Session Abstract

Documentary Editions in the field of history have long been an important resource for historians.  20^th century letterpress documentary editions consist of expertly dated, accurate transcriptions with annotations that frame, contextualize, and explain the documents.  In the 21^st century, we are witnessing a transition to electronic editions, the publication of which implicitly raises the question of the impact of medium on content and research, especially of structured data. 

Some of the 20^th century print editions are now available on line, such as the Papers of Thomas Jefferson or the Papers of George Washington. Many of these are published by Rotunda, the Electronic Imprint of the University of Virginia Press.  These publications, however, are conceived as print and remain organized by print conventions – although some use digital content management systems for their workflow, such as the Papers of Thomas Jefferson and the Foreign Relations of the United States.[1]  Side by side with these critical projects the publication of born-digital editions began appearing about a decade ago.

This panel will examine questions of process and content for born-digital documentary editions in the field of history.  We will do this through a presentation of a new production system called DocTracker.  We will both demonstrate this tool and ask what structured information can add to documentary editions as resources for the study of history. This panel includes the DocTracker developer and three born-digital project editors, the Dolley Madison Digital Edition, the Papers of George Washington – Financial Series, and the Civil War Governors of Kentucky.  We then hope for extended conversation and participation from the audience.