Within the digital humanities, crowdsourcing is the methodology of recruiting volunteers from the general public to engage in cultural research via digital platforms. The purpose of it is to encourage volunteers to work with researchers, archivists and academics to gather information that serves the greater cultural heritage community by gaining and spreading knowledge. Crowdsourcing is best suited for digital projects that involve transcription. Crowdsourcing transcription can be a successful endeavor as long as its digital interface is easy to understand and accessible. 

The Library of Congress’ By the People initiative is a perfect example of a crowdsourcing project that is easy to understand and accessible. Users do not have to create an account to begin their transcription services. The project is up front about which transcription projects are in progress and/or completed. The project also provides easy to understand parameters for transcription. Instructions are provided for how users can get started, transcribe, review and tag. A History Hub discussion forum is also provided for users in case they come across additional issues with the transcription process. Additionally, it is helpful that the project staffs a room of professionals who can monitor the platform. 

The digital humanities can benefit from crowdsourcing in that it can transform the way cultural heritage artifacts are taught and learned about. For the most part, crowdsourcing allows more people to access artifacts and institutions. Plus, first hand experience with transcription enables volunteers to pursue further knowledge or engagement with a specific subject matter.