About the Talk
As archives digitize more content than ever before, the challenge of transforming handwritten, inconsistent, and unstructured documents into usable data remains a major hurdle. This talk explores how AI-assisted technologies — particularly large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT — are transforming this process by enabling faster, more accurate, and scalable transcription and analysis of archival materials.
Using a fascinating case study from a 1930s plantation tourism guest register, this presentation demonstrates how AI can transcribe complex handwritten records, structure the data for research, and drastically reduce the time and labor traditionally required for such tasks. It will also explore broader applications of these techniques across a variety of archival materials and gain insight into how these technologies can unlock hidden stories in the archive.
About the Author
Loren S. Moulds is the Head of Digital Scholarship & Preservation and Digital Collections Librarian at the University of Virginia School of Law, where he leads the development, interpretation, and management of the Law Library’s digital scholarship projects and oversees the preservation and accessibility of its archival and digital collections. As a member of the University’s General Faculty, Loren collaborates closely with UVA’s digital scholarship and library technology communities to support innovative research and digital initiatives.
A historian of twentieth-century American Political Development, Loren received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Virginia in 2014. He also holds an MSIS with a focus on Digital Archives and Data Management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Loren’s work integrates emerging technologies into historical research and archival practice, enabling new approaches to the transcription, structuring, and analysis of complex historical data. His ongoing research and digital initiatives explore how AI and computational tools can help unlock and interpret archival materials at scale, broadening access to historical collections and fostering new avenues for inquiry.