European IMPACT (Improving Access to Text) project

According to the front page of the European IMPACT (Improving Access to Text) project, "IMPACT is a project funded by the European Commission. It aims to significantly improve access to historical text and to take away the barriers that stand in the way of the mass digitisation of the European cultural heritage." Essentially, the project is developing a better OCR (optical character recognition) engine and, because no software is as yet better than the human eye and mind, "A full web-based collaborative correction system: this web-based platform, suitable for massive volunteer participation, validates and corrects OCR results. In this way, it enables the general public to help with large scale digitisation efforts." (IMPACT Tools).