The National Archives is seeking volunteers who can read cursive to help transcribe more than 300 million digitized objects in its catalog, saying being able to read cursive is now a “superpower.” The penmanship style has become practically obsolete, as typing and texting have taken over. Most American schools no longer teach handwriting form, instead focusing on keyboard skills. Currently, only 24 states require cursive to be taught, but that alone may not help with the National Archives task. “It’s not just a matter of whether you learned cursive in school, it’s how much. you use cursive today,” said Suzanne Isaacs, Community Manager with the National Archives Catalog in Washington, DC. The organization has registered over 5,000 citizen archivists but could still use more help. There’s no application; you just pick a record that hasn’t been done and read the instructions. Isaacs says it’s easy to do for 30 minutes a day or even 30 minutes a week. The records range from Revolutionary War pension records to the 1950 Census. If you think you might have time to transcribe and you’re familiar with cursive, head over to the National Archives website and sign up.
Reading Cursive is Now a “Superpower” and the National Archives is Seeking People Who Have It
The National Archives is seeking volunteers who can read cursive to help transcribe more than 300 million digitized objects in its catalog, saying being able to read cursive is now a “superpower.” The penmanship style has become practically obsolete, as typing and texting have taken over. Most American schools no longer teach handwriting form, instead focusing on keyboard skills. Currently, only 24 states require cursive to be taught, but that alone may not help with the National Archives task. “It’s not just a matter of whether you learned cursive in school, it’s how much. you use cursive today,” said Suzanne Isaacs, Community Manager with the National Archives Catalog in Washington, DC. The organization has registered over 5,000 citizen archivists but could still use more help. There’s no application; you just pick a record that hasn’t been done and read the instructions. Isaacs says it’s easy to do for 30 minutes a day or even 30 minutes a week. The records range from Revolutionary War pension records to the 1950 Census. If you think you might have time to transcribe and you’re familiar with cursive, head over to the National Archives website and sign up.