Highlighting the Past:
Annotation of historical texts to support Humanities Scholarship
John BradleyCentre for Computing in the HumanitiesKing’s College [email protected]
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A summary of my talk
in the Humanities Digital Libraries have been not entirely successful– some have contended that this is perhaps because they do not well
match fundamental techniques of scholarly research Scholars annotate their copies of text
– annotation/notetaking provide an integral part of their research technique
a review of Annotation in CS literature thoughts on annotation in Humanities Scholarship A review of tools to support annotation and notetaking Projects at KCL/CCH that contain strategies supporting scholarly
annotation Limitations in technologies, possible future directions
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Digital Libraries
all those texts available to scholars!– The comfortable stereotype of humanists as
technophobic is no longer accurate. The availability of text and images in electronic form, coupled with the processing power of modern computers, allow the humanist to explore hypotheses and visualize relations that were previously lost in the mass of information sources.
(Wulf 1995, 48)
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Results were Disappointing not as much uptake as had been
expected– While digital resources are becoming more visible in the
humanities, use of these resources by scholars remains limited. Humanists have come to rely on computers and electronic communication for some of their daily work, but the use of digital information resources has yet to become routine. Digitization projects are bringing texts, data sources, sound, and images to the scholar's desktop; however, the functions on which research in the humanities depend are neither well understood nor well supported by librarians.
William S. Brockman, Laura Neumann, Carole L. Palmer, Tonyia J. Tidline (December 2001): Scholarly Work in the Humanities and the Evolving Information Environment, a report from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
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Why not a greater uptake?
“the functions on which research in the humanities depend are neither well understood nor well supported by librarians.”
“Use statistics and usability tests … are not good indicators of what is lacking in our current service and collection models”
“Through the analysis of scholars' practices we can conceptualize the type of information environment that would best support their activities” (Brockmann et al, 2001)
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Scholarly Reading Scholars spend a large percentage of their
time reading. – ... They do background reading (textbooks),– comprehensive reading (everything possible), – continual reading (simultaneous and associative),
and – they "read around" a period or a person. – They read books and related primary material
closely—"for detail" and to become "immersed" in their area of inquiry.
Brockmann et al, 2001
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Scholarly Research: Note Taking
note taking is an integral part of reading.– Scholars produce extensive marginal notes,
annotating photocopies or personal copies or attaching adhesive notes to a text.
– Each scholar has his or her own way of integrating handwriting and computer work.
– Most scholars use word processing programs to some degree for digesting or transcribing notes and for sketching out preliminary ideas in conjunction with reading.
Brockmann et al, 2001
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Commentary•E.R. Dodds, Euripides: Bacchae (edited with commentary)
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Commentary Willard McCarty, “A Network
with a thousand entrances:Commentary in an electronic age?” The Classical Commentary: Histories, Practices, Theory, ed. Roy K. Gibson and Christina Shuttleworth Kraus (Leiden: Brill, 2002): 359-402
Willard McCarty, “Simple Tools, Profound Effects: Markup, Access and Scholarly Research” (http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/wlm/essays/cork/index.html)
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CommentarySource Commentary
Other Texts
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CommentarySource Commentary Other Texts
v
v
“Mental Model”
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Annotation with a Tablet Work of Catherine C
Marshall, Gene Golovchinsky, Morgan Price, Bill Schilit (PARC)
Two articles:– “From Reading to Retrieval:
Freeform Ink Annotations as Queries” (Proceedings SIGAR 1999)
– “Introducing a digital library reading appliance into a reading group” (Proceedings DL 1999)
Image: Copyright 1999 ACMUsed with permission
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Annotation with a Tablet
Example of annotation done with a tablet computer.
Image: Copyright 1999 ACMUsed with permission
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Analysis of Annotation in Computing Science Literature Catherine C Marshall (PARC) “Towards an Ecology of Hypertext
Annotation” (Hypertext 98, pp 40-49)– M develops a classification of kinds of
written annotation– this is followed by a study of written
annotations in textbooks
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Marshall’s Analysis
Marshall was interested in the ways links were indicated between the printed text and annotation.
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Marshall’s Analysis
Annotations were often attached to a text span.
A “standard” hypertext association
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Marshall’s Analysis
Marshall examined strategies used to use annotation for emphasis
Marshall was also interested in how annotations were grouped (e.g. coloured highlighter)
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Marshall’s Analysis: public/private annotations She was also interested in:
– what could be made out of annotations written by others
– whether annotations in different copies were similar
– what students buying the second-hand copy of the book thought of the annotations that were there.
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Characteristics of Annotation
A response to a spot in a given source Annotations are attached to source without
altering it (they exist on an “annotation layer”) Annotations draw attention to spots so
marked possible links out to other sources, or other
spots in the same source
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The Separation of “Source” from “Annotation” In reality, for most scholars their work is built upon editions of a
source that is prepared by others. scholarly annotation -- even if expressed as XML markup, is in
fact better modelled as layer on top of, and external, to the base “light-weight” markup
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Digital Annotation: INote
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Characteristics of Annotation
A response to a spot in a given source Annotations are attached to source without
altering it (they exist on an “annotation layer”) Annotations draw attention to spots so marked possible links out to other sources, or other
spots in the same source Annotations connect text to the annotator’s
mental model of the world.
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Marshall’s “Dimensions: “digital link annotations” Formal vs. informal: Informal Explicit vs tacit: Tacit Annotation as writing vs Annotation as Reading: Reading-
oriented Hyperextensive vs. extensive vs intensive: intensive? Permanent vs transient: ?? Published vs private: private Global vs institutional vs workgroup vs personal: personal (Dynamic vs static (published)): dynamic
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Marshall’s “Dimensions”: Dodd’s Commentary Formal vs. informal: Informal Explicit vs tacit: Explicit Annotation as writing vs Annotation as Reading:
Reading-oriented Hyperextensive vs. extensive vs intensive: Intensive? Permanent vs transient: Permanent Published vs private: Published Global vs institutional vs workgroup vs personal:
Global (Dynamic vs static (published)): Static
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Two Annotation-related projects
Two projects underway at CCH:– Durham Liber Vitae– Online Chopin Variorum Edition
Characteristics:– both grounded in “primary” source materials– both intensive in their analysis of these sources– one uses a “formal” annotation model, the other
uses a model that is less formal
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The Durham Liber Vitae
The Durham Liber Vitae is a manuscript which originated in the mid-ninth-century as a list of several hundred names of persons associated with a Northumbrian church, probably Lindisfarne, but possibly Monkwearmouth/Jarrow.
Around 1100 there was an addition of a list principally of monks of Durham Cathedral Priory, continuing until 16th century.
Several thousand names of lay persons were added throughout the middle ages.
(from DLV website: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/dlv/manuscript/description.html)
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The Durham Liber Vitae
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TEI Annotation in the DLV Light-weight markup:<div type="columnar" rend="1col"> <cb/> <ab type="group"> <handShift ink="black"/> <lb n="1"/><hi rend="dropcap">G</hi>eorgi Cuthbert et <lb n="2"/>Matilda uxor ei[…]
Intensive Markup<div type="columnar" rend="1col"> <cb/> <ab type="group"> <handShift ink="black"/> <lb n="1"/> <seg type="group">
<persName> <foreName> <hi rend="dropcap">G</hi>eorgi<expan rend="tir">us</expan> </foreName> <surname>Cuthbert</surname> </persName>
et <lb n="2"/> <persName> <foreName>Matilda</foreName> </persName> <rs type="relationship">uxor</rs> <abbr>ei<expan>us</expan></abbr> </seg>
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Durham Liber Vitae: Person Analysis
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DLV ER diagram
imageID
FoliofolioPosition
transcrIDtranscrName
Reference
CategoryType
DateRange
ScriptDescription
NameDateRange
PubResearch
Scribe
detailTextsourceRefFactType
Factoid
normNameoffice
biogSignifdates
Person
name
Source
linkType
PersonFactoid
likelihood
PersonIdentif
namegroupType
InterpGroup
Quality
Stint
GroupTypes:Explicit Indication:•MarkinManuscript•Rubric•JuxtapositionAssociation•Affinity•Lineage•ExplicitStatementPhilological•Lemma•LinguisticOrigin
RefIntGrp
Likehood:certainprobablepossibleunlikely
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DLV: Annotations and Person Analysis
imageID
FoliofolioPositiontranscrName
Reference
CategoryType
DateRange
Script
DescriptionName
DateRangePubResearch
Scribe
detailTextsourceRef
Factoid
normNameoffice
biogSignifdates
Person
name
Source
type
FactCat
linkType
PersonFactoid
likelihood
PersonIdentif
kindOfFactor
Factor
namegroupType
InterpGroup
Quality
Stint
GroupTypes:Explicit Indication:•MarkinManuscript•Rubric•JuxtapositionAssociation•Affinity•Lineage•ExplicitStatementPhilological•Lemma•LinguisticOrigin
RefIntGrp
Likehood:certainprobablepossibleunlikely
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Highly Structured Annotations
The prosopographical analysis work behind the DLV to be done by the scholars is quite formal.
The final published version of DLV will– provide a rich set of structured materials– provide many points of access
DLV has required extensive advance analysis– suitable for a major digital editorial project such as this
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Marshall’s Annotation dimensions in DLV Formal vs. informal: highly Formal Explicit vs tacit: Explicit Annotation as writing vs Annotation as Reading: Writing-
oriented (for developers) Hyperextensive vs. extensive vs intensive: intensive? Permanent vs transient: Permanent Published vs private: Published Global vs institutional vs workgroup vs personal: Global (Dynamic vs static (published)): Static (when published)
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DLV: Whose Annotations?
imageID
FoliofolioPositiontranscrName
Reference
CategoryType
DateRange
ScriptDescription
NameDateRange
PubResearch
Scribe
detailTextsourceRef
Factoid
normNameoffice
biogSignifdates
Person
name
Source
type
FactCat
linkType
PersonFactoid
likelihood
PersonIdentif
kindOfFactor
Factor
namegroupType
InterpGroup
Quality
Stint
GroupTypes:Explicit Indication:•MarkinManuscript•Rubric•JuxtapositionAssociation•Affinity•Lineage•ExplicitStatementPhilological•Lemma•LinguisticOrigin
RefIntGrp
Likehood:certainprobablepossibleunlikely
Project TeamMembers
Resource Users
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DLV: Personal Annotations Too?
imageID
FoliofolioPositiontranscrName
Reference
CategoryType
DateRange
ScriptDescription
NameDateRange
PubResearch
Scribe
detailTextsourceRef
Factoid
normNameoffice
biogSignifdates
Person
name
Source
type
FactCat
linkType
PersonFactoid
likelihood
PersonIdentif
kindOfFactor
Factor
namegroupType
InterpGroup
Quality
Stint
GroupTypes:Explicit Indication:•MarkinManuscript•Rubric•JuxtapositionAssociation•Affinity•Lineage•ExplicitStatementPhilological•Lemma•LinguisticOrigin
RefIntGrp
Likehood:certainprobablepossibleunlikely
Project TeamMembers
Resource Users
Digital Library
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Supporting the user as annotator
imageID
FoliofolioPositiontranscrName
Reference
CategoryType
DateRange
ScriptDescription
NameDateRange
PubResearch
Scribe
detailTextsourceRef
Factoid
normNameoffice
biogSignifdates
Person
name
Source
type
FactCat
linkTypePersonFactoid
likelihoodPersonIdentif
kindOfFactorFactor
namegroupType
InterpGroupQuality
Stint
GroupTypes:Explicit Indication:•MarkinManuscript•Rubric•JuxtapositionAssociation•Affinity•Lineage•ExplicitStatementPhilological•Lemma•LinguisticOrigin
RefIntGrp
Likehood:certainprobablepossibleunlikely
Project Team
?
“End User”
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Managing Personal Annotations Annotations are originally attached to the source. Eventually they begin to exhibit their own relationships between each
other. These relationships are often thought of spatially. Sometimes these annotations can gain a structure which allows the
machine to help in organising them Through organising these notes, the annotation owner’s focus might
shift temporarily away from the source-resource to the notes themselves.
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The Chopin Variorum Project Tools to facilitate edition & manuscript comparisons
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“Use Cases” for Scholarly Annotations: Creation Create an annotation and attach to a spot in a
resource View annotation whenever one reviews the spot to
which it is attached Edit previously created annotation
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CVE: Source with Annotation
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CVE: Bar Display
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“Use Cases” for Scholarly Annotations: Management Create an annotation and attach to a spot in a
resource View annotation whenever one reviews the spot to
which it is attached Edit previously created annotation Organise annotations conceptually Review annotations conceptually Search annotations (conceptually?)
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Note taking Management Systems
a number developed to support “qualitative analysis” of textual materials in the Social Sciences– In qualitative analysis the texts are closely read and themes
are attached to the texts as they emerge from the reading– Themes can be presented graphically to allow them to be
reviewed, organised, and more thoroughly grasped.
Products include:– Nud*ist– Atlas.ti– Nvivo
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Hierarchical Organisation
Nud*ist: well known software to manage and organise notetaking
Emphasises a hierarchical ordering of notes
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CVE: Organising Annotations
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CVE: Filing Annotations
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CVE: Filing Annotations (2)
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Spatial Arrangement: Lightbox Matthew Kirschenbaum, Amit Kumar, MITH, U of
Maryland
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Spatial Organisation: Viki
Frank M Shipman,III, Catherine C Marshall, Mark LeMere: Beyond Location: Hypertext Workspaces and Non-Linear Views, Hypertext 99, pp 121-130
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Spatial Organisation: Atlas.ti Atlas.ti’s “network editor”
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“Use Cases” for Scholarly Annotations: Management Create an annotation and attach to a spot in a
resource View annotation whenever one reviews the spot to
which it is attached Edit previously created annotation Organise annotations conceptually Review annotations conceptually Search annotations (conceptually?) Share annotations with colleagues Discuss annotations with colleagues
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Annotation with Browsers?
we don’t have programming resources to do GUI application development
clearly, however, GUI applications provide a better environment for developing and using annotations!– Better management of multi-window environments– Drag and drop (indeed, perhaps more gesture-based
interaction)– 2D Spatial metaphor for organising notes– Local storage for personal annotations.
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A new publishing paradigm?
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