The workshop is part of the COST Action project – The Great Leap and is aimed at scholars who are at an early stage of collecting individual-level death certificates (1800–1950). The goal of this workshop is to assist them in finding solutions to facilitate automatic transcription of records. In any case, students or academics who simply want to learn more about the processes of automatic transcription of records are welcome, also when they are not (yet) part of GREATLEAP. We aim to leverage the extensive experience gained by colleagues who have successfully implemented automatic transcription techniques in the past (e.g. Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands). By pooling efforts and sharing accumulated experience in software development and calibration, the workshop aims to provide faster, more cost-effective, and reliable solutions for those new to these processes. We will bring together a committee of experts who will analyse the applications in advance and collectively propose potential solutions for the cases presented. Another objective of the workshop is to develop guidelines on best practices for automatic transcription of individual-level death certificates.The workshop is fundamentally organized into three parts. The first day will feature presentations by various specialists, including computer scientists, showcasing relevant case studies. It will also include a tutorial session on preparing and editing digital images for later digital recognition. The second day includes the presentation of concrete questions from participants (whether they are or not members of the Cost network), followed by expert feedback and an extended discussion period. The workshop will conclude with a roundtable discussion, resulting in a document on best practices for automatic transcription of records.

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