The Library of Congress is wrapping up Olmsted’s 2022 bicentennial year by encouraging virtual volunteers to finish transcribing the subject files from the Manuscript Division’s Frederick Law Olmsted Papers collection. Volunteers have been working on the files since Olmsted’s birthday month of April 2022 and there are fewer than 1,500 pages that still need the first pass of transcription. When a document is transcribed, another volunteer comes along and reviews the transcription for completeness and accuracy. The Library especially encourages students and scholars of Olmsted and those with local knowledge of specific projects and places to participate in reviews of already transcribed material, as well as to try their hands at the initial transcription process. Once the subject files are completely transcribed and reviewed, the transcriptions will be brought into the digital presentation of the Olmsted Papers collection on the Library’s main website, where they will help researchers search and find content and more easily read Olmsted’s materials. You can participate in the December challenge on the Library’s By the People website or follow along with its progress on the By the People program’s discussion forum (History Hub) or Twitter account.
