Submission Guidelines for Transcriptions of handwritten or typed correspondence

Thank you for volunteering to help transcribe our digitized collections. You are taking a handwritten or typed document and making it machine readable. Your efforts will be helping to make the collections more accessible, especially to users with visual impairments who depend on machine readers.

In this project, our primary focus is on transcription, rather than encoding (i.e. adding tags). However, if you come across something that you feel a researcher might find especially valuable, feel free to leave a note for the archivists.

How these PDFs were made: the original items were carefully scanned by the Department of Archives and Special Collections in the University of Mississippi Libraries. Each page was scanned as its own high-resolution TIFF image for long term preservation, and is stored in the library’s dark archive. To make access copies for eGrove, our institutional repository, the TIFF images were converted to jpeg images, and combined into a PDF, thus making “image pdfs”.

If you come across pages with a scanning error – perhaps the page is upside down and the PDF needs to be adjusted? – please let us know. Sometimes the scan looks the way it does because of the condition of the original item. We do what we can.

Finding Aids have been written by the archivists about the collections – the link is provided on your spreadsheet – it can give you context about the collection you are working with. There is a link to the finding aid in each eGrove record.

Instructions

  1. Select an item from the spreadsheet of items needing transcription. Be sure to follow the instructions on the spreadsheet to select a letter.
  2. Download the letter template. Use this template to format your transcription.
  3. Download the PDF of the letter to your personal computer. OR Scroll down to the PDF preview. Downloading to your computer will give you more control of the image size, etc.
  4. Save your downloaded template using the IDENTIFIER field of the item you are transcribing, followed by "_ts" for transcript. This will often start with the letters "MUM", like "mum00119_b01_f31", but not always, like "Gentry_f1_5". So your file name would be, for example, Gentry_f1_5_ts
    Note: The identifier (mum00119_b01_f31) represents where an item is in the collection. In this example, MUM00119 is the Edmondson/Bray/Williams/Stidham Collection, b01 is Box 1, and f31 is Folder 31. The Finding Aid will provide an inventory of the entire collection along with biographical details, historical context, or donor information.
  5. Use your computer to copy the text as you read it. You may indicate a page break but do not need to split a word to preserve a line (often in 19th century letters, you will see a word start at the end of one line then finish at the beginning of the next; it is not necessary to keep this structure).
  6. Do not make corrections. Spellings in Civil War era letters may vary from modern spellings; use the spelling you see. If something in the text is illegible, please indicate that with the word “illegible” between brackets: [illegible]. Highlight [illegible] areas or areas where you're unsure of the transcription so that it can be double-checked.
  7. For letters in the Meredith collection: Please record any demographic information the letter writer includes about themselves, including age, race, gender, political affiliation, and economic status. This information will be used for further research about the collection.
  8. Save the file when you have finished. If using Pages on a Mac, or Google Docs, please export as a .docx file.
  9. Use this link to submit your transcription file For the title, please use "Transcript: [file name]". (Example: Transcript: Gentry_f1_5_ts) If you are logged into your account, your name and contact email should automatically appear. Enter the date of your submission. No other fields are required.
  10. You will receive a machine-generated confirmation of submission.

Note: Your submission may be edited by UM Libraries personnel if needed.

Sample Transcription

See the original letter here.

Bridges_27
Richard C. Bridges to his sister, undated
Page 1:
You wrote to me something about sending me winter clothes You need not send me any at all The Government supplies me bountifully with very good clothing Yesterday I drew a jacket pants shirt drawers shirt and shoes
Page 2:
You need not trouble yourself in the least Our government is doing a noble part towards her soldiers Give my love to Sister dear brother James and all the rest of my friends Kiss little Mol for me Your affectionate brother [illegible]