Digital London

Abstract

PurposeTo outline the conceptual and technical difficulties encountered, as well as the opportunities created, when developing an interlinked collection of web‐based digitised primary sources on eighteenth century London.Design/methodology/approachAs a pilot study for a larger project, a variety of primary sources, including the Old Bailey Proceedings (OBP), were digitised and then interlinked using names. The paper outlines the solutions adopted for dealing with uncertainties in record linkage and for displaying a range of different historical sources while preserving their archival integrity.FindingsRecords should be linked with varying degrees of probability, allowing users to participate in the choice of which records truly concern the same individuals.Research limitations/implicationsFurther work is necessary to create mechanisms for allowing users to specify levels of certainty in record linkage, and to develop methods for searching and displaying results when working with multiple collections of archival sources.Originality/valueThis paper shows the potential of combining XML markup with flexible record linkage strategies to interlink complex collections of digitised sources. The resulting source will allow historians to ask new historical questions; in this case concerning the role played by individuals in shaping the evolution of social welfare provision in London.