Future Updates and 1 current question

I truly hope for four things. 

1) - SAVING SLOW DOWN the NAC server will stop doing the saving so much that the slow down isn't so cumbersome, or fix the slow down issue.(yes, over-asked question, but can't be said enough)  

2) - WAIT FOR SERVER MESSAGE - Fix the issue with the files over 150 pages so that we can actually work on those files without the constant, "do you want to wait for the server?" messages.  I get this no matter if I am on my 5 year old laptop or my brand new computer hooked directly to an ethernet line, so I know it's not my RAM or connection speed.

Example 1.:  Bamber Bridge file.  It is SO BIG, but half of the pages are not transcribed.  Perhaps breaking the into smaller pieces would help? Since these are mostly typewritten, this project could be well finished by now.  Right Click Google Image search, picks up all of the text very easily on these files, but it takes FOREVER.  It takes about 4 minutes, once I can actually access the page, get the page copied, put the copied text into word, format it accordingly and double check it.  But from actually attempting to open the page (directly from Nancy's spreadsheet, so not even searching for the page) to close the published page and try to open the next page, can take 30-40 minutes due to the waiting time, and that's on a direct connection.

Example 2.  Most any other files greater than 150 pages have a slow processing time, not just the "saving" issue, but the "waiting for the server" issue.

3)  PAGE STATUS  there can be a third option for a status of a page instead of just "Available' or "Transcribed", an "Incomplete" would be VERY HELPFUL.. Especially since responses from NAC have said more than once on this forum that they do not plan on adding a "review process" to the transcribing service. 

Personally, I'd rather fix a page that is already out there for consumption than transcribe a new page, because when would those pages ever be fixed?  I've seen so many that have wrong information, two lines of info, on a full page of data.  If my grandchildren are doing research one day, how useful are my efforts when the page they are looking for isn't searchable?

4) TAGGING - I know this is probably an HTML thing and this is not and HTML format (which is too bad), but maybe there is another way.  TAGS.  I think that you would get a LOT MORE TAGGING done if in the transcribing process, we could highlight a word(s) and click on a button in the transcribing window that says "TAG".  This way we can tag as we go and you wouldn't have to go back and forth to relook at the document, etc.  

Example:  One the Cablegrams from WWI of dead or missing soldiers.  Sometimes there are more than 40 names on a page.  After I finish transcribing that page (which is often blurry, so 50% has to be retyped), I then have to retype names for the tags.  If I could just highlight the names, then I wouldn't be tempted to "come back later" and do it, then forget.   I do tag them at the time, but it really is time consuming!!

CURRENT QUESTION.

LAST PAGE: On most files, there is a final PDF page.

Should we be doing ANYTHING on that page to have it marked "Available"?

I, and I'm sure others, truly appreciate any updates you can give.

Thanks, Mona

  • Dear Mona,

    I'll do my best to answer your questions.

    1) - SAVING SLOW DOWN the NAC server will stop doing the saving so much that the slow down isn't so cumbersome, or fix the slow down issue.(yes, over-asked question, but can't be said enough)  

    We agree that some users encounter this slow save issue.  Our developers continue to work on the problem.  We do find that the time of day when you work on transcriptions may impact the autosave speed.

    2) - WAIT FOR SERVER MESSAGE - Fix the issue with the files over 150 pages so that we can actually work on those files without the constant, "do you want to wait for the server?" messages.  I get this no matter if I am on my 5 year old laptop or my brand new computer hooked directly to an ethernet line, so I know it's not my RAM or connection speed.

    Can you please post a screenshot of this issue here or send to catalog@nara.gov so that we can share it with our developers.  It would be helpful to know the url of where you are working, day and time and what web browser you are using.

    3)  PAGE STATUS  there can be a third option for a status of a page instead of just "Available' or "Transcribed", an "Incomplete" would be VERY HELPFUL.. Especially since responses from NAC have said more than once on this forum that they do not plan on adding a "review process" to the transcribing service. 

    I understand your frustration,  but since we do not have a review process and do not mark pages as completed or closed for transcription, there is no way to indicate if the transcription is incomplete.  We can only let you know if transcription (even if it is just a small part) is available or if it hasn't been started.

    4) TAGGING - I know this is probably an HTML thing and this is not and HTML format (which is too bad), but maybe there is another way.  TAGS.  I think that you would get a LOT MORE TAGGING done if in the transcribing process, we could highlight a word(s) and click on a button in the transcribing window that says "TAG".  This way we can tag as we go and you wouldn't have to go back and forth to relook at the document, etc.

    Thank you for your suggestion, we will add it to our list of possible enhancements.  

    CURRENT QUESTION.

    LAST PAGE: On most files, there is a final PDF page.

    Should we be doing ANYTHING on that page to have it marked "Available"?

    A PDF is available to researchers for ease of download. In cases where there are individual pages and a PDF you do not need to transcribe the PDF and it can be left as Not Started.  When Community Managers review records to see if they have been transcribed, the PDF is not part of the review.  A records would be removed from a mission if all the individual pages have been transcribed and the PDF has not been started.

    Thank you so much for your questions and your contributions as a Citizen Archivist.

    Sincerely,

    Community Manager, National Archives Catalog