Editing Historical Papers in a Digital Environment

The editing of historical papers in projects such as the Emma Goldman Papers Project here on campus is a challenging undertaking in several ways. Such projects are hard to fund. The traditional product is a set of printed volumes which constrain the amount of editorial research that can be published. Relatively little use is made of digital technology and with current methods substantial duplication of effort appears to be unavoidable.

In recent months we have been exploring ways in which some efficiency and return on investment might be improved. Some efficiencies might result from improved search support and editing tools. A new genre of web-published "Editors Notes" might very beneficially complement the print volumes, improve access, and reduce duplicative effort.

I will lead a discussion of the challenges and how they might be addressed.