Crowdsourced Manuscript Transcription Ben Brumfield Roots and Routes 2012
Roots and Routes: Crowdsourced Manuscript Transcription Workshop
Nov 22, 2014
3-hour long workshop on crowdsourced transcription software for the University of Toronto's Roots and Routes seminar in 2012.
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Crowdsourced Manuscript Transcription
Ben BrumfieldRoots and Routes 2012
Not just crowdsourcing...
● Collaborative work● Off-site solo work● Private work
Not just manuscripts...
● Maps● Textiles● Music● Flawed OCR
Not just transcription...
● Indexing● Editing● Identification Counting seals on Arctic ice caps.
What it isn't
We'll concentrate on web-based tools for extracting text from images, not addressing:● Oral History● Video● Audio Transcription● Image Manipulation● Transcription/Facsimile Display Tools exist for these tasks, nevertheless.
Break
What materials are you working with outside of modern, printed books and websites?
Origins (Approaches)
Two Approaches and one Dead End● Indexing● Editing● Tagging
Indexing
● Structured Data● Extracts from Text vs. Representing Text● Databases for Search and Analysis● Granular Quality Control● Gamification
Editing
● Books, Diaries, Letters, Articles● Representing Text● Traditional Editorial Workflow● Digital or Print Editions
Tagging
● Too small● Too imprecise
Origins (Traditions)
● OCR Correction● Documentary Editing● Genealogy● Natural Science● Astronomy Split this into 5 slides
Online Tools
● Recent (none older than 2005)● Influenced by origin● Still pretty raw● Most require tech expertise for set-up and
customization● All require making trade-offs
Lab Session 1: Breadth
NYPL What's on the MenuIndexing
Wikisource
Editing
Selection Factors
● Source Material● Transcript Purpose● Organizational/Project Management Fit● Financial and Technical Resources
Source Material
Evaluating your source material:● Is it of interest to anyone else?● Is it under copyright?● Does it need restricted access?● Is it composed of documents or records?● Is it non-textual?● How complex is the layout? How important
is that layout?
Purpose
How will you be using the transcribed data?● Traditional print editions● Searchable online editions● Do you want to use the system to analyze
the text?● How do you want to analyze the text?● Is public engagement a goal?● Should the transcripts be open?
Organizational/Project Management Fit
● How important is traditional editorial workflow?
● Will you rely on volunteers? How will you motivate them?
● What is the duration of the project?● Is there a "final version"?● Is TEI a mandate?
Financial and Technical Resources
Do you have or need:● System administrators to install non-hosted
software?● Money to pay hosting costs?● Programming skills to customize a tool?● Money to pay programmers for
customization?● Support for on-going costs to keep the site
running, however small?
Lab Session 2: Markup Options
FromThePage TranscribeBentham
Technical Questions to Answer
● Where are the images now?● How do images get into the system?● How do transcripts get out of the system?● How mature is the underlying technology?● How configurable is the technology?● How does the system work with the public
face of your project?● Where does the metadata live?● Who will maintain this? How long?● How many sites are using this system?
Wikisource
Pro:● Mediawiki plus its add-on modules (e.g.
print-on-demand, export).● Wikimedia community.● Incredibly mature.Con:● Wikimedia policy.● Public editing.● Limited mark-up.
Bentham Transcription Desk
Pro: ● MediaWiki is very mature.● TEI Toolbar (can also be used on other
systems)● Deployed outside original project. Con:● Development efforts halted.
Scripto
Pro:● Team at CHNM has a great track record.● Your CMS is your public face.● MediaWiki is very mature.● Deployed and under active development. Con:● Your CMS handles all metadata.● Mark-up is extremely limited.
FromThePage
Pro:● Designed for intensive editing and indexing.● Semantic mark-up and analysis.● Hosting available. Con:● Single developer (me).● No TEI mark-up.
Islandora TEI Editor
Caveat: I don't know much about this tool or this team. ● Based on Drupal and Fedora● Supports TEI via friendly interface● Many Drupal-based projects considering it.
T-PEN
Caveat: I don't know much about this tool. ● Designed for medieval manuscripts.● Supports TEI natively.● Line-by-line interface.● Hosted version available.
Scribe
Pro:● Excellent for complex layout or non-
documentary transcription.● Zooniverse team is large, well-funded,
experienced.● Configurable.Con:● No automated tool for loading images or
viewing transcript database (yet!)● No concept of image-as-a-text.
Pybossa
Caveat: I don't know much about this tool or this team. ● Open Knowledge Foundation's
crowdsourcing task management tool.● Designed for tabular data.● Google Spreadsheet data entry.● Extremely young.
TextLab
Caveat: I don't know much about this tool or this team. ● Melville Electronic Library.● Direct addition of TEI tags to image.
Lab Session 3: Configuration
ScribeOld Weather, What's the Score, Development deployments
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