This started in an archive.
Historical records are full of useful information, but getting that information out of scans, handwriting, old OCR, and incomplete metadata takes a lot of work.
Kettle grew out of that work. We build software for the space between a page image and a record someone can search, cite, and reuse.
Archives expose the hard parts.
A historical collection may contain five file formats, uncertain names, missing dates, poor scans, and records held by several institutions. Solving those problems produces tools that apply well beyond archives.
Keep the context
A fact means more when the page, document, and collection reference stay with it.
Do the hard middle
Read the page, repair the layout, normalize the record, and connect it to related material.
Record changes
Corrections and new identifications belong in the record history.
The work has three parts.
Process the collection
Capture, OCR and handwriting recognition, page reconstruction, normalization, and record extraction.
Search and research
Documents, people, events, claims, relationships, citations, and tools for working with them.
Check IDs and history
A public method for record IDs, signatures, manifests, and change events. The specification is still in development.
Institutions keep the source collection. Kettle processes the records and provides the tools needed to use and check the resulting data.
A historian who builds software.
Benjamin Gallon founded Kettle Systems after running into these problems in archival and digital humanities work. His background combines historical research, collection work, and production software.
Kettle is based in Spokane Valley, Washington.
- EducationHistory BA (Honors), Eastern Washington University
- RoleDigital Humanities Project Lead, Spokane Valley Heritage Museum
- ResearchHistoriography, archival systems, and digital humanities
- LocationSpokane Valley, Washington
Keep the archive local. Connect the records.
We want institutions to compare and verify records across collections while keeping control of their source material. That starts with reliable processing and clear collection agreements.