Digital Indexing is a method of defining starting and ending points to an audio or video and then describing that portion of media in a set of notes that can be searched through keywords and control words. The results of this method are a set of searchable notes and the ability to instantly watch the exact corresponding portion of audio and video. The following methods were designed and developed by the Illinois State Museum and Randforce Associates using Interclipper© software. Interclipper creates both the time stamps for starting and ending points as well as contains the associated notes data.

Segments

The goal of digital indexing for this project was to get the researcher or user within the “ball park”. This means a user will be within no more than 12 minutes of the information they are interested in.

In order to get users in the ball park, Segments were created. A Segment is a 10 to 13 minute portion of audio or video with associated notes. They are usually defined by a natural break in the conversation or a switch in interview topic. Segments will run consecutively through the entire interview and each one can cover numerous topics. The notes for a segment look like:

CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: FAMILY: CHILDHOOD WORK: CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Names, Places, & Dates: Bob Trout; Lily Schoolhouse; Raymond, IL; Vignos School District; Honey Bend; Hazel Green School

CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: One-room-schoolhouse; School Activities: Attended Lilly Schoolhouse, a one-room school (beginning at 6yrs old), which disappeared with consolidation. Did not have kindergarten. School never had more than 50 students. Venue District School. Description of "reading aloud". After bell they called role. After role call the "primer class" (equivalent to 1st grade class) read aloud after every bell. After student got through primer book then they passed into 1st reader on through 8th reader. Much learning accomplished by standing up and reading a loud. Best reader got a "head mark". "I never could stay at the head." Spelling competition between schools. Went to school until he was 22 to finish 8th grade. Had to quit school at age 15 to help family get by.

FAMILY: Men's Work; Farm-Related Work; Forestry; Family Finances: Father had 7 children. Had to work in timber because "li'l ole 40 didn't provide enough."

CHILDHOOD WORK: Forestry: Worked with father and older brother in timber industry making poles, fence slats, etc.

CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: One room schoolhouse; Coal Stove; Transportation: Went back to school (Hazel Green Schoolhouse) at age of 18 to finish 8th grade. The man who taught the school was not much older than Bert. Geometry was the last math course of the 8th grade. Older students studied American History, not younger students. Teacher was studying law who was "a fiend for dates". One-room-schoolhouse used coal-burning stove. Older boys carried coal & stoked stove. Walked 3.5 miles to Vineyard school. Another brilliant teacher was a "dope fiend". He used the "hickory" not just for discipline, but to enforce learning. This teacher worked through the summer as part of threshing crew.

The first line of the notes contains control words. Control words come from a compiled list of words. In this project since all of the interviews are based on Agriculture, the wordlist was compiled as interviews were processed and the Library of Congress wordlists were referenced for the best terms. Each control word in the first line refers to a paragraph below and will help the user search for broad topics discussed within interviews.

The second line is called Names, Places & Dates. This line contains information such as specific dates discussed, entered by decade, and specific places or proper names. During the search this line offers the researcher the option to find specific places/names or dates discussed in the interview. 

The final portion of the Segment notes are the actual notes. Each paragraph starts a new topic. The topic is again defined by a control word followed by subcontrol words. Subcontrol words add a little more description to the control word. For example an interviewee talking about tractors may be defined as: FARM MACHINERY(control word) Tractor(subcontrol word). Following the control and sub control words is a brief statement explaining what is being discussed in this portion of the interview. The statements are keyword searchable for the user.

Story Clips

While getting within 10 minutes of pertinent information is good for the serious researcher who will devote hours to reading and listening to an interview, this project also wanted to serve the user who wanted to make a quick stop, find a catchy quote, and move on. For this user we developed what has been named Story Clips. Story Clips are small portions of audio or video that range between 1 to 5 minutes in length. They can occur anywhere within an interview and do not have to be back-to-back. Story Clips are meant to highlight the extremely interesting portions of the interview. Notes for a story clip look like:

CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Names, Places, & Dates: Raymond, IL;

CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: Teachers; Discipline;  Another brilliant teacher was a "dope fiend". He used the "hickory" not just for discipline, but to enforce learning. This teacher worked through the summer as part of a threshing crew.

Note the first line contains a single control word. This is the control word for the entire portion of audio. Story clips will generally only ever cover one topic, so they rarely require more than one control word. This word also corresponds with the notes section.

The second line is called Names, Places & Dates. This line contains information such as  specific dates discussed, entered by decade, and specific places or proper names. During the search this line offers the researcher the option to find specific places/names or dates discussed in the interview. 

The final portion of the Story Clip is the actual notes. The paragraph starts with a new topic. The topic is again defined by a control word followed by subcontrol words. Subcontrol words that add a little more description to the control word. For example an interviewee talking about tractors may be defined as: FARM MACHINERY(control word) Tractor(subcontrol word). Following the control and sub control words is a brief statement explaining what is being discussed in this portion of the interview. The statements are keyword searchable for the user.