After viewing the articles Hearsay of the Sun and The Difference Slavery Made in their online forms it is clear that these articles do fulfill the promise of digital scholarship to the extent that it is fullfillable. As the technology for digital scholarship advances so does its potential. Both of these articles use techniques in the presentation of their material and in additional resources that make use of new media to supplement the traditional print format. At this point in the development of digital scholarship, that supplementation, along with an easier and more democratic online access, is the promise of digital scholarship fulfilled.
The Slavery article begins with an introduction that lays out the objective of the work. After that, the reader can essentially go down one of two paths or intertwine the two. The site can be approached as a linear essay, using hyperlinks to read footnotes or examine sources. Alternatively, the reader can lose themselves in a web of information that is interlinked comparing the two counties. Each route, or combination or routes, presents a unique experience.
In many ways the article takes on the characteristics of a printed article or book. In an overview to their site, Thomas and Ayers attribute this to the peer review process that “tamed” electronic form of the article. However, I think this works to their benefit. Part of fulfilling the promise of digital scholarship has to be accessibility. For some readers accessibility is linked to familiarity. The option is given to those favoring a familiar form to approach this article linearly. The reader who is more comfortable with non-linear presentation can approach the article in an entirely different fashion, or not. Because the points of analysis are so clearly defined and the article is brought to an obvious close by a conclusion, both readers can feel as though the social contract between author and reader can be upheld if only in a new way.
In the Hearsay article, the reader is only given the non-linear option. While the introduction does give some direction as to what the reader should be getting from the article, the thesis is a little harder to follow throughout the site. Perhaps this makes the article more suited to a self-guided exploration of the legal reception of photography instead of an essay per se.
The Slavery article fulfills the promise of digital scholarship in other ways as well. The use of GIS to make spacial comparisons, images, and graphs make use of the online format in a way that the authors could not in print. The implementation of these new media adds to the level of interactivity of the article increasing the investment of the reader. The same is done, although to a lesser extent, with the Hearsay article. Here images are used to supplement the material and a reader can explore the origins and importance of each image at their leisure. These images and maps augment the learning experience by presenting an additional tool to the reader.
In both the Hearsay and Slavery articles, the use of hypertext, linking portions of the article to pages that discuss the sources used by the authors, is a great tool. It allows for easy cross-referencing without being encumbered by additional windows, books, or outside resources. Also, the ability to explore those sources further within the article itself provides an additional layer of information not usually afforded in book citations. These approaches, although similar between the two articles, are unique methods for the presenting source material and are done well.
As is the case with all experimental forays into relatively new territory, there is always room for improvement. In both the Hearsay and Slavery articles, it is likely the reader will get lost or sidetracked as they pursue the links to footnotes and additional resources. While this often times will present another dimension to your understanding of the subject, it is easy to lose sight of the original subject of inquiry. It may be that finding a way to keep a reader on track without limiting the potential for interactivity is not entirely possible. Perhaps a practice of disciplined reading will develop on the consumption side as non-linear scholarship proliferates.