By Manfred Thaller (HKI University Cologne) Colloquium Itinera Nova. Tools, people & history (City Archives Leuven) April 25th, 2013

1. Development of the database, the
website and the online transcription
platform of Itinera Nova
Manfred Thaller: Universität zu Köln
Leuven, April 25th
2013
Itinera Nova. Tools, people & history

2. I. Promises, promises:
November 2009 …

4. Promises, promises: 2009

5. Promises, promises: 2009

7. Promises, promises: 2009

8. Promises, promises: 2009

9. Promises, promises: 2009

10. II. … and what has happened since.

11. A database has been created:
 Architecture: XRX (XQuery, REST, Xforms).
 Underlying data base: eXist.
 The data base has been maintained and
managed.
 A background infrastructure for long term
preservation has been initialised.
A technical infrastructure

12. Transcription editor.
 Editorial system.
 Archival editor.
 Basic collaborative system.
Functionalities provided

13. General logic:
text-image-view
zoomable and draggable image
text annotation area with ad hoc syntax highlighting
for the ‘Itinera Nova transcription syntax’
annotations can be nested following the rules of the
Text Encoding Initiative (TEI)
da hoc syntax-error highlighting
transformation of Itinera Nova transcription syntax
into TEI and back
Transcription editor

14. Transcription editor

15. 6 types of annotations:
abbreviations
superscript
strikethrough
unsure
linebreak
pagebreak
Transcription editor

16. Roles: transcribers (author), moderators (author,
contributor)
Workflow
users and moderators are informed by email if the
editorial status of a transcription entry changes
The editorial system behaves different from standard Wiki
systems, since there can be only one author per transcription
and the author of a transcription does never change. Corrections
of a transcription done by moderators are just regarded as
contributions. Contributions do not change authorship.
Editorial / moderation system

17. Roles: transcribers (author), moderators (author,
contributor)
Workflow:
(1) User starts a transcription. A new transcription entry
is created in the user’s private space. From this time
forward the user is the owner of this transcription, no
other user can transcribe the same act anymore.
(2) User suggests transcription for publication. The
transcription entry is moved into the editorial space
after a copy of the user’s last editions was archived.
Editorial / moderation system

18. Workflow:
(3) Moderator revises the transcription
(4.1) Either moderator sends it back to user / asks for
revision / informs about corrections. The transcription
entry is moved back to the user’s private space after
the moderator’s version was archived. There’s a
version difference computed between the user’s and
the moderator’s last version which makes it easy for
the user to overlook the moderator’s corrections.
Editorial / moderation system

19. Workflow:
(4.2) Or moderator publishes the transcription if no or
only minor corrections were done. The transcription
entry is moved into the public area after a copy of the
last moderator’s editions was archived.
(If 4.1 = corrections:) User accepts or declines
corrections and suggests his transcription again for
publication. Again transcription is moved to the
editorial space after the user’s last editions were
archived.
Editorial / moderation system

20. Workflow:
(If corrections:) User accepts or declines corrections and
suggests his transcription again for publication. Again
transcription is moved to the editorial space after the
user’s last editions were archived.
(5) The author of a transcription or moderators as well
can revise public transcriptions at a later time. Hereby
a transcription is transformed back from TEI into the
Itinera Nova syntax. The workflow starts again from
(1) or (3).
Editorial / moderation system

21. Computing and visualizing text differences between two
transcriptions for collaboration between transcribers and
moderators.
Version control tool

22. Transcription editor

23. Cut & paste tool
transform / cut & paste transcriptions from MS Word to TEI
Indexing registers (according to EAD)
automatically create EAD file from image collection
index of aldermen
rename folios
Indexing acts (according to EAD)
linking aldermen
linking folios
additional fields: dating, type of act, abstracts
Archival editor

24. Indexing registers

25. Indexing acts

26. Full text search
•global or register-based
•filter by date range
•support for wildcard expressions
•hit highlighting
Authentication
•role specific views
•role specific functions and tools
Internationalisation
•multilingual web page (dut, eng, fra)
•online translation tool
Account system
•online registration
•request for new password
•role management tool (apply new roles to users)
Archival editor

27. Web page
 50 registered users
 about 40 visitors a day, mostly from Belgium
 most visited site: ‘my-transcriptions’ → most visitors are using
the collaborative tools
Repository
 meanwhile 62.000 database entries (acts, transcriptions,
versions of transcriptions, registers)
 about 50 new database entries per day (new acts, new
transcriptions, new versions of transcriptions, new registers)
Some numbers

28. Things done
 Most of original visions of volunteer orientation
 [ after a number of switches between direction to follow ]
Things undone
 “Medievalist” interface … insufficient ‘market’.
 Some addons (connection to city map of Leuven) … insufficient
time, given the need to get basic infrastructure running.
Lessons learned

29. III. Some context
[ Promises, promises:April 2013 … ? ]

30. III.a Conceptual context
http://www.monasterium.net/
http://www.vdu.uni-koeln.de/vdu/home

31. t
e
a
c
h
A model of historical research
publication
research
editing
transcription
symbol manipulation
digitization

32. III.b “Political” context

33. Science performed in an environment, where
(1)the acquisition of information needed for a
research question
(2)analysis of that information, resulting in
additional information,
(3)and publication of the information gained
are equally well supported by an integrated digital
environment.
A definition of eScience

34. Humanities performed in an environment, where
(1)the acquisition of information needed for a
research question
(2)analysis of that information, resulting in
additional information,
(3)and publication of the information gained
are equally well supported by an integrated digital
environment.
A definition of eHumanities

35. A Virtual Research Environment consists of
digital content, on which researchers working in
different localities can collaborate with a set of
integrated tools.
Their creation is currently supported by
competitive funding programs of a number of
national research organisations in Europe.
Virtual Research Environments

36. BELGIAN SCIENCE POLICY OFFICE
BRAIN-BE:
Belgian Research Action Through Interdisciplinary Networks

37. 3. THEMATIC AREA 3: CULTURAL, HISTORICAL AND
SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE
3.1 CROSS- AND INTERDISCIPLINARY EXPLOITATION/VALORISATION OF FEDERAL
HERITAGE RESULTING FROM SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITIONS
3.2 CROSS- AND INTERDISCIPLINARY EXPLOITATION/ VALORISATION OF FEDERAL
HERITAGE RELATING TO THE GOLDEN AGE OF CULTURAL, INTELLECTUAL AND
ECONOMIC INFLUENCE OF THE NETHERLANDS (15TH-17TH CENTURIES)
3.3. CROSS- AND INTERDISCIPLINARY EXPLOITATION/VALORISATION OF FEDERAL
HERITAGE RELATING TO THE FIRST WORLD WAR
3.4. CROSS- AND INTERDISCIPLINARY EXPLOITATION/VALORISATION OF FEDERAL
HERITAGE APPLIED TO RAW MATERIALS: EXPLOITATION, INNOVATION,
EXCHANGES
3.5. CROSS- AND INTERDISCIPLINARY EXPLOITATION/VALORISATION OF THE
FEDERAL SCIENTIFIC COLLECTIONS APPLIED TO HEALTH ISSUES
3.6. CROSS- AND INTERDISCIPLINARY EXPLOITATION/VALORISATION OF FEDERAL
HERITAGE APPLIED TO PHENOMENA OF HUMAN AND CULTURAL MIGRATIONS
BRAIN-BE

38. 3.2 CROSS- AND INTERDISCIPLINARY
EXPLOITATION/ VALORISATION OF
FEDERAL HERITAGE RELATING TO
THE GOLDEN AGE OF CULTURAL,
INTELLECTUAL AND ECONOMIC
INFLUENCE OF THE NETHERLANDS
(15TH-17TH CENTURIES)
BRAIN-BE

39. Thank you for listening!
manfred.thaller@uni-koeln.de