Difficult Texts: Yiddish DP Publications and the Digital Future

• In Event: Yiddish Texts and/within the Digital Commons

Abstract

Underresearched for decades, Yiddish publications produced by Jewish Displaced Persons are attracting increased popular and scholarly attention. In part, this is due to the access and visibility provided by digitization. However, because many Jewish DPs lacked access to Hebrew type, a significant proportion of these publications were hand-scribed or printed using Latin characters and Polish orthography. In an online world increasingly reliant upon searchability, how are scholarly and cultural organizations providing access to texts that don’t ‘play well’ with OCR technology and other digital research tools?

Author

• David Morrill Schlitt, Western Washington University