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Hidden in the archives: uncovering new perspectives with HTR

Innovative research tools, such as Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR), are enabling this generation of students and researchers to dive deeper into archival materials than ever before.

AI-driven HTR, available in the digital collections platform AM Quartex, has the power to take scholars beyond face value, biases and accepted interpretations, to unearth hidden perspectives and greater understanding of a broader range of experiences. Automated transcription through HTR has opened up exciting new search possibilities for manuscript materials, as well as making these often detailed and always fascinating resources accessible to new user groups.

Emma McTavish, a PhD candidate at Queen’s University, Ontario, has developed sophisticated strategies for using HTR to make new archival discoveries, enriching her research into Victorian literature, life writing, gender and sexuality. In her role as a Regional Sales Associate at AM, Emma shares her extensive technical knowledge in applying HTR to manuscript collections and gives libraries and their research communities strategies with which to interrogate handwritten archives more effectively.

Join Emma to experience the transformational power of HTR:

  • Discover how HTR works, for your library and your patrons.
  • Learn how to apply HTR in Quartex to manuscript collections in your digital archive.
  • And explore examples of institutions that have already used HTR to enable patrons to uncover hidden perspectives in their handwritten archives.

Watch on demand


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