About this campaign

18th- and 19th-century title pages from the Early Copyright Records Collection offer a uniquely American sensibility and chronicle an industrious new nation and its intellectual pursuits. Some of the titles will be readily recognized, but many were never published or have been lost to history due to their obscurity.

The title pages are broadly organized by date and include every type of publication imaginable. Books, sheet music, prints, maps, dramatic compositions, advertising labels, patent drawings and books are represented. Topics include histories, dramatic plays, religious and educational instruction, music scores, science and invention, as well as many fictional works, to name a few.

Where did they come from? The title pages are the result of the first federal copyright laws. From 1790 through 1870, copyright registration was accomplished by completion of a form at the local federal district court, payment of a fee, and deposit of a printed title page with the clerk of that court. The Copyright Act of 1870 — the birth of modern copyright law — consolidated all these records. The old entries were transferred to the Library of Congress, where they have since resided, nestled away in archival boxes. Some scarcely saw the light of day until digitized and published online in 2020. The Library of Congress is the home of the modern Copyright Office, but this collection is part of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. All records postdating 1870 are held by the U.S. Copyright Office.

Instructions: The title pages are mostly in English, but also contain German, French, and other languages. Please insert letters with the correct accents for the relevant language. Visit this History Hub post to learn how.

We have also compiled a list of FAQs about some of the common symbols, abbreviations, and conventions that you'll find in this campaign and how to transcribe them. Respond to the History Hub thread to ask your question!

About this project

Collection of title pages that were deposited by authors and publishers as evidence of intention to publish. Some title pages document works that were substantially altered before publication or were never printed.

Helpful Links

• About the Early Copyright Records Collection
• Timeline of Copyright in the United States
• Blog: Old Copyright Submissions — Hawthorne, Twain, Douglass and Thousands More
• Article: Cascade of title pages, and one squashed fly, help mark 150 years of the U.S. Copyright Office

Welcome to By the People! Help transcribe Library of Congress documents to improve search, access, and discovery of these pages from history.

Documents are transcribed and reviewed by volunteers. It takes at least one volunteer to transcribe a page and at least one other volunteer to review and mark it complete. Review ensures transcriptions are whole and accurate. Complex documents may pass through transcription and review several times before they are completed. Completed transcriptions are published on loc.gov.

Let's get started!

1. Read the instructions on transcribing and reviewing. Access instructions at any time by clicking the "How To" tab on the right or at the top of any page.
2. Create an account -- if you want! Anyone can transcribe without an account. Registered volunteers can review, tag pages, and track their work on a profile page.
3. Choose what to transcribe. Explore our many campaigns featuring different Library of Congress collections. When you find a group of documents that looks interesting, click through to a page. Use filters to see just "Not Started" or "Needs review" pages.
4. Transcribe what you can in the text box. Type what you see in order and preserve line breaks. Have questions about something tricky? Revisit "How to transcribe."
5. Use image viewer filters to make text clearer. Activate them using the button between full screen and flip. Use filters individually or combine them to adjust brightness, contrast, and invert color.
6. Click “Save” as you go to preserve work in progress. If you decide a page isn't for you, that's ok! Just click “Save” before moving on. Other volunteers can finish what you started.
7. Click "Save" and “Submit for review” when you've transcribed a whole page and think it is ready for review. If you aren't logged in, you will need to verify you are not a bot.
8. After you transcribed a few pages, try out review! Review is the crucial final step before transcriptions are complete and ready for publication. All registered volunteers can review. Learn how.
9. Try out tagging. Read our tagging instructions then try it on any page!

Have a question or comment about By the People?

• Send us a message.
• Connect with our team and other volunteers in our History Hub discussion forum.
• Read through our FAQ.

Text order

Transcribe text in the order it appears on the page. If you're unsure, transcribe the text how it would make sense to read aloud.

Preserve original spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Transcribe original text spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Type what you see.  Do not paraphrase.

Dashes and other punctuation can be a little unusual before the mid-20th century. Make your best guess on whether something is best represented by an en dash, em dash, equals sign, period, etc.

If a misspelling will impact search of the document, you can tag the page with the correct spelling. Example: "Abe Linkin" - Transcribe as spelled and tag with "Abraham Lincoln"

Line breaks

Preserve line breaks. Line breaks make it easier for someone to review your transcription. Sometimes text in the transcription box spills over two lines in the transcription box. If you don't hit enter, no line break is recorded.

When words are broken over two lines on the same page, type the word on the first line. Example: Write library rather than li-brary.

Page breaks

If a word breaks across two pages, transcribe it on the first page. 

Illegible or unclear text

If you can't decipher a word or phrase, that’s ok! Another volunteer may be able to. If you are unable to read a lot of a page, save and looking for another.

You may not be able to read some text due to damage, cross-outs, blurred ink, or bad handwriting! In place of illegible words or letters, transcribe a pair of square brackets around a question mark [?]. If you can read any part of a word, transcribe what letters you can and use question marks for the rest. Example: [?] score and s[????] years ago 

Blank pages - Nothing to transcribe

Do not transcribe any text for blank pages. Check the Nothing to Transcribe box below it and hit "Save."

Deletions

If you can read text that has been crossed out or otherwise deleted, transcribe the deleted words within square brackets [ ].

Inserted text

When text has been inserted over a line or otherwise added later, transcribe it in the original text in the order you would read it. Do not use caret symbols or brackets to indicate text has been inserted.

Multiple pages

If there is more than one page in an image, transcribe all pages in the order they appear, one after the other. Leave empty lines between pages.

Don't leave notes in text

Only type original text from the page into the transcription box. You may be tempted to leave notes about the document, but please don't! You can leave help or context for others as a tag or post in our discussion forum on History Hub.

Expanding abbreviations

Do not expand abbreviations; just type what you see. You can use tags to record the expanded text of an important abbreviation that otherwise does not appear in the text. Example: Transcribe "UL" and tag "Urban League"

Formatting text: Bold, underlined, italic, indented, etc.

Do not try to capture formatting, such as underlining or indents or note it in the text. Preserving text style or format does not enhance the discoverability or accessibility of a page and may not display as desired in published transcriptions.

Printed or typed text

Some material in By the People is typed or printed, including letters and memos, newspaper clippings, printed forms, and more. This text still needs to be transcribed as it is not yet machine-readable. "Transcribe with OCR" may be a useful though imperfect starting point.

Catalog and page numbers

Do transcribe page and catalog numbers and letters.

Letterheads

Transcribe letterhead text; it often includes names and addresses researchers may find useful.

Newspapers

Transcribe all newspapers articles, not just those you think relevant. Transcribe columns in the order you would read them. Don't try to preserve layout.

When not to transcribe print

Some mass-produced diaries contain many pages of pre-printed calendars, almanacs, dates, and other text that does not need to be transcribed. This text does not broadly aid discovery and access to historical information. We recommend clicking "Nothing to transcribe" and moving on.

Images

Ignore images. Don't describe or note them in the transcription box. If a page has only images and no text, click "Nothing to transcribe." You can use tags to capture information about images, watermarks, stamps, or any other non-text features.

Text in margins

Marginalia is text written around the main text block. It is often a comment on the main body text, but can be unrelated. It differs from an insertion, in that it was not intended to be woven into the main text.

Transcribe marginalia within square brackets and asterisks [* *]. If it comments on a specific portion of the text, order it after that text. Put it at the end of the transcription if it appears unrelated. Transcribe all original punctuation within the [* *], including parentheses. Example: We are met on a great battlefield of that war. [*Refers to Gettysburg*]

Non-English languages, characters, and translation

Many languages are found in our campaigns. All text should be transcribed wholly and accurately in the original language.

Use the correct characters when transcribing non-English text. For example, do not substitute C for Ç. You can use alt codes to enter non-English characters. See our Spanish and Latin cheat sheets.

Do not enter translation! If you want to translate a document, you can share it in History Hub!

Shorthand

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