2.2 Unique Identifiers

Description

Unique identifiers are one-of-a-kind names for instances of a particular text by Whitman or a collection of texts. Every poem, collection of poems and work (for an explanation of "work" vs. "document" click here) must have a unique id.

Creating and assigning ids

Basic formula to create an id:
3-character library code/document-type-identifier+ 5-digit number (assigned in ascending order). Each of these fields should be separated by a dot. You must also consider what kinds of material you are transcribing and encoding. Specifically:

Manuscripts always begin with a 3-character library code
Printed works always begin with "ppp"
Works always begin with "xxx"

Examples:
uva.00001 (a manuscript from UVa special collections)
ppp.00001 (a printed poem or collection)
xxx.00001 (the "work" of Leaves of Grass)

ID database

We use a database to track the unique identifiers and our workflow as we transcribe, encode, and upload manuscripts. This database can be accessed here.

Placement of ids

The unique identifier can and should appear in two places in the TEI header:
  • At the TEI root element in the very first tag:
<TEI.2 id="uva.00001">
  • In the <publicationStmt>:
<publicationStmt>
<idno>uva.00001</idno>

In the case of editions of Leaves of Grass or other groups of related works, each individual poem can also be given a unique id as an attribute in the <div> element.

For example, in an edition of Leaves of Grass,

<div1 type="book" id="ppp.00001">
<lg1 type="poem" id="ppp.00002">
You'll notice that no distinctions are made in the id's which differentiate a whole work and a part of a work.

Transcription file names

To name the file, simply add the file extension .sgm. Example: uva.00023.sgm

Image file names

To name an image file which accompanies any text, simply use the unique id for the top level of the text (i.e., for an ed. of LoG, use the id for the whole work, and do not attempt to match up ids for particular poems with particular page images), add a dot, a three-digit number and the appropriate file extension. For example: