Transkribus is a tool that can be used to generate automatic transcriptions of handwritten (historical) documents. To do this, it uses machine learning based recognition models. You can either use pre-existing text recognition models for a certain language or type of handwriting, or train your own recognition model to recognize the specific type of writing you are working with. Especially if you train your own models, Transkribus can achieve good results with relatively low error rates.
Besides automatic transcription, it can also be used as a platform for manual transcription and collaborative transcription. Moreover, new features are constantly being developed. Recent additions are recognition of tables and other complex lay-outs, and a publishing platform for transcribed documents (Transkribus Sites).
Transkribus is developed and offered by the READ-COOP, a cooperative company of which the Radboud University is a member.
With a non-paid Transkribus account, you can use 100 free credits monthly, which corresponds to the automatic recognition of 100 pages of handwritten text. If you need more credits, you may be able to receive free credits from the University Library (see the box below).
You can make an account and log in to Transkribus at https://app.transkribus.org/
F
ree credits for staff and students
The University Library has taken out an institutional subscription to Transkribus. All academic staff and students of the Radboud University can receive free credits from our subscription:
Would you like to make use of these free credits? Then send an e-mail to RU-Transkribus@ru.nl with the amount of credits you need, what you will use it for, and the email address associated with your Transkribus account.
Please note that these subscription credits expire every year (in January). You can check the expiry date of received credits in your Transkribus account.
Advanced functionalities
Certain features and new functionalities of Transkribus are only available with paid subscriptions. These include table and field recognition, 'super models' for text recognition, and more storage (See also: www.transkribus.org/plans). Our institutional subscription to Transkribus allows for a limited number of users making use of these paid features. Would you like to gain access to these features, please let us know at RU-Transkribus@ru.nl.
This is a recording of an online demonstration of Transkribus presented on September 21, 2023, by Digital Humanities Librarian Levi Damsma.
Documents uploaded to Transkribus are hosted on the READ-COOP servers in Innsbruck, Austria. That means that, technically, you will be sharing the information in those documents with the READ-COOP. Do you want to use Transkribus to work with documents of up to 100 years old containing personal data? Then first discuss this with the Privacy Officer of your faculty.
The READ-COOP complies with EU law including the GDPR (known in Dutch as AVG) and you retain full ownership and all rights to the data that you upload.
