The Data entry form - The administrator interface
This is how we add information to the database. Our computer screen is divided into two windows, one for the data entry form, and the other for the digitized baptismal records. With a larger workstation, it is even easier to simply use separate screens to view the archival documents and enter the appropriate information into the BARDSS system. We use this form to record all of the important content in the baptismal record. It looks more difficult than it actually is. There are many predetermined fields that a BARDSS team member can simply click on to record the data. For example, if we click on gender, legal status, or filiation, a tab opens with the available options for those fields. We then select one of them. Once a new data field is added BARDSS remembers the change, allowing us to select that option in the future without having to re-enter the field. For example, within the field “African Origin,” every time we identify a new "nation" in the documents we click on the icon (+) and add it to the BARDSS system. This feature works in the same way for individual owners, priests, churches, locations, and other information that reappears frequently. Once added, everything is faster. For instance, each time our newly-identified "nation" shows up in subsequent document we can simply click on it to record it as an attribute of the individual baptized in the record being added to BARDSS. The images are clear, and the calligraphy is not extremely complicated, we spend two to three minutes adding a single baptismal record to the database.
This second screenshot shows how the list of records look on the administrator interface. By clicking on each of these individual entries, we are able to edit their information.
