Transkribus im Archiv – Ein polnisch-deutsches Projekt zur Handschriftentexterkennung an historischen Dokumenten
Transkribus in the archives – a Polish-German project of reading historical documents

Summary/Abstract: Even 10 years ago, the idea that historical manuscripts, regardless of time of creation and origin, could be „read“ and searched using automated processes seemed unrealistic. However, thanks to modern machine learning methods and the use of artificial intelligence, it is now possible. Following the development of Transkribus platform (http://transkribus.eu/), a tool has become available that allows free open access to this technology. Handwriting recognition permits automatic conversion of large numbers of historical manuscripts into fully legible texts. This development will influence and change the work of archives over the next several years, especially with regard to how their collections are made accessible digitally. Using the example of a Polish-German cooperation project, the article presents the use of handwriting recognition technology in the context of an archival digitisation project and discusses the technical requirements, technological work input and results of using Transkribus in an archive.

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