By the People Webinar: Volunteer to Transcribe the American Revolution in Context

Commemorate the 250th birthday of the United States through service! Join us for a webinar on Thursday, June 4, from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT to learn about The American Revolution in Context, a project of the Library of Congress volunteer transcription program, By the People. Registration is required for the virtual event (link below).

This event will share how you can dive into our shared history by transcribing the text of 18th century diaries, letters, cookbooks, pamphlets, sheet music, and maps from across Library of Congress collections. These volunteer projects included in The American Revolution In Context project provide context for understanding colonial America through the Revolution to the early Republic. Read more about the American Revolution In Context collections in our previous Signal post.  By the People transcriptions created and reviewed by volunteers are published with the digitized original collections to improve readability, discoverability, and accessibility of these historic texts.  

Webinar attendees will learn about the manuscript, music, map, and rare book collections included in The American Revolution in Context, the impact of By the People volunteer transcriptions, and how to get involved as a volunteer or host of a transcription event at your school or library.

The American Revolution In Context projects were created in collaboration with WETA and The American Revolution, a film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt, that examines how America’s founding turned the world upside-down. Visit pbs.org/AmericanRevolution about accessing resources for hosting local transcription events. We hope to see you at the webinar!