7 Replies Latest reply on Nov 13, 2020 1:38 PM by David Ferry

Transcribing Multicolumn Charts of Text

judith yellen Nov 9, 2020 8:09 AM

I’ve been working on formatting the first of 28 consecutive horizontal pages of multicolumn charts of text, yet be transcribed. Some of these pages have charts 12 columns wide! I am posting my transcription below. All comments and suggestions welcome.

https://crowd.loc.gov/campaigns/organizing-for-womens-suffrage-the-nawsa-records/subject-file-n-z/mss3413201881/mss3413201881-67/

Judith

Re: Transcribing Multicolumn Charts of Text

Melissa Himes Nov 9, 2020 5:07 PM (in response to judith yellen)

Transcribing these is VERY difficult! Kudos to you for working on them! I think you are doing a great job with the format you are using. They provide searchable text and are very easy to understand.
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- Re: Transcribing Multicolumn Charts of Text
  
  judith yellen Nov 10, 2020 8:09 PM (in response to Melissa Himes)
  
  Thanks for the positive feedback. I'm visually oriented and couldn't resist the challenge.
  
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Re: Transcribing Multicolumn Charts of Text

Henry Rosenberg Nov 10, 2020 6:01 PM (in response to judith yellen)

Personally, I think that is the best you could do with it. On pages where I have room, I will format the chart as written only to make it easier to read. But you did a great job.

Henry
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Re: Transcribing Multicolumn Charts of Text

David Ferry Nov 11, 2020 12:32 PM (in response to judith yellen)

Judith,

I personally like how you did the transcription. The format, while not true to the original, does capture all the information that was in the original document in a way that is easier to read in the limited space we have here. I also did a transcription of a table but it does not look nearly as neat and orderly as yours. I transcribed the original into a Windows Notepad document and just tabbed over until I got columns of data to line up like the original.
However, when I copy/paste it into the transcription window it looks rather jumbled. https://crowd.loc.gov/campaigns/rough-rider-bull-moose-theodore-roosevelt/4-jan-1903-july-15-1904-naturalist-and-nominee…

I'd love to hear what the Librarians think or best practices from other transcribers.

Dave
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- Re: Transcribing Multicolumn Charts of Text
  
  judith yellen Nov 13, 2020 9:07 AM (in response to David Ferry)
  
  Hello Dave,
  Thank you for sharing and for asking about “best practices." Your “rather jumbled” results are not uncommon. It happened to me until I figured out how to produce an orderly result. Some of the work you did on that page is fine.
  To transcribe charts and tables of reasonable width I’ve developed a routine you may find helpful.
  
  The first thing I do is type everything in--line by line--with the same line breaks as the original, and I leave just five spaces between columns.
  
  Next I locate the widest entry in the first column and (1) work that line across and (2) adjust the column headings accordingly.
  
  Then I follow the resulting column widths, making adjustments as needed.
  
  Note: I follow the line breaks initially because it makes proofreading easier, but I change them as needed.
  
  Judith
  P.S. I hope you don’t mind, I took the liberty of editing that page.
  
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  - Re: Transcribing Multicolumn Charts of Text
    
    David Ferry Nov 13, 2020 1:38 PM (in response to judith yellen)
    
    Thanks Judith!
    
    I don't mind at all. You cleaned it up nicely. I did find a few numbers that I had transcribed incorrectly so I had to edit one more time instead of accepting and closing it out. If you (or anyone else) are so inclined, it is ready for its final review.
    
    Dave
    
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Re: Transcribing Multicolumn Charts of Text

Lauren Algee Nov 13, 2020 1:35 PM (in response to judith yellen)

Thanks for sharing your strategy Judith! We've seen volunteers transcribe tables a few different ways, but this is a very clear option that captures the information in a way that's both organized and true to the original data, while not getting too caught up in formatting. Will definitely be pointing folks with questions about tables to this post in the future!
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