I have been reviewing pages that except for formatting errors that forced me to edit the pages, were pristine. I realize that people have transcribed for the Archives or Smithsonian but remember, formatting is different on this site.
If there is marginalia, simply place the words inside of brackets such as: if the name Cooke is in the margins write it as [*Cooke*]. You do not need to use the word marginalia or identify which margin it is in.
For strikethroughs, simply put the words in brackets such as if the words “I thought” are struck, write it as [I thought].
Place all stamps in [* *] such as [*THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS*] and yes, transcribe the LOC stamp.
You do not need to place letterhead in brackets.
If you don’t feel like finishing a page, simply save it so it appears as “in progress”. Many people like to work on those pages.
Don’t be afraid to use Google or AI for help with names or words. Many times, I have copied a phrase in a page giving AI context and sometimes it gives me the right word. But be sure to check to see if the word looks possible. Sometimes it is way off the mark.
Don’t guess. I have come across pages that were difficult handwritten pages and the person transcribing got every word wrong because they were trying to guess the words and got off track. There is no shame in skipping pages you don’t want to tackle. I’ll leave it there. Feel free to list things you have noticed that we could all benefit from. Don’t forget, this is supposed to be fun but we are transcribing documents to make them accessible to historians, students or anybody with an interest in history.
Excellent post, @Henry! I am reviewing sheet music pages and can add a few things:
Don’t overlook handwritten words on music pages. I have seen nearly perfect transcriptions EXCEPT for the missing handwritten number that frequently appears above the composer’s name. This should be transcribed the same way as marginalia (“[**]”) and without the notation “handwritten.”
Don’t forget to include all the different ways music is categorized by the LOC. This should also be transcribed as marginalia. Most of the pages have the categorization “M1” and, below this, “.A1,” where = the first letter of the composer’s last name. I see the number 1s frequently transcribed as the capital letter “I.” It’s an easy mistake to make if you haven’t seen enough of them.
Proofread your work before submitting for review! I am only able to approve a small fraction of the pages I review because of typos, some of which could easily be caught if the work were reread before submitting for review.
Watch the long s’s. For any letter that LOOKS like an “f” – zoom way in and see if the letter has the horizontal bar protruding to the right. If not, it’s an “s.” And, of course, context is always helpful – e.g., “rofe” is not a word, but “rose” is.
Don’t forget the fingering notation. These are the numbers 1 - 4 and the “+” or “x.” Most is handwritten, but I’ve seen a few pieces that have it printed on the music. The former should be transcribed as marginalia; the latter, without the brackets. I always tag these pages with FingeringNotation.
If you see numbering that exceeds 4 (e.g., 5, 6, 7), this is figured bass notation. And most of the time these numbers are doubled up, with one number appearing directly over the other. I just transcribe them as the top number first, and the bottom number second, with no space between. I tag these as FiguredBassNotation.
For both types of numbering, I leave spaces between the numbers that is relative to their positioning on the page (fewer spaces if the numbers are closer, and more spaces if they’re farther apart). I think this might be helpful to subsequent reviewers, as sometimes the numbers are hard to read/find.
I appreciate your point #6, Henry, regarding the use of Google. Yesterday I ran across a page with extra verses written under the music that were faded. The person who did the transcription had (reasonably) left a lot of “?” in brackets. I was able to find the lyrics online and added many words, but it was definitely a temptation to fill in words that were completely obliterated just because I had the other copy. I DID note small differences, though – “thee” instead of “ye,” for example – which reminded me I couldn’t just copy what Google had shown me. I made sure, as you did, that I could see the letters, even if they were extremely faint or it was extremely obvious. This is so tricky!!
Let’s keep adding to this page! These tips are a GREAT idea!
Great points Angie. If for some reason those verses were completely illegible but you knew they were there, I would have been tempted to use the ones you found with approval of the Community Managers.
I agree 100 percent with Henry. One more piece of advice if you are unsure what the handwriting states, reread the sentence in context and see if it makes sense. It will help you eliminate some possibilities And if it s cursive in a foreign language you do not read or speak fluently please leave it for another volunteer who does, because it s actually makes it harder to correct.
That’s good advice. Don’t phonetically try to transcribe foreign languages you don’t have experience with. Also, the first time through a difficult handwritten page I will place a lot of [?], writing the words I can easily decipher. Then I go back and work on those words one by word, doing as you say, figuring out the context to help with those words.
Thank you for these reminders! One thing I’ve noticed in documents already marked completed that I just happen to skim through looking for a name or spelling that is unclear on an associated page is [?] for words that are actually legible or possible to determine from context. I request that they be reopened and I fix them. But if reviewers would just be sure to double check those questionable words and see if they can figure it out before marking as completed, that would provide a much more complete transcription. Also, you noted transcribing stamps in your post, but I thought we were not supposed to do stamps. At least that is how I read the instructions: “Ignore images. Don’t describe or note them in the transcription box. If a page has only images and no text, click “Nothing to transcribe.” You can use tags to capture information about images, watermarks, stamps, or any other non-text features.” Thanks for feedback on this!
Good point, @Henry. I wish the Community Managers would weigh in here a bit more frequently so I wouldn’t have to pose a separate question. But your tip is something I’ll keep in mind in case I run across this situation again.
Great tips Henry and everyone, and thanks. Re Henry’s tip 3 about the LOC stamp: Lauren had told me NOT to transcribe that stamp (which I had been doing regularly). Lauren, Caryln or Abby, please clarify the correct procedure for the LOC stamp. Thanks.
I would need clarification from the Community Managers. I was told to transcribe printed stamps but not postage stamps. When a Department stamp is used like for a government department, I feel it should be transcribed. IMHO, LOC stamps identify the documents as in their possession.
Sorry, I posted before seeing your response. So, you do not need the LOC stamp transcribed? As I said, we also get stamps from government departments on pages occasionally.
Thanks, @Henry. It looks like our team needs to update https://crowd.loc.gov/get-started/transcription-printed-text-images/ to clarify postage stamps vs. property stamps. Let us confer this week and I’ll reply back to this thread (and we’ll get that Printed Text & Images page updated if we make changes).
I hoped we could use this forum to have people ask for help by posting pages they need help with. I know it is easier to just move on but if we could resolve a page right now we could get the work done faster and more accurately and it might help the person who needed help. It also saves LOC in the QA process where they have to comb through pages one by one.
Sounds good. In the past I thought we were told to post the LOC stamp. That said, I do not edit pages to add it if all else is correct. Plus, it’s a good way for LOC to get some credit or publicity if we include it
Thanks, @Henry. It looks like our team needs to update https://crowd.loc.gov/get-started/transcription-printed-text-images/ to clarify postage stamps vs. property stamps. Let us confer this week and I’ll reply back to this thread (and we’ll get that Printed Text & Images page updated if we make changes).
Well … the point that Henry raised about illegible text (in response to my list of tips) and how much it can or should be copied from an online source would be a good one. Thanks!!
That would be great! I have also been transcribing stamps – the ones that contain categorization info like class and acc. no. These don’t seem like images to me. I took the image instruction to mean pictures (i.e., not describing the images that are pictures).
There are also LOC embossing, and I’m never sure what to do with this these, as well as the “LC” punches on many of the pages.
Agree 100%. I recently corrected 80 pages of French which - in addition to multiple spelling errors - contained not a single accent mark. Accents in foreign languages aren’t optional, they form an entirely different letter from the unaccented character, and can radically change the meaning of a word.
if you aren’t reasonably fluent in a language, leave that page for others. And OCR isn’t a substitute for understanding.
But your tip is something I’ll keep in mind in case I run across this situation again.
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