tablet apps, or the future of digital scholarly editions?
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Tablet apps, or the future of Digital Scholarly Editions?
Elena Pierazzo
José Miguel Vieira
& Patricia Searl
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The idea
Research stemmed from a dissertation of MA in Digital Humanities: Patricia Searl
She is here in spirit!
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Digital Scholarly Editions (DSE), the use of
• A part from some ubiquitous resources (Old Bailey, EEBO), the usage is pretty low
• And even when used, they are scarcely cited
• JISC Funded Programme 2010/11: Impact and embedding of digitised resources
Why?
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DSE: why yes
• Open new possibilities to editing and presentation of the material
• More space for commentaries, critical apparatus, biographies, related material
• Images are cheap!• High profile projects: Rossetti Archive,
Canterbury Tales (and Whitman, and Blake, and…)
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DSE: why no
• Difficult/unpleasant to read on the screen• They are not reliable in time (can change
overnight!)• Difficult/awkward to use• Less scholarly than print: not peered review• Don’t look like a book…• Preservation!• Scarcely adopted as READING in classroom
(seldom for research or example)
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eBooks in the meantime…
• Are doing pretty well!• Amazon: eBooks are selling more than
paperbacks (since 2010)• The Tablet revolution: iPad (and Android)• Reading on tablets is pleasant! Even more
pleasant than on paper!!! (Nielsen 2010)• Massively adopted by schools and
universities– US, Korea and even Italy (would you believe it?)
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Never say Digital
• Digital is a complex concept that cannot be limited to a single object
• Computer and tablets are not the same thing
• Tablets are able to produce sense of ownership, like books
• Computers are not
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…but eBooks are boring!
• They do not look like our digital editions• They feature only texts… mostly. Some
images. • Enhanced eBooks: audio/video
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Some exceptions
• The Waste Land by Touch Press– Audio– Video– Comment– Facsimile
No editor… (!!)
[http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-waste-land/id427434046?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4]
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• Bible+– Annotations– Split-screen– Explanations, interactive maps– Iconographies…
No editor…
[http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bible/id403758876]
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Where are the academic editors?
Still trying to understand the web…
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The Research Questions
• Are tablets the bridge between print and web?
• Can they help in bringing DSE to a larger public?
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Apps are fun!
• Too much, perhaps? • Is the ludic component of the haptic
behavior too ludic to endeavor scholarship?• Works for physics, astronomy,
engineering…• Is the ludic component of the haptic
behavior too ludic to endeavor HUMANITIES scholarship?
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Every edition its own app
• Is it a good idea? • User friendly = familiar, expectable• User friendly ≠ customization• An App for all seasons? Is it possible to
agree on the features?
Technological Overview
• Tablet’s OS– Apple iOS
– Google Android
• Different development environments
– Which one to choose
– 3rd party development frameworks (e.g. Appcelerator Titanium)
• Different distribution programs
– Apps may not be accepted for distribution
• App lifecycle and updates: sustainable?
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And what about the existing DSE?
• Not affordable/sustainable to convert existing
editions to apps
• Optimize websites instead of developing apps
• Evaluate: which one is used the most? Web or
Tablet?
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Other ways to get DSE into tablets
1. Extend scholarly publishing tools?
– Produce formats for tablets (eBooks)
2. Scholarly reading app?
– eBook reader for scholarly materials
3. Scholarly App Development Framework?
– Multiplatform apps
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The future
• A research project, well, two• Focus groups, usage and usability tests
and analysis• Collaboration with publishers• Theoretical and practical models• Did I mention tests?
