Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln

 

Title

New Engagements with Documentary Editions: Audiences, Formats, Contexts

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

10-16-2009

Comments

Presented at the Association for Documentary Editing Annual Conference, Springfield, Illinois, October 16, 2009

Abstract

This paper is an effort to think about something different than the <i>creation</i> of documentary editions. It is an effort to think about the <i>reading</i> of them. Specifically, I want to think about the ways the reading of documentary editions is changing, or how it might change. First, however, a caveat: much of what I say is speculative and anecdotal. Though others’ research has been consulted, I’m heavily influenced by what I observe is happening with readers of my own editing project, <i>The Willa Cather Archive</i>, a digital thematic research collection dedicated to the life, work, and environs of the American author. That said, I want to consider existing trends more broadly, guess about future practices, and contemplate how we, as documentary editors, might respond to the altering modes of readership.