Archives and Special Collections

Digital Menus Collection

There are three parts to a digital menu –

1) the scans of each page;
2) the transcriptions of each scan; and
3) the metadata (i.e. information ABOUT the menu) to provide access to the menu.

Today you will be TRANSCRIBING.

Not only will you be providing one portion of the digital menu, but you will also practice the experience of READING a primary source.

• The process of transcribing is akin to doing a close reading of a primary source.
• Think about what you notice, what you can tell about the restaurant, the time period, the location, etc. from the menu itself. 
• What did you learn from reading it closely that you wouldn’t have noticed just by glancing at it?
• I strongly encourage you not to research it today. Instead, learn from the menu itself.
  DO NOT GOOGLE!

What is transcribing?

Transcribing is recording exactly what is written (no translating or interpreting…) for the purpose of keyword searching the text of the menu in a digital collection.

How To Create a Transcription for the menu you chose:

1) OPEN any word processing application

2) TRANSCRIBE

• Enter every word, in relatively the same order
• Formatting does not need to be exact, however a sense of similar order should be maintained
• Try to use breaks to match the menu
• KEEP EVERYTHING ALIGNED TO THE LEFT - DO NOT USE THE TAB KEY; DO NOT CREATE COLUMNS
• No accent marks; no special characters  [any symbol on your keyboard is ok to use]
• Use punctuation marks, capital letters, etc. as is on the menu
• Keep prices (no need to keep the ellipses, though…)
• Retain original spelling. (Spell exactly as written on the menu, even if it is wrong, even if the word is now commonly spelled differently.) You can add the correct spelling in brackets after the misspelled word
• Also transcribe any handwritten notes (some will be illegible….do the best you can)

3) SAVE

• See below for how to name the files
• Save to DESKTOP
• **When finished, email files to Nicole n_semenc@culinary.edu
• If you share the document from OneDrive or Google, make sure that I will have permission to open and download the file

File names:

menu_[insert menu number found on back of menu]_001     For page 1

example:

menu_27-99_001        use for page 1
menu_27-99_002        use for Page 2
menu_27-99_003        use for Page 3
menu_27-99_x01        use for Attachment 1
menu_27-99_x02        use for Attachment 2

Objectives

• Learn about the Archives as a resource in the library.
• Explore and examine a selection of menus from the collection. 
• Make observations of the menu as primary source, reflect on assumptions made, and pose questions about the menu.
• Recognize that the creation of historical knowledge is interpretive.

Transcribing

• The process of transcribing is akin to doing a close reading of a primary source.
  Think about what you notice, what you can tell about the restaurant, the time period, the location from the menu itself. 
  What do learn from reading it closely that you wouldn’t have noticed just by glancing at it?
  I strongly encourage you not to google it today. Instead, learn from the menu first hand.

Reflection

• What did you notice from doing the transcription that you might not have otherwise noticed just by glancing over it?

  From your observation of the menu, what do you know about the restaurant, the location, the time period, the illustrations, the clientele, etc.?

  These menus existed in a particular time and place.  As you transcribed, what assumptions did you catch yourself making about the menu?

• What questions do you have about the menu?  What would you like to investigate further?