The University of Latvia (UL) Library invites anyone interested to join a citizen science project in which volunteers read and transcribe historical Latvian handwritten texts from the 18th–20th centuries together. The transcribed texts are used to train a Latvian handwriting recognition model on the Transkribus platform. In the future, this will make thousands of letters, diaries and manuscripts searchable and accessible to researchers and the wider public.
The handwriting reading campaign is part of the University of Latvia project “ȬPEN – Open Knowledge Ecosystems for the Development of Citizen Science”. The project promotes interdisciplinary cooperation in the fields of digital humanities, linguistics, cultural heritage and information technology, and aims to develop open knowledge ecosystems and digital solutions that make Latvia’s language and cultural heritage more accessible for research and society.
The project is based on a citizen science approach: researchers, technology developers, cultural heritage institutions and the public work together in a shared collaborative environment. The project is developing open artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, including handwriting recognition and speech recognition models for Latvian, Latgalian and Livonian. By taking part in this activity, participants will gain insight into the work of archives and digital humanities, develop handwriting-reading skills and contribute to the preservation of Latvian cultural heritage.
The work begins with an introductory session in person and then continues remotely. Training sessions are held once a week, on Wednesdays at 18:00, at the Misiņš Library of the University of Latvia Library, 10 Rūpniecības Street, Riga. Volunteers can choose a level of difficulty that suits them and select handwritten texts from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Remote work takes place after the training, with each participant transcribing manuscripts at a time and pace convenient for them; during the weekly meetings, the more difficult cases can be worked through together. To participate, it is advisable to have a laptop for the introductory session and a computer for remote work, contributing as much time as is available, preferably around 2–3 hours per week.
Transkribus is an international platform for the digitisation of historical documents and AI-assisted handwriting recognition. It enables models to be trained for specific languages and writing styles using human-made transcriptions, or decoded text.
Registration and additional information: Annija Berzinska, Head of the Collection Preservation and Digitisation Department at the University of Latvia Library (annija.berzinska@lu.lv | +371 26290284)
