Kristy

I recently took a class on archives and manuscript management- as one does- and learned about a problem in the world of museums and archives. Many of them have large numbers of old documents they have scanned into their digital collections for preservation, but they’re not searchable. What do I mean by “searchable?” Let’s say you’re doing research online, looking for information on feral pigs in North America in the 19^th century. Now, it turns out the Library of Congress had a bunch of letters donated to them that discuss precisely this, and you could read all about the problems Matilda had on her farm in Cheshire as she writes to Cletus in Middletown. Unfortunately, you’re not likely to find these letters by blindly sorting through the images that make up the archives’ massive collection. Those letters first need to be transcribed, where someone looks at the pictures taken of the letters and types what is written there. Once this text has been typed, the computer is able to match your search for “feral pigs, North America, 1800s” with the text that was entered via transcription.

Here’s the problem: it takes a lot of time to transcribe all those old historical records. The solution? You.

That’s right! There are all kinds of archives and other historical organizations looking for volunteers to transcribe and review old documents. What does this look like in action? Here’s an example from a transcription I did on the Library of Congress’s We the People website:

Above is an article written by Frederick Law Olmsted, the “father of landscape architecture in the United States,” best known for designing Central Park in New York City. Here, he enthuses about the “Lungs of London,” another term for London’s Royal Parks. Even within this brief two-page document, there is so much to sink your teeth into. He describes the necessity of public parks that do not exclude the working class:

Money, and their legs, will carry [genteel people] whither they will; but with the poor artisan or labouring man it is not so. He cannot afford time or means to set out with his wife and children on a Sunday voyage of discovery – and to find the shades of night, perhaps, falling around him just as he has succeeded in refreshing his eyes with a bit of anything green.

Poetic! And relevant 185 years later… When opening up a new document to transcribe, there’s no telling what you may find.

This kind of project is perfect for history buffs, puzzle hounds, those interested in volunteering their time, or anyone who has ever thought, “Gee, I bet I’d make a good code cracker.” Each organization has slightly different guidelines for transcription, so definitely peruse those before you get started. Generally, these institutions want to make it easy for volunteers to provide their help, so it doesn’t take more than a few minutes before you’re transcribing your first document.

Here are a few of my favorites:

The Library of Congress– Probably the quickest to get started, with the easiest-to-use interface. You don’t have to have an account to transcribe, but if you create one (it’s free), you can track your hours.

National Archives– Volunteers here are called “Citizen Archivists,” and have more options outside of straightforward transcription like their “Outside the Box Missions.” This one wins for coolest branding.

Historic New England– They’re focusing on transcribing the Casey Family Papers right now, and from what I can tell this is a family with decent handwriting, great for beginners.

There are also many other smaller institutions looking for transcription help, along with international archives. Try googling “archives transcription volunteers” or “digital transcription volunteers” if none of the above suggestions tickle your fancy.

Questions? Did you try it? What did you think?

Whether you prefer snarky humor, historical fiction, or a nice, wholesome murder, there’s something on this list for you.

Killing Me by Michelle Gagnon

The single-line summary on the cover of some editions of this title reads, “She escaped a serial killer. Then things got weird.” I’ve loved the proliferation of murder mysteries featuring a heavy dose of dark humor that have swept publishing over the last few years, and the glitzy Las Vegas setting in Killing Me secures this as a summer read for me. The protagonist is far from perfect but you’ll still want to root for her; the supporting cast will win your heart, and the twists are just frequent and surprising enough to keep the pages turning.

Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone

A woman wakes up alone in her bed. Her husband has vanished. She’s on vacation in a strange place with no idea where her husband may have gone, and in every place she turns she finds no help- or worse, is met with suspicion. Pavone paints a beautiful picture of Lisbon; it’s an interesting juxtaposition, where the setting should make you yearn to be there, but each chapter brings new revelations and a heightened sense of dread. If you’re looking for a taut thriller to read on the beach, poolside, or on the patio, this is a great pick.

The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton

Cleeton is, to my mind, one of the most underrated authors of historical fiction writing today. Is it because she sometimes allows women’s faces to be seen on her book covers, while others in the genre stick to the “women in period costume facing away” template? Hard to say. What is clear is her talent for creating three-dimensional women characters in rich historical settings. The Cuban Heiress is a great example of Cleeton’s ability to weave the lives and storylines of disparate characters together throughout her books, generally in a tropical setting (think Florida, Cuba, or here, a luxury ship), always with an immensely satisfying ending.

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

This book is perfect for anyone who has wished for death over the prospect of replying to one more email. Sue skewers workplace culture and the characters she writes are laugh-out-loud funny, but be careful, those same characters develop over time and the same people you at first found annoying for microwaving popcorn in the break room or asking for help doing the same thing you’ve shown them 20 times become surprisingly relatable and even heartbreakingly vulnerable the more you learn about them. Perfect for anyone who has ever had to work with human beings, and great for summer because does anyone ever want to be at work in this season?

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead

This is a funny but heartfelt coming-of-age tale, set in a 1980s summer, in the Hamptons. That should be enough to place it on any summer Must-Read list, but thankfully, because it’s Colson Whitehead, it doesn’t stop there. The writing is superb and the story feels authentic; it’s based on Whitehead’s own experiences as a Black kid who went to a mostly-white Manhattan prep school but spent his summers in Sag Harbor, an enclave for Black upper class professionals. If you’ve read some of Whitehead’s other works like Underground Railroad or Nickel Boys you might think that such a premise as this will necessarily be lacking in the gravitas of those other books, but you would be wrong: although lighter in tone, there is much to be gleaned from Sag Harbor.

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Finding out you’ve been left a life-changing inheritance from a relative to whom you have no emotional attachment is the dream, right? Our hero, Charlie, has a somewhat sad but entirely relatable life when he finds out a long-lost uncle has bequeathed him his fortune and his business. His supervillain business. Charlie must learn how to fend off rival supervillains, do right by his new employees, and survive each day in this new world.

Why is this a summer read? Much of the book is set on a tropical (okay, volcanic) island, complete with (foul-mouthed, desperate to unionize) dolphins. What’s not to love?

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

According to the internet [so insert grain of salt here], the author was watching The Princess Bride with his family when his wife complained of Buttercup’s passivity given her circumstances. This inspired Sanderson to write Tress in secret, eventually surprising his wife with the story, who in turn urged him to publish it more widely. Tress is an appealing protagonist, the world she inhabits is wildly creative, and you’ll finish the book hoping for more adventures with Tress and crew.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

First of all, the dedication in this book reads, “For anybody who could use a break.” Second, we have a book club here at the library whose majority is very vocal about the fact that they neither read nor care for the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres. I knew this would be a hard sell. (Overheard grumbling when I handed out copies of the book: “There’s a robot on the cover!”) But at 147 pages, I asked the participants to trust me and give it a try- even if it didn’t end up being their cup of tea, I believed they could stick it out for a book this short. Lo and behold, a month later we met again, and 18 out of 21 participants enjoyed it immensely, much to everyone’s surprise.

This book is thoughtful but soothing, with page after page of phrases you’ll want to pluck out, scribble down on an index card or in your Notes app, and reread to yourself on rough days. Oh, you wanna know what the book’s about? A garden monk living in a Utopian world has an existential crisis, becomes a tea monk, meets one of the robots who wandered off into the wilderness centuries ago, and together they attempt to answer the question, “What do people need?”

Just- trust me and give it a try.