Progress update, 13 to 19 December 2014

Welcome along to the Transcribe Bentham progress update for the period 13 to 19 December 2014, during which time further excellent progress has been made by TB volunteers.

11,950 manuscripts have now been transcribed or partially-transcribed, which is an increase of 40 on this time last week. We continue to close in on the 12,000th transcript, which will make a very pleasant Christmas present!

Of these transcripts, 10,858 (91%) have been checked and approved by TB staff. We’ve made a good dent in the backlog of submissions, having checked 172 transcripts this week, and we thank volunteers for their ongoing patience as we work through them.

The more detailed state of progress is as follows:

Box	No. of manuscripts worked on	No. of manuscripts in box	Completion
Box 1	239	794	30%
Box 2	470	753	62%
Box 4	1	694	1%
Box 5	199	290	68%
Box 7	0	167	0%
Box 8	2	284	1%
Box 9	30	266	11%
Box 15	77	914	9%
Box 18	4	192	2%
Box 27	350	350	100%
Box 29	22	122	18%
Box 30	1	193	1%
Box 31	18	302	6%
Box 34	38	398	9%
Box 35	286	439	65%
Box 36	33	418	7%
Box 37	31	487	6%
Box 38	64	424	15%
Box 39	11	282	3%
Box 41	84	528	14%
Box 42	88	910	9%
Box 44	52	201	25%
Box 50	167	198	83%
Box 51	379	940	40%
Box 57	18	420	4%
Box 62	57	565	10%
Box 63	137	345	39%
Box 70	306	350	87%
Box 71	663	663	100%
Box 72	613	664	92%
Box 73	151	151	100%
Box 79	199	199	100%
Box 95	126	147	85%
Box 96	534	539	99%
Box 97	131	296	44%
Box 98	220	499	44%
Box 100	194	422	43%
Box 106	26	581	4%
Box 107	501	538	93%
Box 110	6	671	1%
Box 115	276	307	89%
Box 116	505	864	58%
Box 117	363	853	42%
Box 118	244	880	27%
Box 119	530	990	53%
Box 120	25	686	3%
Box 121	133	526	24%
Box 122	304	717	41%
Box 123	31	443	7%
Box 124	1	383	1%
Box 139	40	40	100%
Box 141	1	381	1%
Box 149	4	581	1%
Box 150	249	972	25%
Box 169	189	728	25%
Add MS 537	729	744	97%
Add MS 538	658	858	76%
Add MS 539	833	948	87%
Add MS 540	50	1012	4%
Add MS 541	257	1258	20%
Overall	11,950	31,767	36%

Among the transcripts checked this week were a series from 1793 in which Bentham discusses what he called ‘conversation tubes’, which he conceived of as a means for which the panopticon prison inspector to communicate from his office with inmates in their cells. Bentham describes how ‘even a whisper was heard perfectly’ through one of these tubes, and that a network of these tubes could be an effectual method of maintaining security. Recalling the Gordon Riots of 1780, Bentham argued that establishment of a ‘chain of Conversation Posts’ could allow the alarm to be raised ‘with a degree of celerity hitherto inconceivable’. Bentham also notes concerns – perhaps anticipating phone-hacking – over securing the secrecy of communication between government ministers and others using conversation tubes. We’re very grateful to Keith Thompson for transcribing these manuscripts!

UCL closes for the Christmas and New Year break on Tuesday 23 December, and re-opens on Monday 5 January. During this time, submissions will not be checked and there may be some delay in responding to messages. We apologise for any inconvenience which this may cause, and thank you again for your patience.

In the meantime, we would like to wish everyone who has contributed to TB during the last twelve months a very happy festive period, and the very best for 2015. Your support of the project is enormously appreciated by us all. TB would be nothing without you and your efforts.