Revolutionary Reading, Evolutionary Toolmaking: (Re)development of Scholarly Reading and Annotation Tools in Response to an Ever Changing Scholarly Climate
Date
2012-08-15
Authors
MacGregor, James B.
Joyce, Michael
Hirsch, Brett
Leitch, Cara
Siemens, Ray
Chiang, Chia-Ning
Kopak, Rick
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Scholarly and Research Communication
Abstract
As the online scholarly landscape changes, so too must the tools used to traverse it.
The Public Knowledge Project (PKP) Reading Tools provides readers a bridge from
online scholarly content to a host of contextual information, to a number of discipline specific search engines and databases, and to other tools. A lot has changed since it was originally released, such as the rise of Google Scholar as the de facto starting point for many novice (and not-so novice) researchers; the blurring line between desktop and
web applications; and the increased professional use of social networking tools and
websites. Recently, the University of Victoria’s Electronic Textual Cultures Lab (ETCL),
in cooperation with the PKP, undertook a study to determine the role and value of
the existing Reading Tools, particularly in the context of Humanities Computing.
The ETCL has also developed a prototype Professional Reading Environment which
has been the basis for substantial analysis. Rick Kopak and Chia-Ning Chiang at the
University of British Columbia (UBC) have undertaken a broad survey of the online
annotation landscape, and have written a proposal for developing an annotation
system for PKP software. This paper discusses how, using this research as a base and in cooperation with UBC and the PKP, the ETCL has begun a large-scale redevelopment
of the PKP Reading Tools, extending the current toolset to include new social
networking and research tools, as well as a robust personal annotation system, making
social annotation possible between small groups and the public.
Description
Keywords
Reading tools, Text tools, Knowledge environment, Professional Reading Environment, PKP, Public Knowledge Project, Social networks
Citation
MacGregor, James, Joyce, Michael, Leitch, Cara, Siemens, Ray, Chiang, Chia-Ning, Kopak, Rick, & Hirsch, Brett. (2012). Revolutionary Reading, Evolutionary Toolmaking: (Re)development of Scholarly Reading and Annotation Tools in Response to an Ever Changing Scholarly Climate. Scholarly and Research Communication, 3(2): 020119, 8 pp.