Stella Wisdom's slides for a talk to UCL BASc students on 02/03/2015.
Including information on BL Labs, Mechanical Curator, Mechanical Comedian, David Normal and Off the Map
Stella Wisdom's slides for a talk to UCL BASc students on 02/03/2015.
Including information on BL Labs, Mechanical Curator, Mechanical Comedian, David Normal and Off the Map
Creating, Curating and Collecting Interactive Fiction at the British LibraryStella Wisdom
Presentation for DRHA: Digital Research in the Humanities and Arts 2020, Panel 1A, 11:00-12:30, Monday 7th September 2020, http://www.drha.uk/salford2020
Presentation for Internet Librarian International Conference, London, 17th October 2017.
In Track C - Content Creativity
Session C101 - Cutting edge content
Hear how the British Library collaborates creatively with partners including Wikimedia, WordPlay, Burning Man Festival and the National Videogame Arcade, and participation in International Games Week in Libraries. Stella's talk encompasses experimentation, and making apps, games and interactive fiction using digitised collections.
Crowdsourcing in the Cultural Sector: approaches, challenges and issuesMia
Slides for the Crowd-sourcing, Co-creation and Co-curation in the Cultural Sector workshop by the Scottish Network on Digital Cultural Resources Evaluation
Supporting the Digital Scholar: Experiences from the British Library Labslabsbl
The presentation will first give a very brief overview of the Library and then tell you a number of ‘stories’ mostly from a Humanities perspective on how researchers did things in the past and how that is changing because of rapid developments in digital technology. With more and more digital content, data, tools and services being made available, researchers are able to ask questions they had never dreamed of before, share their findings in an open way and collaborate, some of them are becoming the ‘digital’ scholar.
It will bring back the story to the British Library, and how the digital scholar is changing the way we do things. It will then move on to the efforts of digitisation across the British Library, giving a whistle stop tour of some of the incredible digital collections we now have and highlight some of the challenges that we face given our historical origins, licensing and technical restrictions. Importantly, it will also try to address how we are trying to tackle some of these challenges. It will outline the work of Digital Scholarship department, created to support the changing research landscape, focusing particularly on the work on the Digital Research Team and that of British Library Labs, both of which sit in the same department. It will point out some of the surprising findings we have discovered and some of the lessons we have learned so far and what we are planning for the future. Finally, it will finish with some important final ‘take away’ messages and The Presentation will be asking you what excites you most about digital scholarship. Hopefully, if there is time, there will be an opportunity to take a few questions too.
Creating, Curating and Collecting Interactive Fiction at the British LibraryStella Wisdom
Presentation for DRHA: Digital Research in the Humanities and Arts 2020, Panel 1A, 11:00-12:30, Monday 7th September 2020, http://www.drha.uk/salford2020
Presentation for Internet Librarian International Conference, London, 17th October 2017.
In Track C - Content Creativity
Session C101 - Cutting edge content
Hear how the British Library collaborates creatively with partners including Wikimedia, WordPlay, Burning Man Festival and the National Videogame Arcade, and participation in International Games Week in Libraries. Stella's talk encompasses experimentation, and making apps, games and interactive fiction using digitised collections.
Crowdsourcing in the Cultural Sector: approaches, challenges and issuesMia
Slides for the Crowd-sourcing, Co-creation and Co-curation in the Cultural Sector workshop by the Scottish Network on Digital Cultural Resources Evaluation
Supporting the Digital Scholar: Experiences from the British Library Labslabsbl
The presentation will first give a very brief overview of the Library and then tell you a number of ‘stories’ mostly from a Humanities perspective on how researchers did things in the past and how that is changing because of rapid developments in digital technology. With more and more digital content, data, tools and services being made available, researchers are able to ask questions they had never dreamed of before, share their findings in an open way and collaborate, some of them are becoming the ‘digital’ scholar.
It will bring back the story to the British Library, and how the digital scholar is changing the way we do things. It will then move on to the efforts of digitisation across the British Library, giving a whistle stop tour of some of the incredible digital collections we now have and highlight some of the challenges that we face given our historical origins, licensing and technical restrictions. Importantly, it will also try to address how we are trying to tackle some of these challenges. It will outline the work of Digital Scholarship department, created to support the changing research landscape, focusing particularly on the work on the Digital Research Team and that of British Library Labs, both of which sit in the same department. It will point out some of the surprising findings we have discovered and some of the lessons we have learned so far and what we are planning for the future. Finally, it will finish with some important final ‘take away’ messages and The Presentation will be asking you what excites you most about digital scholarship. Hopefully, if there is time, there will be an opportunity to take a few questions too.
British Library Labs Presentation at the Accelerating Human Imagination Workshoplabsbl
Presentation given by Mahendra Mahey at the Accelerating Human Imagination Workshop at the University of Liverpool in London, 24-25 November 2016. Presentation given on Day 1, 24 November, Second Session Part II: Imagination and Speculative Cultures, 1445 - 1500
A whirlwind introduction to digital humanities for CDP Digital Humanities: Collections & Heritage - current challenges and futures workshop. February 22, 2018 Imperial War Museum
Presentation given by Mahendra Mahey, Manager of BL Labs, 1400 - 1430, 2 July 2018
London Psychology Librarians Group Meeting
Dickins Room, Conference Centre,
British Library
Presentation to the National Science Library of the Chinese Academy of Scienceslabsbl
1100 - 1300, Thursday, 26th April 2018,
British Library Labs and Digital Scholarship at the British Library, Harley Room, British Library, St Pancras, London.
Presentation to the National Science Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
by Mahendra Mahey Manager of BL Labs
The Work of British Library Labs and Digital Scholarship Insights from British Library Labs and an emerging role for Libraries
Working with the British Library’s Digital Collections & Data - Insights from...labsbl
Keynote presentation given by Mahendra Mahey at the Research Data Management in Digital Humanities International Conference, 17-18 April, 2018, Doha, UCL Qatar, room 1D02. Entitled: Working with the British Library’s Digital Collections & Data Insights from British Library Labs and an emerging role for Libraries (Keynote speech)
Talk given at Te Papa, for the NDF NZ. The video of the talk is inserted here before the slides themselves.
Direct link to the video of the talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIXB0ROyxcY
Some collected uses of the British Library Flickr collection, illustrating how a new presentation changed its usage.
Outlines the existence of collection bias, especially in digitised material.
An Overview of the area and the current potential for the open technologies to be used, and some suggestions as to why they are not as heavily used as they should be.
The Indian economy is classified into different sectors to simplify the analysis and understanding of economic activities. For Class 10, it's essential to grasp the sectors of the Indian economy, understand their characteristics, and recognize their importance. This guide will provide detailed notes on the Sectors of the Indian Economy Class 10, using specific long-tail keywords to enhance comprehension.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
Palestine last event orientationfvgnh .pptxRaedMohamed3
An EFL lesson about the current events in Palestine. It is intended to be for intermediate students who wish to increase their listening skills through a short lesson in power point.
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
This slides describes the basic concepts of ICT, basics of Email, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives in Education. This presentations aligns with the UGC Paper I syllabus.
How to Create Map Views in the Odoo 17 ERPCeline George
The map views are useful for providing a geographical representation of data. They allow users to visualize and analyze the data in a more intuitive manner.
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
Welcome to TechSoup New Member Orientation and Q&A (May 2024).pdfTechSoup
In this webinar you will learn how your organization can access TechSoup's wide variety of product discount and donation programs. From hardware to software, we'll give you a tour of the tools available to help your nonprofit with productivity, collaboration, financial management, donor tracking, security, and more.
The Art Pastor's Guide to Sabbath | Steve ThomasonSteve Thomason
What is the purpose of the Sabbath Law in the Torah. It is interesting to compare how the context of the law shifts from Exodus to Deuteronomy. Who gets to rest, and why?
How to Make a Field invisible in Odoo 17Celine George
It is possible to hide or invisible some fields in odoo. Commonly using “invisible” attribute in the field definition to invisible the fields. This slide will show how to make a field invisible in odoo 17.
The Roman Empire A Historical Colossus.pdfkaushalkr1407
The Roman Empire, a vast and enduring power, stands as one of history's most remarkable civilizations, leaving an indelible imprint on the world. It emerged from the Roman Republic, transitioning into an imperial powerhouse under the leadership of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. This transformation marked the beginning of an era defined by unprecedented territorial expansion, architectural marvels, and profound cultural influence.
The empire's roots lie in the city of Rome, founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BCE. Over centuries, Rome evolved from a small settlement to a formidable republic, characterized by a complex political system with elected officials and checks on power. However, internal strife, class conflicts, and military ambitions paved the way for the end of the Republic. Julius Caesar’s dictatorship and subsequent assassination in 44 BCE created a power vacuum, leading to a civil war. Octavian, later Augustus, emerged victorious, heralding the Roman Empire’s birth.
Under Augustus, the empire experienced the Pax Romana, a 200-year period of relative peace and stability. Augustus reformed the military, established efficient administrative systems, and initiated grand construction projects. The empire's borders expanded, encompassing territories from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Euphrates. Roman legions, renowned for their discipline and engineering prowess, secured and maintained these vast territories, building roads, fortifications, and cities that facilitated control and integration.
The Roman Empire’s society was hierarchical, with a rigid class system. At the top were the patricians, wealthy elites who held significant political power. Below them were the plebeians, free citizens with limited political influence, and the vast numbers of slaves who formed the backbone of the economy. The family unit was central, governed by the paterfamilias, the male head who held absolute authority.
Culturally, the Romans were eclectic, absorbing and adapting elements from the civilizations they encountered, particularly the Greeks. Roman art, literature, and philosophy reflected this synthesis, creating a rich cultural tapestry. Latin, the Roman language, became the lingua franca of the Western world, influencing numerous modern languages.
Roman architecture and engineering achievements were monumental. They perfected the arch, vault, and dome, constructing enduring structures like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and aqueducts. These engineering marvels not only showcased Roman ingenuity but also served practical purposes, from public entertainment to water supply.
3. The British Library
Inside the British Library
Space for 1200 readers, around 400,000 visitors per year
Uses low oxygen and robots
Reading room and delivery to London
Document Supply and Storage at Boston Spa
Stockton-on-Tees
Author right to payment each time their books
are borrowed from public libraries.
St Pancras, London, UK
Many books are stored 4 stories below the building
Legal Deposit Library – Reference only
4. Living Knowledge Vision (2015 – 2023)
Custodianship Research Business
Culture Learning International
Document:http://goo.gl/h41wW7 Speech:https://goo.gl/Py9uHK
Roly Keating (Chief Executive Officer of the British Library)
To make our intellectual heritage accessible to everyone,
for research, inspiration and enjoyment and be the most open,
creative and innovative institution of its kind by 2023.
5. Collections – not just books!
> 180*million items
> 0.8* m serial titles
> 8* m stamps
> 14* m books
> 3* m sound recordings
> 4* m maps
> 1.6* m musical scores
> 0.3* m manuscripts
> 60* m patents
King’s Library *Estimates
13. Competitions
Awards
Projects
Tell us your ideas of what to do with our digital content
Show us what you have already done with our digital
content in research, artistic, commercial and learning and
teaching categories
Talk to us about working on collaborative projects
14. Getting to the heart of it
British Library Labs works with researchers on their specific
problems, trying to assess how widely this problem is felt.
With their help, we talk to communities of researchers and
try to pinpoint what they need as opposed to what they think
they need to ask us.
15. Researchers often ask for all the content
we have.
What does that mean for digitised items
in practice?
28. Iterative crowdsourcing?
(The term is borrowed from Mia Ridge.)
1. Crowdsource broad facts and subcollections of related items emerge.
2. No 'one-size-fits-all': Subcollections allow for more focussed curation.
GOTO 1
29.
30.
31. SherlockNet: Competition Winner 2016
Karen Wang, Luda Zhao and Brian Do
Using Convolutional Neural Networks to Automatically Tag and Caption
the British Library Flickr Commons 1 million Image Collection
12 categories
>20 million tags added
>100,000 captions
bit.ly/sherlocknet
Pooled surrounding
OCR text on page
from similar images
Used Microsoft COCO (photographs) &
British Museum Prints and Drawings
collections as training sets.
Tags Captions
32. Artistic / Creative Works
http://goo.gl/dM8ie
A
Mario Klingeman (2015)
David Normal 2014 and 2015
Kris Hoffman (2016)
https://goo.gl/Qilqq
T
Jiayi Chong 2016 Ling Low 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcOP1E5bRE0
https://www.facebook.com/RealmlandStory/
Paul Rand Pierce 2016
A Hat on the Ground Spells
trouble
Tragic Looking
Women
44 Men who Look 44
(Notice the direction faces)
33. Imaginary Cities – BL Labs Project 16-17
Michael Takeo Magruder
https://goo.gl/4ARwTy
An artistic exploration seeking to create provocative fictional cityscapes for the
Information Age from the British Library’s digital collection of historic urban maps
56. Infancy of understanding
Large-scale analysis of text is
evolving but young.
Exasperating situation where
‘black boxes’ of algorithms are
used to draw conclusions.
http://www.scottbot.net/HIAL/?p=41271
57. “Black Boxes”:
a misnomer
It is legitimate and useful to use code
that you could not write.
It is not legitimate to simply believe the
‘label’ on the side of the box.
E.g. “Sentiment Analysis” is often nothing
of the sort.
58. Quoting Scott Weingart: (emphasis mine)
● Do sentiment analysis algorithms agree with one another enough to be considered
valid?
● Do sentiment analysis results agree with humans performing the same task enough to
be considered valid?
● Is Jockers’ instantiation of aggregate sentiment analysis validly measuring anything
besides random fluctuations?
● Is aggregate sentiment analysis, by human or machine, a valid method for revealing plot
arcs?
● If aggregate sentiment analysis finds common but distinct patterns and they don’t seem to map
onto plot arcs, can they still be valid measurements of anything at all?
● Can a subjective concept, whether measured by people or machines, actually be
considered invalid or valid?
(again from http://www.scottbot.net/HIAL/?p=41271)
63. Open Licensed Digital Content?
15% Openly
Licensed
Around 10%* available online
Working through
Breakdown by collection*
Manuscripts 59%
Books 9%
Maps and Views 7%
Newspapers 3%
Archives and Records 3%
Paintings, Prints and Drawings 2%
*Based on digitisation projects
Largest proportion of funding
Public / Private Partnership
15%* Openly Licensed
85%* Available onsite
*Estimates
64. Accessing digital collections onsite
OPEN £
•Have to be ‘onsite’
•Need to be security cleared for some collections
– Hence ‘Researcher in Residence Model’
•Permission required (depending on ‘story’ of collection)
•Content on various media formats
•20 % re-use of material for non commercial research for some
collections
•We are learning ‘pathways’ so that this becomes ‘everyday’ to
provide onsite access in the future
65. Typical pattern of research for Labs
•Finding invisible things in ‘messy’ historical
data
•Unearthing / unlocking hidden histories and
data to stimulate new research
•Celebrating hidden histories / data creatively
through events, art and performance
66. Finding things in messy OCR text
Mrs Folly
• Clean up some manually
• Get human ‘ground truth’
• Write code to find things
reliably in it automatically
• Try code on messy content
• Tweak if necessary
• Digital ‘lasso’ around content
• Human sift through
Mrs Folly
67. Code: Machine Learning / Reading
•Analogies to how humans read / learn
•Machines acquire ‘knowledge’ / data and use that knowledge
/ data to make sense / identify patterns
•Labs doing this on a case by case basis so methods can vary
•Need computational AND human effort
•Legalities of this process being ‘ironed’ out with publishers,
•Often a misunderstood area…
•Computers look for ‘patterns’ or the ‘essence’ of something
68.
69.
70.
71.
72. Katrina Navickas (2015)
Political Meetings Mapper
http://politicalmeetingsmapper.co
.uk https://goo.gl/Qq78Oa
Labs Symposium
2015
https://goo.gl/BSA3be
Interview
2015
The Chartist
Newspaper
http://goo.gl/vOLSn
H
Chartist Monster Meeting
Chartists Walking Tour and
Re-enactment London
74. Virtual Infrastructure for OCR text
OCR text scraped from
digitised newspapers
and in cloud
Jupyter notebook
Write python code and results
in browser
http://jupyter.org
Access available for researchers ‘in residence’
76. Black Abolitionist Performances & their
Presence in Britain (2016) – Hannah-Rose Murray
Aberdeen Journal, 5 February 1851 “Fugitive Slaves”
Aberdeen Journal, 14 April 1847
“Frederick Douglass, The Emancipated Slave”
Frederick
Douglass
Ellen
Craft
Josiah
Henson
Ida B
Wells
A Performance by
Joe Williams &
Martelle Edinborough
http://frederickdouglassinbritain.com/
77.
78. Use of Overproof / OCR Correction?
Re-OCR with
ABBY FineReader?
https://www.abbyy.com/en-gb/
http://overproof.projectcomputing.com/
79.
80. Surveyed a set
portion of the
collection for words
we were interested
in, and those 1 and
2 ‘distant’ from
these (Levenshtein
distance).
84. Data-mining verse in 18th
Century newspapers
BL Labs Project 16-17, Jennifer Batt
https://goo.gl/5Akthd
Slides courtesy Jennifer BattJennifer Batt @ the BL on World Poetry Day
85. What thoj' among ourrelves, with too much Heat, or t
W: fweutimes.wongle, wvhen we Ihould debate, W –
(A confequential Ill which Freedom drawvs, fl t
A bad Efficf, but from a noble Caufe) t
We can with univeifal Zcal advance, to
To cutb the faithlefs Arrogancccof V rance. hi
Dublin Journal
10-14 September,
1745
Slides courtesy Jennifer Batt
86. Verse: 81% lines begin
with initial capital
Prose: 52% lines begin
with initial capital
Westminster Journal 3
March 1745
Slides courtesy Jennifer Batt
90. In Summary:
- Context about how an digitised image came to be and
why it was scanned is both crucial to understand and
sometimes crucial to hide.
- aka Opening up large collections brings its own issues.
- Presentation shapes perception.
- Too much trust in black boxes algorithms, like search
engines or social feed suggestions.
- So little of our history is online that there is a natural bias.
The gaps are being filled in with less credible sources.
- It still might have happened even if you cannot google
it, and vice versa!
