Issue 21: Scholarly Editions (Crowdsourcing)

Crowd Editions: Participation, Expertise and Automation in Digital Scholarly Editing 1 The idea that scholarly knowledge is generated by the many rather than the few has gained renewed momentum in the early 2000s. As an alternative to small, selective expert editorial teams, projects such as Wikipedia and Wikisource have demonstrated that large, loosely organised digital communities can catalogue, structure and make extensive bodies of knowledge publicly accessible. Such forms of collective knowledge production have since been widely discussed under the term crowdsourcing and have given rise to new ways of working, particularly in the fields of cultural heritage research and the digital humanities...

#everynamecounts , Arolsen Archives (ed.), 2020-. https://everynamecounts.arolsen-archives.org/ (Last Accessed: 11.02.2025). Reviewed by Daniel Burckhardt (Moses Mendelssohn Zentrum für europäisch-jüdische Studien), daniel.burckhardt@uni-potsdam.de. || Abstract: #everynamecounts is the largest crowdsourcing initiative of the Arolsen Archives - International Center on Nazi Persecution. Since 2020, more than 170,000 volunteers have been recording more than 7 million digitized index cards and lists in a structured way. The platform provides an outstanding digital process that is well thought out and optimized down to the smallest detail. As compelling as the crowdsourcing aspect is, it is...

The Papyrological Editor (PE, SoSOL) , Ryan Baumann et al. (ed.), 2010. https://papyri.info/editor/ (Last Accessed: 14.08.2024). Reviewed by Lavinia Ferretti (Universität Basel), lavinia.ferretti@unibas.ch and Elisa Nury (Université de Genève), elisa.nury@unige.ch. || Abstract: The Papyrological Editor is the editing environment of Papyri.info . It allows users to collectively curate data while keeping high scientific standards through a peer-review system and a Git-based version history. A custom syntax called Leiden+ makes the edition of XML data more easily accessible to users. However, the complexity of the multiple interlinked databases and the technical expertise needed to wo...

What's on the Menu? , New York Public Library (ed.), 2011–2024. https://menus.nypl.org/ (Last Accessed: 14.03.2025). Reviewed by Janosch Förster (SLUB Dresden), Janosch.Foerster@slub-dresden.de. || Abstract: In 2011, the New York Public Library began indexing a portion of its menu card collection from the Buttolph Collection through a crowdsourcing project. The goal of the project, What's on the Menu , was to record the dishes and prices on the digitized items in addition to the metadata provided by the library. The participation process was designed to be as low-threshold and simple as possible. The review scrutinizes the aims, approaches and deficiencies of the project, which unfortunately wa...

The Making and Knowing Project. Intersections of Craft Making and Scientific Knowing , Pamela H. Smith, Naomi Rosenkranz, Tianna Helena Uchacz, Tillmann Taape, Clément Godbarge, Sophie Pitman, Jenny Boulboullé, Joel Klein, Donna Bilak, Marc Smith, Terry Catapano (ed.), 2020. https://www.makingandknowing.org/bnf-ms-fr-640/ (Last Accessed: 05.05.2025). Reviewed by Sarah Lang (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science), slang@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de. || Abstract: The Making and Knowing Project is an educational and research project that has employed citizen science to produce a digital critical edition of the 16th-century manuscript BnF Ms. Fr. 640, along with accompanying educational r...

crowdsourcing.wien , Wien Museum; Wienbibliothek im Rathaus (ed.), 2022. https://crowdsourcing.wien (Last Accessed: 01.05.2025). Reviewed by Christian Erlinger (LibrErli – Christian Erlinger – Informatik für Bibliotheken, Archive und Museen), christian@librerli.eu. || Abstract: Crowdsourcing.wien is a digital platform launched in 2022 by the Wien Museum and the Wienbibliothek im Rathaus to involve the public in transcribing and indexing historical documents. Originating from a pilot project on postcard transcription, the platform now hosts multiple initiatives, including letter transcription and metadata extraction from historical theater playbills. This review outlines the platform’s develo...