OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. OCR is a software tool that can extract print text from some documents.
When will OCR work well?
OCR does not work on handwriting. It only works for printed or typed text, meaning text created by a typewriter, printing press, or other mechanical means. OCR will do best on consistent and clear images of modern typefaces.
Do I still need to review pages started with OCR?
Yes! OCR is imperfect. It may not work well for some or all parts of a typed page, but it can be a great starting point. If you start a page with OCR, you should read the text closely before submitting. If you are reviewing a OCR-ed page, you also still need to review.
Why does By the People have this feature?
We always want to use volunteer time effectively. When the Library of Congress digitizes a large group of printed pages, it will usually OCR them. The materials in By the People campaigns are not good candidates for applying OCR at scale, either because they are handwritten, a mixed collection of handwritten and print materials, or printed on paper or in a typeface that does not produce accurate OCR results. However, OCR can still be a useful starting point for some typed pages. Use it if it if you like it or skip it if you don’t!
You can help by transcribing a new page, adding tags to this page, or coming back later to review this page's transcription.
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Clicking "Transcribe with OCR" will remove all existing transcription text and replace it with automatically generated text. We recommend saving existing text in a separate document if you may want to revisit it.
Quick Tips
Transcribing Clara Barton
Nurse, educator, philanthropist, lecturer, and founder of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton (1821-1912) was one of the most prolific, active, and beloved women of her time.
Her diaries, correspondence, and autobiographical materials provide deep insights into her life and work. Tens of thousands of pages of letterbooks include outgoing correspondence sent by Clara Barton and other Red Cross officials. Their pages chronicle major world disasters and conflicts and relief work efforts.
Bleed-through is common in Letterbooks and carbon copies. Their thin pages present two challenges: ink bleed-through and mirrored text preceding pages.
Bleed-through can make deciphering more difficult, but try your best. Ignore backward mirror image text and go to the previous page to view and transcribe it.
The backwards text on the left of the Clara Barton letterbook page above is bleed-through and should not be transcribed.
This campaign includes a lot of typed pages - you may want to use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to get started. OCR is a tool that can extract print text from some documents.
Try out the "Transcribe with OCR" button beneath the image viewer.
Using this button will delete any existing transcription - please only apply it on typed pages.