The Text in the Machine : Electronic Texts in the Humanities

Toby Burrows, PhD
University Library, The University of Western Australia

About the Book:
The first comprehensive guide to explore this growing field of electronic information, The Text in the Machine: Electronic Texts in the Humanities will help you create and use electronic texts. This book explains the processes involved in developing computerized books on library Web sites, CD-ROMs, or your own Web site. With the information provided by The Text in the Machine, you’ll be able to successfully transfer written words to a digitized form and increase access to any kind of information.

Keeping the perspectives of scholars, students, librarians, users, and publishers in mind, this book outlines the necessary steps for electronic conversion in a comprehensive manner. The Text in the Machine addresses many variables that need to be taken into consideration to help you digitize texts, such as:
• defining types of markup, markup systems, and their uses
• identifying characteristics of the written text, such as its linguistic and physical nature, before choosing a markup scheme
• ensuring accuracy in electronic texts by keying in information up to three times and choosing software that is compatible with the markup systems you are using
• examining the best file formats for scanning written texts and converting them to digital form
• explaining the delivery systems available for electronic texts, such as CD-ROMs, the Internet, magnetic tape, and the variety of software that will interpret these interfaces
• designing the structure of electronic texts with linear presentation, segmented text, or image files to increase readability and accessibility

Containing lists of suggested readings and examples of electronic text web sites, this book provides you with the
opportunity to see how other libraries and scholars are creating and publishing digital texts. From The Text in the
Machine, you’ll receive the knowledge to make this medium of information accessible and beneficial to patrons and
scholars around the world.

Contents:

Preface

Chapter 1. Markup Systems for Electronic Texts • What Is Markup? • Types of Markup • Markup-free Texts? • Descriptive Markup Systems

Chapter 2. Creating an Electronic Text • Keying the Text • Reusing an Existing Text • Scanning the Text

Chapter 3. Delivery Mechanisms for Electronic Texts • Transmission Media • Software •

Chapter 4. Organizing Access to Electronic Texts • The Individual Scholar as Publisher • Electronic Text Centers • Centers for Humanities Computing • Multimedia Centers • Digital Libraries • Commercial Services • National and International Services • Generic Issues: Metadata and Preservation

Chapter 5. Structures, Architectures, and Editions • Structure and Architecture • Types of Edition

Conclusion • Bibliography • Index
Reference Notes • Further Reading • Web Sites  Included

Reviews:

“Essential reading for reference librarians with responsibility in serving the needs of humanities scholars and
students. . . . The clarity of the discursive prose inspires confidence. . . . This book leads the beginner gently
by the hand across the still-rugged terrain of electronic text creation, markup, preservation, and
dissemination. It’s the perfect beginner’s guide and will clarify innumerable matters for more experienced
hands; THE THINGS YOU’VE ONLY HALF UNDERSTOOD ARE EXPLAINED HERE.”

Paul Eggert, Associate Professor of English and Director, Australian Scholarly Editions Center, Australian
Defence Force Academy, Canberra

“Particularly useful for people about to begin projects involving electronic, scholarly texts in the humanities. . . It is a very timely and well-informed survey of the use of electronic texts. . . . Clearly written and well
documented. . . . This book will serve not only to orient present-day readers new to the field, but will act as a
useful record for readers to come of how matters were at an early moment in the history of electronic texts.”

Dr. Peter Robinson, Center for Technology and the Arts, De Montfort University, Leicester, England


$39.95 Hard.
ISBN: 0-7890-0424-0
(Outside US/Canada/Mexico: $48.00)

Text Price (5+ Copies): $19.95
(Outside US/Canada/Mexico: $24.00)

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