Digital book history is the study of digital techniques and methodologies to examine past and present book production, circulation, and consumption. E-readers, software, databases, algorithms, and media files are examined, as well as manuscripts, mechanical encyclopedias, and print-on-demand publishing. Digital book history blends traditional and digital humanities methodologies. “There’s one approach which investigates the nature of letters and numbers, and another approach which focuses on the letters and numbers for other ends,” academic Alex Galloway told LA Review of Books in 2016. “Substrate, platform, interface, and format” bridges pre-digital and digital book history (Trettien, 2020). Scholars can employ digital tools and methods to explore print-digital relationships and disclose women’s creative efforts, such as cut-and-paste items, that have been ignored from bibliographic histories.
I believe Trettien’s nomenclature for digital book history studies was quite helpful. Trettien uses substrate, platform, interface, and format to show how books are both physical objects and digital files and how they interact. This method helps us understand the book as a dynamic medium rather than a static thing. Trettien’s terminology also emphasizes using modern resources to learn about the past. Digitizing and analyzing big book collections can reveal patterns and trends not apparent in individual books. Trettien’s language offers a deep comprehension of the book as a medium that grows and underlines the importance of using digital resources to study the past.Regarding the final project on which I will collaborate with Diamond, the primary source that we chose is “Adventure in Black and White” from the collection of children’s books that explore the Black experience. We aren’t really sure what specific pages or topic were going to be the focus, but this caught our attention because we both have a passion for literature that relates to teaching.
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Wassup Lisbel
I agree with your points about Trettien’s description of a digital book. I am looking forward to you and Diamond’s primary source and project. I feel I can learn a lot from your project. I think to grasp the understanding of digital books is to go back to the origin and look at the source material from the beginning. Because Trettien even made an interesting point which sounded like digital books aren’t just this new term, we come to conclude about books. It’s been around long before the printing press even. So I am genuinely excited for your group project
Hi Lisbel,
Great post! I really like your definition of digital book history. Your post gives a good sense of how comprehensive the term is, encompassing many different aspects of both the digital and the analog. You also gave some great examples from the video of the types of analog book technologies that had some digital-like features.
The project that you and Diamond are proposing seems very interesting! I think you have found a great niche to explore. Good luck with the project!
Lisbel, it’s interesting to see what in an impact audience can have on how ideas are presented! I think you were one of the only people who found the terminology helpful. I think parts of it are definitely more helpful than others, and the focus on interface is especially helpful for us.
As I mentioned in my comment for Diamond’s blog, I’m excited to see how your research progresses on your primary source. You both will want to consider whether you want to create a digital edition of that text (with an introduction, commentary, maybe annotations) or whether you want to have a digital exhibit of different kinds of educational books and a spotlight on that particular one with an essay or interpretation of its place historically, or socially.