Early Modern Manuscripts Online (EMMO)
Early Modern Manuscripts Online, or EMMO, is a multi-faceted project funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) that will provide scholars and the general public with convenient web access to a substantial number of English manuscripts from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Letters, diaries, wills, coats of arms, literary pieces, recipe books, miscellanies—the EMMO project will make a variety of rare manuscripts from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s premier collection available to users for free via an easily-searchable web site with high-quality images and consistent transcriptions. This combination of resources will enhance research in many disciplines by removing old barriers to the rich content of manuscripts. At the same time, EMMO will also promote paleography (the study of ancient handwriting methods) through events such as conferences, classes, and online tutorials so users may learn the skills necessary to understand and appreciate these manuscripts in their original form.
The project will advance in phases, so by the end of the three years that are currently funded, the following will be complete:
- Phase 1: Create and prepare transcriptions
- Phase 2: Develop an optimized, searchable database
- Phase 3: Design online tutorials
- Phase 4: Roll out shareable software
Educational events highlighting paleography and scholarly research regarding the study of manuscripts will take place throughout all of the above phases and continue beyond these early stages of the project.
Events
Several events are planned to promote EMMO and its various offerings over the next three years; all of these will encourage discussion of current and potential research projects in paleography. A cursory list is below. Check back for updates and additions as the project progresses.
- June 2014: English Paleography: A Mellon Summer 2014 Institute (at the Folger Shakespeare Library), participants from a number of universities will attend this month-long intensive training program in order to learn and enhance their paleography skills. Transcriptions made during the institute may contribute to the transcriptions, tags, and glosses that will ultimately appear on EMMO.
- December 2014: Advanced Early Modern English Paleography, a week-long advanced workshop on paleography in conjunction with the Folger Institute Consortium
- January 2015: first virtual transcription day
- July 2015: participate in Joint Conference on Digital Libraries and THATCamp Digital Libraries
- December 2015: a week-long advanced workshop in paleography in conjunction with the Folger Institute Consortium
- Spring 2016: anticipated presentations at various academic annual conferences (e.g., RSA, SCSC, MLA, AHA, SAA)
- July 2016: English Paleography: Summer Institute (at The Huntington Library), participants from a number of universities will attend this month-long intensive training program in order to learn and enhance their paleography skills.
- December 2016: Scholarly conference hosted at the Library by Folger Institute
Paleography and Transcriptions
The majority of manuscripts written in English during the period stretching from 1500-1700 were written in what has come to be known as secretary hand, a mode of handwriting that most people today cannot read accurately without advanced training in paleography. Since transcriptions customarily serve as the bridge between secretary hand and our present-day typefaces, EMMO will provide searchable transcriptions for ease of use. However, EMMO will also give users the opportunity to learn about paleography and make their own transcriptions.
As more scholars—or anyone interested in the early modern period—engage with the manuscripts directly, intriguing questions about and investigations into language, history, and culture will undoubtedly emerge. Software tools are under development by Folger staff to assist users in the learning process.
Through a combination of methods that includes gathering existing printed transcriptions, producing transcriptions at the Folger, organizing special events such as transcribathons, and encouraging robust crowdsourcing efforts via the web, EMMO will create a body of transcriptions that are then vetted for accuracy and consistency, and published online for study.
The viewable transcriptions in EMMO’s approved collection will follow established conventions of semi-diplomatic transcription (semi-diplomatic referring to the analysis of historical documents), i.e., minor alterations will be made in the transcribed text. These changes enhance clarity and facilitate reading by a twenty-first century audience, for example archaic letters such as “þ” (thorn) would be updated to “th.” It is important to remember that the transcriptions in EMMO – as is the case with all transcriptions – are simply useful depictions of what appears on the actual, physical manuscripts. However, the high-quality images that accompany each semi-diplomatic transcription in EMMO will give users a good sense of the original, and comparing the two onscreen constitutes a learning experience of its own.
Encoding of Text
In addition to transcribing the text of manuscripts, EMMO will encode the transcriptions for proper digital representation online, using tags in XML that adhere to TEI P5 guidelines, thereby giving the digital transcriptions an appropriate and consistent look as well as streamlining them for quick computer searches and analysis. More advanced encoding to add glosses on the text or highlight items for debate may be done in later stages of EMMO or as part of specific research or learning initiatives down the line.
Staffing and Structure
Initial funding for EMMO comes from a three-year grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS); the project will run from 2014 through early 2017 in its early phases. This broad venture will draw upon the expertise of staff members across several divisions at the Library, including personnel from Central Library, Digital Media and Publications, and Folger Institute.
Key staff at Folger Shakespeare Library involved in EMMO:
- Dan DeSimone, Eric Weinmann Librarian (Director for EMMO Project)
- Heather Wolfe, Curator of Manuscripts (Primary Investigator for EMMO Project)
- Michael Poston, Database Applications Associate
- Eric Johnson, Director of Digital Access
- Sarah Werner, Digital Media Strategist
- Kathleen Lynch, Executive Director for Scholarly Programs, Folger Institute
- Owen Williams, Assistant Director for Scholarly Programs, Folger Institute
- Elyse Martin, Program Assistant, Folger Institute
- Julie Ainsworth, Head of Photography and Digital Imaging
- Melanie Leung, Image Request Coordinator
- Sarah Powell, EMMO Intern
- Denny Henry, Photography and Digital Imaging Assistant
- Renate Mesmer, J. Franklin Mowery Head of Conservation
- Nadia Seiler, Rare Materials Cataloger
- Emily Wahl, Metadata Specialist
IMLS grant-funded, dedicated staff hired by Folger:
- Paul Dingman, EMMO Project Manager
- EMMO Project Paleographer (to be hired)
EMMO also has a highly-respected external advisory group whose guidance and assistance will be of immense help in achieving the project’s goals:
- Julia Flanders, Brown University
- Neil Fraistat, University of Maryland
- Alan Galey, University of Toronto
- James Ginther, St. Louis University
- Ben Vershbow, New York Public Library
- Peter Stallybrass, University of Pennsylvania
- Alan Stewart, Columbia University
- Kathryn James, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University
- Elizabeth O’Keefe, The Morgan Library and Museum
The online tools and scholarly programs of EMMO will serve as important resources for students, teachers, and researchers in a host of fields. By expanding the study of paleography, our understanding of the early modern period will deepen. Assumptions about the literary record will be challenged; new questions will be asked and new answers found.