Build, Analyse, and Generalise: Community Transcription of the Papers of the War Department and the Development of Scripto

Abstract

RRCHNM’s foray into community transcription with the Papers of the War Department, 1784-1800 and the development of Scripto offers some significant lessons for cultural heritage institutions and professionals who want to engage with their constituents in meaningful ways. Primarily, we gained a dedicated and engaged audience for PWD, and a tremendous insight into their motivations. Equally important, the development process for the generalized tool, and its role in the larger ecosystem of open-source software that enables widespread user participation in cultural heritage projects, points to viable directions for the development of subsequent tools. Together this case study of PWD and the story of the creation of Scripto suggest that a wide range of cultural heritage organizations can launch and sustain lightweight transcription projects that encourage increased engagement with core audiences.