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Re: reviewing documents where illegible words remain
LOC Manuscript DivisionApr 2, 2020 9:15 AM (in response to Marcia Earle)
Hi Marcia,
Welcome to History Hub, and thank you for your contributions to By the People!
All volunteers encounter illegible text, and you should use your best judgement when deciding whether to submit for review, or save for another volunteer to work on. You may come across something that's completely illegible (part of the page is missing?) or perhaps you may find a particular individual's cursive difficult to read. Here's some guidelines from the By the People Help Center:
Illegible or unclear text:
Illegible text is anything you can’t read because a page is damaged, text is heavily crossed out or because you can’t tell what the author has written. If there is a word or a string of words you cannot read use a pair of square brackets around a question mark [?]. Example:
"I have [?] loved coffee ice cream"
If you can read any letters or parts of words transcribe what you can and use question marks for the remaining letters or words. Examples:
"I have [a?????] loved coffee ice cream"
If you cannot read a word or phrase that’s ok. Another volunteer may be able to identify the missing letters and update your transcription. If there is a lot of text you cannot read consider saving your transcription and looking for another page that you can decipher better.
I hope this helps!
Sincerely,
Loretta
Reference Staff
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
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Re: reviewing documents where illegible words remain
Marcia Earle Apr 2, 2020 11:41 AM (in response to LOC Manuscript Division)hi Loretta, thank you for that. I had seen the general guidance and was looking for a little more. I've seen transcribed and approved pages that still have [?] - sometimes when I could actually read the words in question. I gather we should use our judgment and perhaps I am being too fussy so that's why I asked.
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Re: reviewing documents where illegible words remain
LOC Manuscript DivisionApr 2, 2020 12:05 PM (in response to Marcia Earle)
Sure Marcia, thanks again for posting your question here. If you do come across a transcription and can decipher words, volunteers occasionally ask for the page to be reopened here so it can be added to. Thank you for your help!
Loretta
Reference Staff
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
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Re: reviewing documents where illegible words remain
Lewis Wyman Apr 2, 2020 12:52 PM (in response to Marcia Earle)2 people found this helpfulHi Marcia,
Just a thought; I've found possible answers to mystery words by looking at neighboring documents where similar sentences appeared. Sometimes I can find followup letters or letters with similar topics to other correspondents that have been helpful. Have fun!
Lewis
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Re: reviewing documents where illegible words remain
Henry Rosenberg Apr 2, 2020 3:25 PM (in response to Marcia Earle)3 people found this helpfulHi Marcia- Personally it makes little difference whether you leave it "in progress" or save and submit for others to review. The issue I have is when people accept documents because they can't figure out the words. If there are documents with one indecipherable word it is probably okay to accept. If there are many and you can't figure them out either, pass it by and leave it for someone else.
On your pother point, if I see a document with many [?] that was accepted and I feel I can do better, I will ask for Manuscript Division to reopen the page. I also sometimes wonder if I am being too picky. However, my feeling is that we have one chance to put these documents online and they should be as perfect as we can make them. I have never been told not to be picky but I think they try to walk a line with casual transcribers and more serious ones so as not to turn off the casual transcribers.
Good luck and feel free to message me directly if you have any questions.
Henry
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Re: reviewing documents where illegible words remain
Marcia Earle Apr 2, 2020 4:24 PM (in response to Henry Rosenberg)1 person found this helpfulThanks Henry - that's exactly the kind of feedback that helps me. I've been transcribing Susan B Anthony diaries and think it's important to get the names and places right to make these really useful for scholars.
I confess I haven't yet figured out how to message another user directly or to contact the Manuscript Division so any tips on how to do that will be appreciated.
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Re: reviewing documents where illegible words remain
LOC Manuscript DivisionApr 2, 2020 4:47 PM (in response to Marcia Earle)
History Hub is a great place to reach out to Library staff or other volunteers. You can also send a tweet to By the People or send us an email at crowd@loc.gov. Thank you again for your contributions!
Loretta
Reference Staff
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
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Re: reviewing documents where illegible words remain
Henry Rosenberg Apr 2, 2020 5:01 PM (in response to Marcia Earle)2 people found this helpfulMarcia- Mostly you contact manuscript division through here. You would have to post on a thread. If you use this thread and reply to my post you can get in touch with me. I have also used email with some people but I don't want to suggest that because you may be uncomfortable doing that. Usually I check History Hub each day so if you posted something to me I will see it. Also, you could tag me but I am not positive how to do that or if just typing my name does it.
I agree with you. I take this very seriously and feel that we are aiding current and future historians so accuracy is vital.
Take care and stay well,
Henry
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