Field Journal Fix-Up

Update: December 2025

We are reflecting on almost six months of working on Field Journal Fix-Up! Here are some quick statistics:

• 85 field journals were previously identified for this project (though more remain in our collection to be identified)
• 47 field journals have successfully been digitized, uploaded to Zooniverse, and transcribed by volunteers
• 26 field journals were successfully transcribed and added to Biodiversity Heritage Library, where they are freely accessible and text-searchable!

See below for the current list of all journals available with their transcripts on Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). Click on a title to go to the journal's title page where you can view individual volumes on the right-hand side. Keep in mind that the final transcripts on BHL probably contain errors. If you catch a mistake in the text and think you can help provide a more accurate transcription, you can complete BHL's feedback form and a staff member will address the issue.

Completed field journals:

• Second Dolan Asia Expedition Diaries, volumes 1-4
• Francis Bond Venezuela expedition notebook, 1911
• Samuel Washington Woodhouse Papers (some volumes not complete)
• James McBride's scrapbook of articles on the hollow earth theory lectures of John Symmes
• William Bartram Diary
• Joseph Leidy Diaries and Field Notebooks
• Morgan Hebard field notes, 1904-1937

💖 Thank you as always for your incredible dedication to increasing access to our field journals! 💖

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Update: September 2025

Our volunteers are making amazing progress on the field journals! More transcriptions have been added to Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) and can be viewed at the links below. BHL's feedback page allows viewers to alert staff to transcript errors, so we can continue to improve our transcripts over time. Our project is ongoing with no planned end-date, so we will do our best to continue adding field journals as time allows. Thank you to everyone for helping!

• Francis Bond, Venezuela expedition notebook, 1911
• Samuel Washington Woodhouse, Central America Expedition Diary volume 1, February 19, 1853 - July 2, 1853
• James McBride's scrapbook of articles on the hollow earth theory lectures of John Symmes
• Joseph Leidy, Field trip notebook 1871-1888
• Joseph Leidy, Notes on Animal Life 1874-1890
• Morgan Hebard, Entomological Records: 1904

Best,
Briana

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Update: July 2025

Thank you to everyone who worked on our William Bartram Diary, volume 3!

Thanks to your efforts, the transcription is available on Biodiversity Heritage Library (click here to view). Click on 'Show Text' in the right-hand corner to see the transcriptions provided by AI and our wonderful Zooniverse volunteers!

We will continue adding more journals over the next few weeks and figuring out ways to improve our data aggregation process. Check back for updates!

Best,
Briana Giasullo and the research team