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C. Michael Sperberg-McQueen (1954 – 2024): In Memoriam – TEI: Text Encoding Initiative

"Building Sustainable Digital Futures: Converting Livingstone and Bell" - paper presentation for #Legacy150 conference

Abstract for #Legacy150 – The Museum will not be Decolonised  Title: Building Sustainable Digital Futures: converting Livingstone and Bell Author: Dr James Cummings   This paper examines technology for the creation of digital scholarly surrogates of textual materials in museums and archives. It focuses on how to find a balance between technological innovation and practical sustainable solutions for full-text digitisation, making a plea for the sensible application of digital methodologies throughout. The ‘Livingstone Online Enrichment and Access Project’ (LEAP) of 2013-17 is shown as an exemplar for the customization of the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) and the legacy document conversions undertaken.    The paper then explores the use of handwritten text recognition (HTR) in the AHRC-NEH funded ‘Evolving Hands’ project. The case study considered is that of the letters and diaries of Gertrude Bell, who is quite appropriate for the topic of this conference. Bell (1868 - 1926) was an explorer, archaeologist, colonial diplomat, and writer who was involved in events of  geopolitical significance throughout her life, especially in the formation of the Kingdom of Iraq. Bell is known to have advised on the drawing of seemingly artificial borders, disputed governmental structures, incremental self-rule, and even the selection of Faisal I as the first King of Iraq. Newcastle is especially interested in Bell as we hold her UNESCO ‘International Memory of the World’ registered archive. However, Bell’s complex and contested legacy is just background to this case-study which really focuses on the possibilities and limitations of HTR to TEI workflows for such collections. Building on this background, the paper considers tangential opportunities of such workflows, including the issues in using artificial intelligence for catalogue summaries.    The paper concludes with a consideration of the long-term viability of the digital resources we create from digital conversions, arguing that the production of more static, limited, applications that run primarily in the user’s browsers rather than on costly server infrastructure are a better option. As such, this paper will suggest the use of the Endings Project’s ‘Principles for Digital Longevity’ as a good approach for limiting the technological fragility of archivable website outputs.    This paper argues that standardised methodologies and careful development can lead to a balance that will help build sustainable digital futures.   Bio:  James Cummings is a Reader in Digital Textual Studies and Late-Medieval Literature in the School of English at Newcastle University. His research focuses on the Guidelines of the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI), the open international standard for textual encoding of historical sources. He is on the TEI Consortium’s Board of Directors and previously spent 15 years elected to its Technical Council. Other research interests include late-Medieval non-cycle plays, AI in humanities research (recently a Fellow of the Alan Turing Institute). His recent research projects include those producing a VRE for TEI/LOD editing, Handwritten Text Recognition workflows, and Digital Pedagogy.