Last year I reviewed Wikisource as a platform for manuscript transcription projects, concluding that the ProofreadPage plug-in was quite versatile, but that unfortunately the en.wikisource.org policy prohibiting any text not already published on paper ruled out its use for manuscripts. I'm pleased to report that this policy has been softened. About a month ago, NARA started … [Read more...] about Developments in Wikisource/ProofreadPage for Transcription
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Programmers: Wikisource Needs You!
Wikisource is powered by a MediaWiki extension which allows page images to be displayed beside the wiki editing form. This extension also handles editorial workflow by allowing pages, chapters, and books to be marked as unedited, partially edited, in need of review, or finished. It's a fine system, and while the policy of the English language Wikisource community prevents it … [Read more...] about Programmers: Wikisource Needs You!
Crowdsourcing and Variant Digital Editions
Writing at the JISC Digitization Blog, Alastair Dunning warns of "problems with crowdsourcing having the ability to create multiple editions." For example, the much-lauded Early English Books Online (EEBO) and Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) are now beginning to appear on many different digital platforms. ProQuest currently hold a licence that allows users to … [Read more...] about Crowdsourcing and Variant Digital Editions
My Goals for FromThePage
A couple of recent interactions have made me realize that I've never publicly articulated my goals in developing FromThePage. Like anyone else managing a multi-year project, my objectives have shifted over time. However, there are three main themes of my work developing web-based software for transcribing handwritten documents: Transcribing and publishing family diaries. … [Read more...] about My Goals for FromThePage
Feature plan for 2010
Three years ago, I laid out a plan for getting FromThePage to general availability. Since that time, I completed most of the features I thought necessary, gained some dedicated users, and saw the software used to transcribe and annotate over a thousand pages of Julia Brumfield's diaries. However, most of the second half of 2009 was spent using the product in my editorial … [Read more...] about Feature plan for 2010