Thread by @BL_MadeDigital

Good morning, @amy_jsolomons here ready for my #TwitterTakeover. My PhD with @LivUniHistory explores 18th c. female readers in @NT_Libraries. For the past 3 months I’ve been on a @britishlibrary PhD placement with @BL_MadeDigital.

I have been working with @BL_MadeDigital to make more of the Library’s digitised content freely available online. I’ve also been promoting the Evanion collection via blogs and an online Exhibit.
Join me today to find out more! 👇bl.uk/projects/herit…

My first week involved training on the digitisation workflow used in the Library. Projects go through conservation before being digitised. We then perform image quality checks, gather metadata and ingest the images for display in the @universalviewer in #IIIF.

My main project has been working on preparing the Evanion collection for display online. Henry Evanion (1832-1905) was a 19th-century conjuror, entertainer & avid collector of ephemera.
📷 Evan.2587. @BLprintheritage access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ar…
➡️bl.uk/collection-gui…

I worked with Laurence, Project Analyst in @BL_MadeDigital to assess images in the Evanion collection. This involved using DROID from @UkNatArchives to analyse the dataset for file format identification and for duplicates using checksums.
➡️nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-ma…

Once I had identified duplicates I could then focus on unique images in the collection & perform image quality control checks to make sure the best items were chosen for display online. This was one of my favourite tasks!
📷Evan.1903.
Evan.339.➡️access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ar…

The Evanion collection contains ephemera relating to all aspects of #19thCentury life. My blog post for @UntoldLives explored baking advertisements like Freeman’s Delicious Pudding Powder from 1885 (Evan.6228. @BLprintheritage): blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/20…

I attended @BL_DigiSchol ‘An Introduction to OCR and HTR’ which included training on using @Transkribus, #OCR & E-Scriptorium. Huge thank you to @RossiAtanassova too for providing me with an introduction to #DigitalCuration & #IIIF
See more ➡️bl.uk/projects/digit…

Part of my training involved a #IIIF course to create my own #Exhibit on ephemera relating to female entertainers in the Evanion collection. Here’s a #SneakPeek ahead of it going live later this week!

Why don’t you have a go at creating your own #Exhibit using #IIIF enabled content on the @universalviewer? Check out the collection guide for some inspiration: bl.uk/collection-gui…. We would love to see any you create!
exhibit.so💻📚📜

I’ve been really lucky to learn more about other areas through tours, training sessions and meetings with staff. It was great to find out more about @BL_Learning and shadow a fantastic 'Write Here' session. Students were so engaged in the collections!
➡️bl.uk/events/write-h…

I’ve loved working with the fantastic team @BL_MadeDigital. It has been great to be able to take time away from my PhD to gain valuable experience, learn more about #DigitalScholarship & broaden my understanding of careers in the #GLAM sector. Thank you everyone in the team!

I would really recommend a PhD placement to anyone wanting to broaden their skills & explore new areas. If you would like to do a PhD placement then keep an eye on the @britishlibrary website for news of placements in 2023-2024.
➡️bl.uk/research-colla…