For the first time, HTR Transcription is available in Quartex. Generating highly accurate transcriptions of English and foreign language manuscript documents at the click of a button, HTR Transcription has the power to transform the close reading and research potential of manuscript collections. What's more, these transcripts can be downloaded by users or edited within Quartex to make alterations to enhance accuracy, meet screen-reader requirements and facilitate digital scholarship.

 

HTR Transcription also makes manuscript materials site searchable, optimising the discoverability of previously undiscovered or under-represented voices in your collections. 

Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about this feature and then click the sample record to try it out for yourself. 

How Accurate is HTR Transcription?

Whilst accuracy is, of course, dependant on legibility, orientation and condition of the script, HTR transcription boasts an impressive character accuracy rating of up to 97%. This innovative technology is also adept at recognising and replicating grammatical markers and character case.

Check some examples out for yourself.

What languages can HTR Transcription read?

HTR transcripts can be generated for a wide range of languages using Western European character sets. HTR functionality identifies the language depicted on the page and replicates this in the transcript, incorporating diacritic glyphs and grammatical markers.

Click to see a sample of HTR transcription generated from a French manuscript.

Are HTR Transcripts eligible for download?

Yes! HTR Transcripts can be downloaded in a TXT format at the discretion of a Quartex website host. 

Why not download a transcript of one of our sample documents.

 

Does HTR Transcription work across manuscripts from any era?

Yes! The default HTR transcription style is proficient at recognising hands as early as the 15th Century through to the modern day. There are, however, two additional  transcription styles available to users which are trained specifically across dense foreign language and black letter gothic script.

Take a look at the transcription generated for this German letter.

Can HTR Transcripts be edited?

HTR Transcripts can be edited at any time through the Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) to enhance the transcript accuracy, by administrative or guest users.

For example, 'a Pity' in this manuscript has been transcribed as 'asity'. Adding in one space and correcting a single character would be very simple and improve the reader experience. 

Click on any of the thumbnails below to view featured samples of HTR Transcription as run across manuscripts sourced from McGill University, St Louis Mercantile Library and Congregational Libraries and Archives. 

Congregational Library and Archives Sample

This sample generated a transcript with 97.3% word accuracy and 91.3% character accuracy.

McGill University Sample

This sample generated a transcript with 66.5% word accuracy and 84.2% character accuracy.

St Louis Mercantile Library Sample

See Handwritten Text Recognition Transcript results for an 18th Century sample in secretary hand.

Syracuse University

This French sample generated a transcript with 87% character accuracy.

Syracuse University

This German sample generated a transcript with 69% word accuracy and 82% character accuracy.