Transcription Freeze Begins on May 15

The PWD and Scripto teams at RRCHNM are making great progress in our efforts to upgrade and re-design the website and user’s experience.

Jim Safely is tackling the major work involved in managing the migration as well as redeveloping the Scripto transcription tool for Omeka S that will be integrated into the new Papers of the War Department digital edition.

To inform the redesign and user experience, Alyssa Fahringer and Megan Brett surveyed current PWD transcribers and Scripto + Omeka users. Jim Safely and Kim Nguyen are incorporating that feedback into Scripto’s data model, combining technical and user experience requirements for administrative editorial actions, and for the public space for transcription.

Feedback from PWD transcribers is also informing Nguyen as she leads the team through the web design process that will result in a new look for the website come in late 2018, or early 2019.

To allow for this work to progress and for the migration to occur without any data loss, we must temporarily close the transcription portal, so that we can review and import the existing transcriptions.

We will stop accepting registrations for new transcribers, and we will remove the means for existing transcribers to log in and work on documents on May 15, 2018. If you have any partially-transcribed documents that you wish to finish, please do so by May 14.

We understand this may present an inconvenience to some of you, but this is a necessary step for us to take as we progress with these major project improvements.  The website itself, including all of the documents, and any completed and approved transcriptions, will remain available and accessible throughout this time.

We plan to re-launch the new Papers of the War Department website and digital edition in late 2018 or early 2019.

Stay tuned for more updates as the team works together on the PWD improvements through the summer and fall.