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.
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.
Campaign Tips
Transcribing Joseph Holt
Joseph Holt (1807-1894) was a newspaper editor, lawyer, political figure in Kentucky, U.S. postmaster general, secretary of war, and judge advocate general of the U.S. Army.
The sectional crisis, Civil War, Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and the conspirator's trial, and Reconstruction all play out in Holt’s papers, as his proximity to power prompted letters from well-known figures, the public, and his own divided family.
Transcription basics
Transcribe what you see! Preserve original spelling, punctuation, word order, and page numbers or catalog marks.
Preserve line breaks except when a word breaks over a line or page. Then transcribe it on the line or page where it starts.
Use brackets [ ] around deleted, illegible or partially legible text. Transcribe any words or letters you can't identify as [?].
Access all instructions at any time by clicking the How To tab on the right of this page.
Image filters can help!
This campaign contains some difficult-to-read pages. Our viewer filters may help you read light, dark, or blurry pages by allowing you to adjust the brightness and contrast.
Access the filters by clicking on the icon at the top of the image viewer (located between "flip horizontally" and "toggle full page").
The filters build upon each other, so you can apply more than one at a time.
Historical handwriting
Many documents in this campaignuse Spencerian script, a handwriting used from about 1850 to 1925. It was standard in the U.S. prior to widespread adoption of typewriters.