The "Promptuarium genealogicum" by Carl Keller-Escher is a monumental work, spanning 2,800 pages and detailing the genealogies of 258 historic families from Zürich, with roots tracing back to the 16th century. Thanks to a dedicated Citizen Science project conducted by the Zentralbibliothek Zürich, this vast trove of genealogical information has been meticulously transcribed, offering a valuableresource for anyone interested in Zürich’s historical families and their social histories.  However, while the data has been transcribed and organized, there’s a challenge ahead: connecting these historical records with modern biographical databases and visualizing the intricate relationships within these families. We need your expertise to bring these connections to life!

Your Mission:

Dive into Keller-Escher’s genealogical data and help identify and connect the individuals recorded in this work to biographical databases like VIAF, GND, and others. Then, take these connections and create Linked Open Data (LOD) to visualize the complex web of relationships that bind Zürich’s historic families together.

What We're Looking For:

1. Prompt Engineers and coders: Using artificial intelligence, we will try to extract and structure data describing persons mentioned in the transcribed data. To this end, your task will be to find prompts for the AI to structure the data as best as possible. Some experience with ChatGPT is all you need to help.
2. Historical Detectives: We need participants with a knack for research and a passion for history to identify the individuals in Keller-Escher’s work. You’ll search for biographical data from various sources, such as VIAF and GND, and match these with the names recorded in the genealogy.
3. Data Integrators & Creators: Once the historical detectives have identified the persons, we need participants skilled in data modeling and creation to produce Linked Open Data (LOD). Your task will be to create and structure the data, linking these individuals and their relationships in a way that can be easily visualized and explored.
4. Visualization Experts: Help us transform the structured genealogical data into engaging visualizations. By mapping out relationships and family trees, you'll make it easier for researchers and the public to explore the rich genealogical and social history of Zürich.

Why Participate?

• Bring History to Life: Contribute to creating a living, interconnected web of Zürich’s past, making it accessible and understandable to everyone.
• Learn and Innovate: Gain hands-on experience with historical data, Linked Open Data (LOD), and advanced visualization techniques, all while working on a meaningful project.
• Collaborate and Connect: Work alongside a passionate team of historians, data scientists, and visualization experts, building connections that could lead to future opportunities.

Join us in this challenge to illuminate Zürich’s genealogical and social history and create tools that help exploring the past!

Link to our data set:

Etherpad:

https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/GLAMhack24\_Keller-Escher