Rådsmøte for Menota, Oslo 27.08.2009: Sakspapir

Tilbake til innkallingen

7. Vilkår for publisering av digitale tekster

Det er vigtigt at vi tænker om arkivets udvikling og dens stilling i det akademiske miljø. Selvom Menota arkivet er et kæmpestort fremskridt, mangler der stadigvæk et udgivningsforum for elektroniske tekster som i status kan sammenlignes med printudgaver. I det følgende er nogle tanker om det:

During the past ten years or so great progress has been made in electronic processing of medieval texts. The MENOTA-project, the MUFI-project with associated font production (most notably the Andron font) and the improvement of the TEI standard have resolved most (all?) of the technical problems that were the center point of any discussion of electronic editing a decade ago.

One question remains unresolved, however, and in fact a question of enormous importance: Where do we get electronic editions of medieval texts published?

Most scholars in Nordic philology work in an environment where they are constantly being evaluated based on the scholarly work they produce. The scholarly work is measured in terms of "publications" which in turn are valued in terms of publication venue. Papers published in peer-reviewed journals with international recognition (e.g. journals recognized by the Insitute for Scientific Information (ISI) or European Reference Index for the Humanities (ERIH)) are valued higher than journals without peer review. Books are subject to similar principles: books published by an internationally recognized publishing house with rigid editorial procedures are valued higher than other books.

An internationally recognized platform for the publication of scholarly editions of Nordic medieval texts in electronic form is needed. Historically, critical editions of medieval texts have appeared as books for which the editor has received credit depending on the publisher and editorial procedure. Making an electronic edition accessible from a website will currently not bring its editor comparable academic credit. It is therefore imperative that we create a venue for "high-quality" electronic editions of medieval texts.

To bring about the quality control neccessary to attain international scholarly recognition, such a venue will have to have:

(a) support (academic and financial) from leading academic institutions in the field of Nordic philology,

(b) a board of editors with highest academic credentials,

(c) anonymous peer-review process: every contribution is subject to anonymous review from at least two qualified reviewers (in addition, of course, to a review by the editorial board),

(d) clear editorial policy and guidelines for contributors, and

(e) a permanent web site.

Haraldur Bernharðsson, Reykjavík

Tilbake til hovedsiden

Opprettet 21.08.2009. Sist oppdatert 21.08.2009. Vevsjef. (Rediger)