1. Manuscript Transcription Assistant Initiative
Shaun Calhoun
Anthony Tiscia
Terrence Turner

2. History of Project
Transcribers of ancient manuscripts have no custom application for maintaining formatting, and preserving manuscripts.
60 km of rotting manuscripts exist in Venice alone.

3. Previous Project Work Completed Goals Current Goals
Preserved manuscript formatting.
Stored metadata information along with transcription.
Created initial transcription application
Established framework for future projects.
Current Goals
Automatic box creation around words.
Improve previous project’s functionality.
System to encourage collaboration on manuscript transcription.

4. System Overview Definitions
Repository (Blue): Location of transcription and manuscript files, maintained by an archivist. (i.e. AAS, Univ. of Madrid)
Software (Yellow): Used by transcriber to create new transcriptions.
Submission Incentive (Green): Interface between Software and Repository

5. Current Project Work Server and Manuscript Repository
Website and Submission Incentive
MTA
MML
XPG
USER
RANK $$
Stand Alone Application

6. Manuscript Transcription Software
Previous version did not automatically generate boxes around words.
Offered minimal functionality.
In many ways using a word processor was still easier
Current work seeks to provide the user with an interface that makes transcribing easier.

8. Manuscript Software Improvements
The application now automatically generates boxes greatly reducing time needed to complete a transcription
Uses modified block segmentation.
Image is binarized separating text from background.
Smoothing is used to ease search for words
Connected components are searched for and boxes are placed around them.

9. Image Converted to B/W
Vertical Smear
Final Smear

11. Boxing Limitations
Has problems separating text from background in certain images.
Extreme skew causes problems in boxing words properly
Currently does not have skew detection implemented

12. More Improvements Interactive Cursor similar to a word processor.
Able to select and format multiple bounding boxes at the same time. Cut, Copy, Paste, etc.
Image zooming for better view of text.
Attempts to preserve document layout by fitting text to boxes.
User interface improvements

13. Website and Incentives
Acts as interface between Repository and End-User Software
Provides incentives for end-users to download and participate in the transcription process.

14. Website Subsystems Account Subsystem
Manages creation, retrieval, updating and deletion of user accounts.
Moderation Subsystem
Manages relevance of transcriptions based upon explicit and implicit metrics
File Management Subsystem
Manages transcription and manuscript files and their metadata
Data Subsystem
Manages databases of all other subsystems
Account
Moderation
SQL DB
Data
Repository
File
Managmnt

15. End-User with Web Browser
Account Management
Account subsystem is a two tiered distributed system.
Server-based scripts interface with user for display, and interface with data subsystem for queries to accounts
End-User with Web Browser
Server Query
Display Page
Server Side Processes
Queries DB
Return Result
SQL Database Module

16. User Login Example User with Web Browser Website Back-end SQL Database
Case Study #1: Perfect Day
User comes to transcription website and decides to log in
User enters login data and submits to web site’s back end.
Web site’s interfaces with SQL database for user information and preferences
SQL database returns preferences to web site’s back end
Web site’s back end dynamically writes web page to user’s web browser, writes cookie to user’s computer.
User with Web Browser
Website Back-end
SQL Database

17. Moderation Subsystem
Provides accuracy and relevance management in an emergent environment.
High ranking transcriptions become a “gold standard” through consistent ratings.
Users who provide exceptional transcriptions will can access more of the Repository for completed transcriptions.

18. Moderation Example Case Study #1: Perfect Day
User retrieves and reads a transcription page
User assigns a weight to the article and submits it to web site back end
Back end interfaces with SQL database
Database returns result of function
Back end returns user to previous page.
User with Web Browser
Website Back-end
SQL Database

19. Account and Moderation Limitations
Account subsystem does not provide a secure connection to log in to service
Account subsystem does not maintain state between pages
Moderation subsystem can not handle “cheating” when moderating transcripts
Equation for moderation is the arithmetic mean of the moderation points

20. File Management System
Interface between system and hard disk
Main purpose: security
Requirement for collaboration system
Gain permission to access documents in archive by first submitting your work

21. Documents Each document has “metadata” MTA software has its own format
information used to describe it
E.G.: author, title, date, subject, language, etc.
MTA software has its own format
A combination of two popular formats
Compatible with both formats

22. Metadata Database SQL database
Stores the most important metadata of every document in the archive
Automatically added upon submission
Purpose:
View doc. info without accessing hard disk
Quick and easy searching

23. Searching Only reasonable means of locating documents
Search through metadata elements in database
E.G.: a user searches for all manuscripts written by a certain author in a specific time period
Much faster than searching through hard disk

24. Transcription Submission Example
User submits transcription
User submits transcription to archive via software or website
File management system extracts metadata, adds to metadata database
File management system adds transcription to repository
File management system adds credit to user's account
MTA software
File Management
Repository
MD Database
Account System

25. Archive Limitation Lacks security Search GUI is confusing
Minimal display
“Credit” algorithm is simplistic
Lacks means of measuring quality

26. Conclusions
Developed framework for collaboration system defined in previous project work
MML file specification required for future progress to be significant.
Refinement needed in individual subsystems in MTA application and server

27. Questions? Special Thanks to: Tom Knoles Prof. Stanley Selkow
Prof. Fabio Carrera