OuLiPo Transcriptions

I believe I mentioned it before, but this year I'm participating in a large transcription project for a new OuLiPo research group. They are digitizing the early OuLiPo documents (meeting minutes, early texts, etc.), a project for which they are outsourcing free labor from young researchers like me. My group is the "jeunes chercheurs anglophones" or the "young anglophone researchers" group and I've already completed one of the transcriptions since I've been here in Berlin. Basically, my job is this: 

1) I am given scanned documents in a shared file system, which I then download. 

2) I type up everything into a Microsoft Word document

3) I assign different "styles" to various aspects of the text. For instance, if they mention a specific constraint, I use the style field "notions" (which has been predetermined by the organizers of the project) to make it whatever color they have designated for oulipian notions. 

4) I upload my finished Word document back to the shared doc page. 

What is the purpose of this, you might ask? This will make the OuLiPo's early documents available to anyone who needs them, whether or not they are near the archives (which seem to be dispersed among several libraries in Paris and also partly in the OuLiPo's definitively provisional/provisionally definitive secretary's attic—he is, by the way, the same person, Marcel Benabou). It will also make these documents searchable in the database, not just by word, but by notion, oulipian, author, title, etc. Basically, rather than sift through a bunch of typewritten pages from the 1960's, those studying the OuLiPo will be able to say: I'm interested in the lipogram...where was it mentioned in the meeting minutes? 

Why am I doing this slave labor? Well, first off it will benefit me in the long run to have the archives digitized. Second, I am being sent scanned versions of Oulipian meetings, so it's rather exciting for me! Third, I get to participate in a project with many other academics—OuLiPo specialists, graduate students, etc.—which will make me feel like I'm participating in a larger conversation about my field. All in all, I'd say it's an excellent way to spend a few hours a week!

And in case anyone wants a sample of what I've been transcribing, here is the definition of "philosophy" according to Latis (an Oulipian with many, many pseudonyms): 

— Si je t’explique quelque chose que j’ai compris et que tu comprends, ce n’est pas de la philosophie ; 
— Si je t’explique quelque chose que j’ai compris et que tu ne comprends pas, ce n’est pas de la philosophie ; 
— Si je t’explique quelque chose que je n’ai pas compris et que tu comprends, ce n’est pas de la philosophie ; 
— Si je t’explique quelque chose que je n’ai pas compris et que tu ne comprends pas, c’est de la philosophie.

Translation (mine): 

— If I explain something to you that I understand and that you understand, that's not philosophy. 

— If I explain something to you that I understand and that you don't understand, that's not philosophy. 

— If I explain something to you that I don't understand and that you understand, that's not philosophy. 

— If I explain something to you that I don't understand and that you don't understand, that's philosophy.