generated from john/python-template
40 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
40 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
# Historical Document Transcription
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I have several thousand pages of family history told through letters, postcards, books, and other documents that I want to transcribe to text.
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## Goals
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1. Preserve our family history
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2. Unburden my family (and descendants) from having to store and care for the physical media. Once the documents have been transcribed and organized, they can be donated (or kept by a family member that wants to retain them).
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3. Make the text easily available and searchable by family members, as well as AI (which may have different requirements).
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4. Ability create timelines or assemble the historical record of the family or specific individuals from across the complete document archive. Perhaps use AI to create the timelines in a more narrative form.
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## Source material
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1. **letters, cards, diaries** - handwritten; mostly stored in tubs, with little organization
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2. **books** - typed or typeset; mostly self-published books 50-100 pages in length. This may be expanded to include selected pages from other publications.
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3. **newspaper clippings, event programs, invitations, and other ephemera**
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## Methodology
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### Verbatim vs. Clean Copy
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Transcriptions should be Verbatim and follow scholarly research guidelines, with no modifications to the original text.
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### Prompt Curation Policy
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Transcription behavior should be implemented with prompt assets that are human-maintainable over time.
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1. Each transcription prompt is stored as an individual Markdown file.
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2. Prompt files are refined iteratively as document quality and edge cases are discovered.
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3. Prompt changes should be scoped to one prompt file at a time whenever possible to keep review history clear.
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### Potential Document Issues
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| Document Issue | How to Handle It | Example |
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| :--- | :--- | :--- |
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| **Misspellings & Errors** | Retain original spelling and insert italicized `[sic]` directly after the error. | `The weather was very cold and publick [sic] business delayed.` |
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| **Missing Words / Slips** | Insert the missing word inside square brackets to restore basic readability. | `We went [to] the store to buy supplies.` |
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| **Uncertain / Guesswork** | Place your best hypothesis followed by a question mark inside square brackets. | `He went to [Boston?] yesterday to meet the governor.` |
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| **Completely Illegible** | Use a clear descriptive term like `[illegible]` or specify the reason (e.g., `[torn]`, `[ink blot]`). | `The total cost was [illegible] dollars.` or `The letter ends here [remainder of page torn].` |
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| **Crossed-out Text** | Wrap the removed word or phrase in a deleted tag to preserve the author's edits. | `We left at [deleted: noon] one o'clock instead.` |
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| **Squeezed-in Text** | Wrap text that was added above the line or in a tight space in an inserted tag. | `The [inserted: red] house on the hill was abandoned.` |
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| **Superscripts & Abbreviations** | Bring raised letters down to the main line, or optionally expand them in brackets. | `Change Gen^l to Genl` OR `Change to Gen[era]l depending on project preference.` |
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| **Images / Seals / Signs** | Describe the non-textual element using italicized text inside square brackets. | `[wax notary seal attached here]` or `[sketch of a fort layout]` |
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| **Marginalia / Notes** | Note the spatial transition clearly before transcribing the note itself. | `[written in left margin:] Do not share this with anyone.` |
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| **Line Breaks / Hyphens** | Rejoin words split across a page margin silently, dropping the line-break hyphen. | `Original: "estab- / lishment" becomes "establishment"` |
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| **Ambiguous Capitalization** | Default to modern capitalization rules unless an archaic uppercase letter is clearly intentional. | `If a standard noun like 'Farm' looks randomly capitalized, type 'farm'.` |
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**Hierarchical Outlines** | Preserve exact numbering characters (including lowercase Roman numerals or terminal 'j'). Replicate indentation levels using spaces/tabs. Do not correct math or sequence errors silently. | `I. Main Topic`<br>` a. Sub-point`<br>` b. Next point`<br>`III. [sic] Third Topic` | |