Published by Christiane Fritze on March 11, 2022
[1] Digital editions make our cultural and intellectual heritage visible, accessible and usable through indexing and reproduction. Editions are a core task of the sciences and form the basis for further research.
[2] The items to be edited together with the questions related to them form an edendum . The boundaries of the edition do not lie at the boundaries of works (e.g. literary, musical, pictorial), texts (even the broadest text term) or documents (e.g. letters, archives, objects, audio-visual media, born digital data). In principle, every cultural utterance, regardless of its origin, modality, mediality and materiality, is editable: it can become Edendum, which is critically examined in the editing process and enriched with knowledge.
[3] In the wake of a fundamental paradigm shift, digital editions are now the norm in all disciplines. The digital paradigm has direct consequences for the production, editing, reproduction, organization and circulation of the knowledge generated in the editing process. This causes an increase in theoretical-methodological, technical and organizational requirements that people and institutions meet collaboratively and agilely.
[4] Digital editions are aimed at the scientific community and the general public. With this manifesto, the signatories react to the changed conditions of the edition under the digital paradigm. It is aimed internally at those involved in publishing ventures (science, research institutions, information technologies) and externally at sponsors and users. The manifesto serves as orientation for everyone who shares the fundamental concern of preserving, developing, reproducing and disseminating cultural heritage.
[5] The challenges of the digital edition are seen as a task and opportunity. They can be described from four perspectives: the methodological framework, organizational issues, factual requirements and the social dimension of collaborative, interdisciplinary work.
[6] The variety of subjects and editorial goals requires a wide range of procedures and competencies to be applied by those involved in the preparation of editions. The scientific methods of editing stand in a long tradition of development, source criticism, text criticism and text constitution in the respective subjects. The possibilities of digitization and the use of computers have led to an enormous further development of methods and to an expansion of possibilities in the development and processing of cultural heritage.
[7] The new forms of edition thus go far beyond the usual printed editions. Not only do they surpass them in terms of the breadth and depth of the indexing, they also make editorial decisions more transparent and enable uses that go beyond reading reception. Additional research materials can be included and multiple forms of presentation can be realized, as opposed to the traditional practice of only aligning with a single form of presentation. This is based on the knowledge that is now not typographically but encoded in data, which opens up a wide range of possibilities.
[8] The data-centric approach means a fundamental paradigm shift. It enables richer editions in which the most diverse aspects and perspectives are treated equally and can be made available in multiple forms for a differentiated audience.
[9] Digital editions not only stand for themselves because of the diverse connection and use options for the data, but are interoperable and integrated into other usage scenarios. As a result, digital editions become drivers of further research not only as publications, but also because of their algorithmically usable data. The digital paradigm has freed the edition from the limitations of print media. Digital editions go far beyond the traditional model of text output and unfold their own impact. While the digital edition is now the norm in editing, the “classic” edition, ie the printed edition, appears as one of the various possible results and forms of presentation of the digital edition.
[10] But digital editions are not just editions in another medium. Rather, digitization means that different areas of the methodology and practice, which have become more complex, have to be considered separately and mastered together.
[11] The edition is the compiled and organized knowledge of the tradition in the form of the “data of the edition”. At the same time, the edition is also published and thus provides a media processing with which the knowledge of the edition is communicated to a scientific, but also to a broader public audience. In addition to these two modes of existence and in the further use of the data, editorial knowledge also takes the form of processing, algorithms and software. What all these parts of the edition have in common is that they are based on the explicit modeling of our knowledge of our cultural and intellectual heritage. This modeling work is important editorial work.
[12] Digital editions are organized and realized in the form of projects. As such, digital editions go through the classic phases of a project from planning to implementation and completion. The project character, which is intended to be completed, is in tension with the long-term perspectives in which digital editions do not end with the publication, but must be thought and planned more openly, further and comprehensively as an ongoing process. This applies to the progressive processing and enrichment inside the editions as well as the ability to connect to the outside world. Editorial responsibility does not end with the first publication. Digital data and work practices offer the possibility of general participation in the knowledge process. The prerequisite for this is the obligation
[13] The planning precedes the editions, but is an important part of working in an agile setting during the course of the project. The objects and objectives of the edition are clarified in the planning. This results in the editing theories and methods with which the project is to be implemented. Experts from all relevant areas must be involved in the planning in order to identify and define the various requirements and needs. The planning also includes concrete interim goals, processes, expenses and allows the progress of the project to be observed.
[14] The project needs a research data management plan that takes into account from the start what data belongs to the edition and how it can be used inside and outside the edition and after the end of the project. In this context, rights of use for materials used and data to be processed are clarified in advance. Their availability must be organized according to the FAIR principles: findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. The required human, institutional and financial resources must also be adequate for long-term archiving and long-term availability. Sustainably planned digital editions calculate all project phases in a climate-conscious and socially responsible manner and include the necessary measures in the project planning.
[15] In the implementation of the project, digital editions need professional management. The project is carried out in an agile manner, ie iterative comparison is used to react to changing tasks. At the beginning of the project, the plans are compared with the resources that are actually available and the work is distributed according to the competencies. Appropriate tools will be provided.
[16] The long-term challenges of the digital editions are divided into long-term availability and long-term archiving. In order to ensure long-term availability, precautions are taken to ensure that the publication environments are available beyond the project period. Continued use of the editions increases availability. In order to promote permanent use, a contact person will be named and the storage and accessibility of the data will be documented. The digital editions are archived for the long term. External institutions evaluate and certify the infrastructure used for long-term archiving. Securing includes the clear definition and visibility of personal and institutional responsibilities. factual dimension
[17] Digital editions are scientific achievements. The people and institutions involved in a digital edition assume scientific responsibility for content and technology and guarantee minimum standards of specialist science, digital editing, the state of the art and the design of user interfaces.
[18] Digital editions are part of a scientific discourse and address a problem. Therefore, they make the process of creation and the scientific reflection on which they are based accessible to users.
[19] Digital editions follow a digital paradigm to which all those involved orientate themselves. Digital editions imply a media transformation: They transform a source into a result that not only opens up the source, but also makes it machine-readable and algorithmically processable. The digital edition therefore consists of the combination of data and its processing for presentation and use, it is “more than data”. That means in particular:
[20] Appropriate metadata, rights of use and standard-compliant coding ensure that the content of the digital editions can be found, reused and available over the long term. Digital editions therefore make their concept explicit, name the standards used and show options for subsequent use, in particular technical interfaces. Digital editions are permanently citable and accessible. social dimension
[21] From the conception phase, digital editions require an equivalent cooperation of persons with subject-specific, library, archival, informatic and digital humanities competences. For the success of digital editions, an inclusive discourse is indispensable, which is characterized by a common language and communication in mutual respect and on an equal footing. Unavoidable ignorance in the non-native area is reduced by professional exchange and further training. For this purpose, resources must be provided in the planning
[22] The participants gain scientific reputation through every activity in the context of a digital edition due to their actual contributions. Data, data models and research software are also worthy of publication. They lead to co-editorship in the publication of the digital edition. Employees in digital editions acquire special skills that can be used as transferrable skills beyond the individual edition project.
[23] All persons involved as well as their responsibilities and contributions made must be permanently identifiable. All areas of competence are recognized as a contribution to academic work.
[24] Digital editions are complex collaborative ventures involving many contributors from different institutions and domains. Separating scientific and non-scientific activities is not expedient. All contributions are to be acknowledged and credited. Their success is based on the mutual inspiration of different competencies and knowledge horizons. Supposedly “technical” requirements are the result of specific intellectual operations that challenge the self-evident knowledge of the humanities, just as problems in the humanities require new and creative technical solutions. All those involved work together with mutual respect and on an equal footing.
If you want to sign the manifesto, please use the comment function.
Prof. Dr. Franz Fischer , IDE, Universitá Ca' Foscari Venezia
Christiane Fritze MA, IDE, Vienna Library in the Rathuas
Prof. Dr. Patrick Sahle , IDE, BU Wuppertal
Torsten Schaßan , IDE, Herzog August Library Wolfenbüttel
Prof. Dr. Georg Vogeler , IDE, ZIM/ACDH Graz
Nadine Arndt MA, BBAW
Bernhard Assmann MA, IDE, HBZ NRW
Marcus Baumgarten , Duke August Library Wolfenbüttel
PD dr Toni Bernhart , University of Stuttgart
Sina Bock MA, University of Würzburg / ZPD
dr Elisa Cugliana , CCeH – University of Cologne
PD dr Katrin Dennerlein , University of Würzburg
dr des. Anne Diekjobst, CAU in Kiel
Claudia Susan Dobrinski, Magister
Lea Katharina Dümpelmann BA, University of Heidelberg
Jun.Prof.Dr. Ulrike Henny-Krahmer , IDE, University of Rostock
dr Katrin Henzel , Kiel University Library
dr Dennis Hormuth, Hamburg University Archives
Dario Kampkaspar MA, ULB Darmstadt
dr Tobias Kraft , BBAW
dr Stephan Kurz , Austrian Academy of Sciences
Veit Magnus Lorenz BA
Elena Minetti University of Paderborn
dr Frederike Neuber , IDE, BBAW
Christopher Pollin MA MA, IDE, ZIM/ACDH Graz
Ass. Prof. Dr. Michael Prinz, Uppsala University
Frederique Renno, Kiel University Library
dr Klaus Rettinghaus , Enote GmbH
Dennis Ried MA, University of Paderborn
Dagmar Anne Riedel , Columbia University
dr Torsten Roeder , IDE, BU Wuppertal, University of Würzburg
Jörg Röpke M.LIS, University of Trier
Marc Scheffer ULB Darmstadt
Gerlinde Schneider , IDE
Prof. Dr. Anna Schreurs-Morét, Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg
Prof. Dr. Thomas Stäcker , ULB Darmstadt
lic. phil. Claudia Sutter, University of St. Gallen / Swiss Legal Sources Foundation
dr Jiingerkes Sven , KGParl
Vivien Wolter , University of Trier
Kevin Wunsch , ULB Darmstadt
Translated into English by Dr Michael Kurzmeier, whose work is funded by the C21 Editions project (c21editions.org), a three-year international collaboration jointly supported by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AH/W001489/1) and Irish Research Council (IRC/W001489/1).