Data & Digitalization
Data & Digitalization
The use of data and digitalization is a critical part of the field of digital humanities. Data is the basic unit of almost all digital work, and is manipulated and analyzed in different ways , using different methods to drive the world of digital research. Data in the humanities is produced by taking documents or artifacts and abstracting from them certain features that can be represented explicitly. Humanists also extract data from the records kept about those artifacts – such as library and museum catalogs or estate and auction catalogs. Being able to differentiate different types of data, such as structured or unstructured data, can help shape the way that information in the digital humanities can be used, analyzed, and displayed. Structured data allows for analysis, repurposing, and manipulation in systemic ways. It can also be interpreted and can be used for analysis and manipulation in ways that unstructured data cannot.
In terms of digitalization, the language for almost all files published on the web is HTML, the format for all online matter. The main elements that are used to structure web-based documents are HTTP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which also determine the way documents look and what functions they can perform. HTML is a descriptive language, and it identifies the structural elements of a document. A topic I found interesting throughout chapter 3 was the conversation around accessibility and ableism. Ableism calls attention to the blind spot of individuals with full use of their bodies to the challenges faced by those who do not enjoy that advantage. Delivering materials in an online environment so they are accessible to these populations means building in text-to-voice capabilities or roll-over text to help describe visual features to those who are impaired. This is just another way that we can make things accessible to wider populations in this field.
For my project, I decided to look at Book Traces, a collaborative web project aimed at discovering, cataloging, and preserving unique copies of 19th and early 20th century books on library shelves. Their focus is on circulating books that were customized by their original owners, who left annotations, inscriptions, insertions, and other items. They rely on users to submit images of their own books to accumulate their “data”, and help catalog the books. These books they collect contain a massive archive of the history of reading and book use. Book Traces is meant to engage the question of the future of the print record in the wake of wide-scale digitization. Their goal is to inspire the development of processes for discovering these books, cataloging them more fully, preserving them, and making better decisions about print collections management.
I liked reading your insight on the role of data and digitalization, especially on the ethical topic of accessibility. I think it's really important that we structure data in a way that is accessible to everyone. I'm looking at the few times in which data is highlighted in red which shows that it's very important in digital humanities. Your exploration of HTML and its role in structuring web-based documents really shows the relationship between technology and inclusivity. "Book Traces" also sounds like an interesting project.
ReplyDeleteI liked your discussion around ableism in the blog post. The more I read about digital humanities, the more I realize how important accessibility is in the field. I think adding accessible capabilities like text-to-voice is very important and especially lacking in many of the digital humanities projects we looked over in class.
ReplyDeleteA nice breakdown of data and acknowledgement of all the considerations that go into accessibility. Also, you are close here to a thesis for your analysis of Book Traces! :)
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