Records of Early English Drama: Digital Innovations for Enhanced Access

FAIN: HD-50173-07

University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA 94704-5940)
Alan H. Nelson (Project Director: April 2007 to December 2009)

Development of an electronic publishing framework and supporting tools for Records of Early English Drama (REED), focusing on a pilot publication of documents on drama and secular entertainment performed between 1401 and 1642 in London's Inns of Court.

Volumes in the Records of Early English Drama (REED) series contain complex texts which qualify technically as data-sets. In the world of electronic publication, new means become available to access such data-sets. The proposed project will develop the framework, textual processing techniques, and editorial tools to enable single-source digital and print publication of future volumes in the REED series, beginning with the pilot collection of dramatic records for London: Inns of Court, edited by Alan H. Nelson. The code and documentation developed in this project will be made freely available for scholarly use under a standard open-source license such as the GPL.

Associated Products

"Meikle program" (internal use only) (Computer Program)
Title: "Meikle program" (internal use only)
Author: Alan H. Nelson
Author: Barry Meikle
Abstract: Purpose of program was to begin testing use of TEI-XML on REED data, requiring the conversion from recorded embedded with long-established but internal ASCII-codes. This an essential first step leading to the prototype Fortune Records with sample endnotes, document descriptions, and embedded footnotes, developed by a 2012 Mellon grant and now online. The pioneering work done thanks to the NEH grant gave us credibility on the application to Mellon, as the NEH-funded project was cited in building the case to Mellon. That first NEH digital grant continues to be listed every time REED applies for further funding for digital purposes. An early goal of producing simultaneous print and digital editions was overtaken by the rapidity of "born-digital" publishing opportunities. Nevertheless, the conversion routine developed with funding from the grant has enabled an unanticipated REED project, which is the "pre-publication" of records by individual REED editors, making records available to the public even before they have been subjected to the full vetting by REED staff. The same conversion routine will be used in converting pre-TEI REED files for eventual publication online.
Year: 2009
Primary URL: http://reed.utoronto.ca/
Primary URL Description: Primary URL is the REED website.
Secondary URL: https://reedprepub.org/
Secondary URL Description: Secondary URL is for the "Pre-publication" webpage of REED. Pre-publication is not the computer program developed under the NEH grant, but is one of the direct results of the computer-program.
Access Model: Use internal to REED only, but we will gladly share.
Programming Language/Platform: Program developed with PERL for TEI output
Source Available?: Yes

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