Well-written history
Digitization project a success.
It’s said that many hands make light work. Similarly, many eyes make light work when it comes to transcribing historical documents.
That’s why the Nova Scotia Archives is making permanent an innovative pilot project that uses crowdsourcing to digitize the province’s history. The Transcribe project, launched in 2017, sees the archives post online historical documents for perusal by the public. Volunteer participants read the contents and then transcribe them online.
The pilot project was an immediate success: Within the first two weeks, the public had helped to transcribe 460 historic documents containing more than 130,000 words. “We see the results of crowdsourcing as a wonderful opportunity for public engagement,” said Patti Bannister, the provincial archivist and director of the Nova Scotia Archives.
Handwritten documents are not easily searched by computers and scanning systems are generally unable to read cursive handwriting. Transcribing them makes the documents more accessible.
To date, volunteers have transcribed more than 245,000 words worth of historical documents. “I’ve heard some people say that they really enjoy the fact they’re being helpful, but also it’s a bit like cracking a code when you figure out someone’s handwriting and start reading it fluently,” said Paul Maxner, the senior archivist who built and maintains the Transcribe platform.