Sitting next to a senior leader of a European library at a IIIF event, he expressed concern that asking volunteers to work on transcribing was taking unfair advantage of free labor. My internal reaction was, “you just want to keep all the good stuff for yourself!” -- but of course I didn’t say that. I talked about meaningful volunteer work and how -- since our very first … [Read more...] about Crowdsourcing: Free Labor or Free Puppy?
Make a "Small Bet" on Crowdsourcing
“Small bets” are ways to experiment with new technologies, approaches, or audiences. The key to these experiments are that they are low risk. If it doesn’t work out, then you haven’t lost that much money or time or goodwill. If it does work out, then you have a new way of engaging the public, enriching your metadata, and increasing use of your material. Most … [Read more...] about Make a "Small Bet" on Crowdsourcing
What We Learned Building Spreadsheet Transcription
We recently released our new spreadsheet transcription feature, and we're excited about how it can unlock structured data in your collections -- everything from scientific observations to census data. We're already seeing successful & diverse projects like Sewanee's Convict Leasing Transcription Project (part of their Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation) … [Read more...] about What We Learned Building Spreadsheet Transcription
On Competitive Transcription
I don’t think I have been on a team since high school. Who knew that competitive transcription would inspire a sense of exhilaration and shared purpose that I had not experienced in decades? I forgot to eat. I slept poorly. I neglected my job. I talked to old friends unexpectedly and made news ones. It was wonderful. What a rare thing to create such a welcoming space for … [Read more...] about On Competitive Transcription
Interview: Dr. Laura Morreale on Teaching and Collaborative Research in FromThePage
An interview with Laura Morreale, Independent Scholar of Medieval Francophonie and Italian Historiographies. Laura spearheaded support for translation in FromThePage, and we've big fans of her innovative work combining collaboration, transcription, digital humanities, and medieval manuscripts. Her thoughts on teaching using FromThePage are particularly timely. First, … [Read more...] about Interview: Dr. Laura Morreale on Teaching and Collaborative Research in FromThePage