Yes, the proofreading phase has finally ended. Yesterday, I finished doing a paper-to-paper cross check on the 109,348th slip--and then some. While the vendor counted 109, 348 records, when all is said and done, the number may be off by several hundred slips. The proofreading phase did not just check, character by character, the transcription completed by our vendor, it also served as a slip-by-slip inventory of the entire catalog. The microfilm that the vendor used to transcribe was created in 2001 and since that time the editorial staff has continued to find more documents to add to our archive. The number of additions is not yet known, but it will probably number in the hundreds. These new slips will all be added to the XML files during the first phase of encoding, which is well under way.
While the proofreading phase has been the most unpredictable aspect of the project thus far, it has been a critical component to complete. Ensuring the integrity of the database by making the content is as accurate as the tagging is important not just for the editors but for all online users of the archive. A catalog is only as good as its accuracy--if we can't trust it then no amount of fancy web coding will encourage people to use it!
I have to give proper acclamation to the Control File team:
- Jim the Proofreader/Encoder proofread 57,157 slips
- Susan the EAD Gal proofread 14, 878 slips
- and I clocked in about 37,000 (give or take a few)
Cheers!
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