Although we often think of corrections to a text when we imagine editing, literary editions serve lots of functions (and very rarely is correction one of them!). Literary editions layer different kinds of information about a text through annotations, including background on the period or place, context from the author\u2019s life and other works, and variants across different editions of the text. In this way, they help to make the text more approachable and help the reader engage with the text more deeply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a printed edition, you\u2019ll often encounter these annotations as footnotes. In digital form, they come in lots of shapes and sizes: links to other pages, pop-ups, and digital footnotes that link back and forth between text and annotation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, we\u2019re using the Recovery Hub Digital Edition Template to annotate Frederick Douglass\u2019s speech on the Dred Scott decision. You read this speech last week and made note of areas where further clarification and background might help people understand the text better. Today, we\u2019ll put that into action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Recovery Hub\u2019s template is designed to make the process of creating a digital edition simpler. Although there\u2019s lots of code involved, you don\u2019t have to write it! Instead, you can use their existing code and lightly customize it to suit your text. Today, you don\u2019t have to interact with the code at all! But if you\u2019re interested \u2014 maybe you want to try your hand at digitizing your family\u2019s recipes, like we talked about last week? \u2014 you can find the template on GitHub<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n