Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
10-2008
Abstract
Machine readable files of the complete corpus of recognized American Indian treaties, derived from Charles Kappler’s multi-volume Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties and a few additional sources, were obtained from the Oklahoma State University Library Electronic Publishing Center and converted for text analysis with TokenX, a web application developed at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's Center for Digital Research in the Humanities. The analysis and visualization capabilities of TokenX reveal the diversity of the terms found in these 375 treaties, and the observed frequencies offer a prospect upon legal thought of the times and upon the vocabulary used to express the goals, purposes, and deeds of the negotiators. Investigating recognized American Indian treaties is just one such exercise, expedited by a well-defined document corpus, that may be thought of as prototypic of potential studies in the future. As the repository for such resources within academic settings, current and future libraries will need to become more involved in text analysis undertakings through the creation of stronger bonds with groups and departments that fashion these digital portals.
Comments
Published in Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services 32:2 (2008), pp. 104–106; doi 10.1016/j.lcats.2008.08.006 Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Inc. Used by permission. https://www.science-direct.com/science/journal/14649055