love of the Subject

• Immersion in the Text

• It’s Fun! (Gamification)

Why?

• Sense of Purpose

• Love of the Subject

• Immersion in the Text

• It’s Fun! (Gamification)• Balance of Motivations

Why?

• Sense of Purpose

• Love of the Subject

• Immersion in the Text

• It’s Fun! (Gamification)• Balance of Motivations

•Money

How?

• Choose your material:– Homogenous format.

• Decide on uses for the transcription.

How?

• Choose your material:– Homogenous format.

• Decide on uses for the transcription.

• Find sources of volunteers.

• Choose a tool.

Which Tool?

• Structured data or free-form text?

• CMS integration or stand-alone?

• What kind of mark-up?

• What underlying technology?

Which Tool?

• Free/Open-Source Options:– Wikisource (MediaWiki+ProofreadPage)– FromThePage– Scripto (War Department Papers)– Bentham Transcription Desk– Scribe (Zooniverse/OldWeather)– OpenScribe (PROV)

• Build your own– (But please share it with the rest of us!)

Thanks!

• Slides and links at– http://manuscripttranscription.blogspot.com