Thursday 4 February 2016

Week 4 Blogging Response - The Map of Early Modern London

The University of Victoria’s The Map of Early Modern London (MoEML) is an open source site that comprises information of Shakespeare’s London that contains a digital library, an Agas Map, an encyclopedia about Placeography, Gazetteer, Personography, Orgography and much more (Mission Statement, 2016). What is unique about the MoEML is that each page within the site - no matter the information content - provides a detailed XML markup (see the Agas Map & its Standard XML).


Fig. 1. Experimental Agas Map Interface, MoEML, 2015. 

Users can view the various XML versions of a page according to their level of encoding experience under Original XML, Standard XML, Standalone XML, TEI Lite XML and TEI Simple XML (XML Outputs, 2015).

Furthermore, the MoEML provides extensive encoding instructions to how the website and its documents is structured, in addition to even using TEI to tag various text styles (Praxis, 2015). Having perused its website, the MoEML is a unique digital repository that not only gives public access to its content and collections, but also to its open codes and markups for users and researchers to learn and practice. As a user with limited experience with coding, the MoEML is a perfect study and guide to how an overall website functions. 

Hence, the Map of Early Modern London offers and gives users a deep insight into how historical texts has been successfully integrated with digital and coding practices.  

Until next time!

- Raquel

Sources:
Jenstad, J. (2016). Mission Statement. The Map of Early Modern London. Retrieved from    
   https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/mission_statement.htm

Jenstad, J. (2015). The Agas Map. The Map of Early Modern London. Retrieved from  
   https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/map.htm  

Jenstad, J. (2015). The Agas Map. Standard XML. The Map of Early Modern London
   Retrieved from  https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/map.standard.xml

Holmes, M. (2015). XML Outputs. In J. Jenstad (Ed.), The Map of Early Modern London
   Retrieved from https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/xml_outputs.htm 

The Map of Early Modern London. (2015). PraxisRetrieved from 
   https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/praxis.htm 

Image Source: 
Jenstad, J., K. McLean-Fiander, J. Takeda, C. Butt, & K. Tanigawa. (2015). News Briefs. The 
   Map of Early Modern LondonRetrieved from https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/news.htm

2 comments:

  1. Usinyg XML for historic maps is a very interesting use of markup. It presents the encoder with trying to be even more precise with markup to preserve the authenticity and accuracy of the artefact.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have never seen anything like this! I really appreciate your citations and secondary readings here. It is definitely a challenging endeavor, but the details and instructions the MoEML provides are a great resource for others who want to follow suit -- preservation and storage of these delicate artifacts.

    Madiha Zahra

    ReplyDelete