HANDS-RX2: Handwritten Archival Data Structuring with Recognition Extra squared

Public Summary
HANDS-RX2 explores how small communities in the global south can make large-scale automatic transcription and data enrichment both feasible and affordable. Building on previous projects, the project will digitize and transcribe Sint Maarten’s civil records, extracting entities such as names, dates, and occupations to create an open database. The project tests open-source alternatives to costly commercial tools, aiming to maintain high quality while reducing expenses. By providing clear documentation and involving local citizen scientists, HANDS-RX2 supports sustainable, independent transcription efforts in small island settings of the Dutch Caribbean.

Institutions

Radboud University | International Institute of Social History | University of St. Martin

Keywords

Handwritten text recognition; Caribbean history; Open data; Entity recognition

The above projects have gone through the TDCC-SSH Challenge Call 2025 process. It has been approved by the NWO in May 2026 and will start within 6 months of approval.

Did you know that we have a Zenodo community? It is a virtual space where TDCC-SSH projects can share deliverables and other outputs from their collaborative projects. Keep an eye on TDCC SSH Zenodo for outputs from our running projects.