Snail Scribe Archive

Snail Scribe Archive opens the Field Museum's handwritten mollusk ledgers to volunteer transcription. You copy specimen details field by field, preserving the quirks of the original record so the collection can become searchable and shareable. It is slow, exacting work with a satisfying museum-backroom payoff.

What is Snail Scribe Archive?

This is the rare typing task that begins with a century-old snail and ends in a global database. Each subject is an image from a Field Museum invertebrate ledger, and each workflow asks for a particular slice of the specimen's paper trail: what it was, where it came from, when it was collected, or who recorded it. The rules reward restraint. Keep original spelling and Roman numerals, ignore crossed-out text, leave genuine blanks blank, and use the unclear flag when the ink wins. Multiple volunteers tackle the same page so their versions can later be compared. The museum plans to move the finished records into its own database and wider biodiversity repositories, turning handwriting that currently lives on a shelf into data that researchers can search.

What you can do there

• Transcribe handwritten mollusk specimen records
• Flag or research difficult scientific names

Why we picked it

The pleasure here is archival rather than flashy: a stubborn loop of ink becomes a usable place, date, or scientific name. The project makes a huge museum collection feel oddly intimate while giving careful readers a concrete way to unlock it.

How to get the most from it

Choose a workflow, read its tutorial, and zoom in before typing. Transcribe exactly what the ledger says, including apparent misspellings and Roman numerals; skip crossed-out text and line breaks. For a baffling scientific name, try the linked MolluscaBase search or mark the entry unclear.

Good to know

A laptop, desktop, or larger tablet is recommended; phone-sized ledger reading may be awkward. The public completion figures disagreed during this check, and the live workflow was not tested. Sign-in is required for personal statistics, while account requirements for submitting work remain unverified.

Who made it, and when?

Field Museum Invertebrate Zoology Collection team is the credited creator or organization. The earliest supported launch date we found is October 7, 2025.