We thought some of you might be interested in participating in the below project.
The Water Resources Archive at the Colorado State University Libraries is launching a pilot project to crowdsource transcriptions of three diaries of Delph Carpenter, “the Father of Interstate River Compacts,” an influential water lawyer, senator and river commissioner in Colorado in the early to mid-1900s.
We are looking for volunteers to help transcribe the diaries through a popular online platform, From the Page.
The pilot will run January 14 to April 30, and if it’s successful, the remainder of Carpenter’s 14 diaries will be transcribed in the same way. After editing by library staff, completed transcriptions will be freely available on Mountain Scholar, a digital repository for institutions in Colorado and Wyoming.
Since Carpenter’s handwritten text can be difficult to read and impossible to electronically search, transcribing his diaries will make them more accessible and searchable. The transcriptions will be particularly beneficial to researchers interested in Colorado history, water law and policy, or natural resource management.
With nearly 700 handwritten pages to transcribe, volunteers can transcribe as many or as few as they are able. For more information about Delph Carpenter and how to volunteer, visit the CSU Libraries website.
Questions may be directed to Patty Rettig, water archivist at the CSU Libraries at patricia.rettig@colostate.edu or (970) 491-1939.
