-----Original Message-----
From: Sally-Beth MacLean [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2001 12:26 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: U of T Press electronic REED questionnaire
NOTICE TO OUR USERS
The University of Toronto Press has put together a questionnaire about
possible CD-ROM publication of the REED Kent: Diocese of Canterbury
collection, now in final production at the Toronto office. We have added a
few questions of our own at the end of the list as we explore eventual
publication of the REED series on the web. We would be very grateful to
have responses from any of you willing to take the time to fill out the form
below. Please return it by e-mail to Sally-Beth MacLean
([log in to unmask]) after consulting with your librarian.
Many thanks for your help!
Questionnaire
1. Do you currently purchase volumes of Records of Early English Drama for
personal use?
Yes.
2. Do you request that your university library purchase REED volumes?
I do not, due to pressures on us to justify that many students will use the
volumes and the expense of the volumes. I have purchased them myself and
keep them in my office for the students in Medieval Literature, Chaucer, and
History of the English Language. Our library budget is small. We are small:
2,000 students.
3. What do you find most useful about the REED volumes?
They are most useful for my own research on patrons and travelling
companies. I need the patrons' biographies, the lists of dates of
performances indexed to the documents. Secondly they are useful as examples
of the context in which drama and language developed.
4. The Kent:Diocese of Canterbury 2 or 3 volume set forthcoming next year is
an extraordinarily large collection and will be an expensive publication. To
help us determine the best format in which to publish Kent, please indicate
below which format you would most likely buy or suggest to your library.
Book form (3 volumes) Approx $US500.
Introduction and apparatus in book
form with CD-ROM of actual records
appended Approx $US275.
Entire collection on CD-ROM only Approx $US275.
I personally prefer the computer format, since it is easier to search. To
prepare for History of the English Language, I can go looking for specific
language types, words, spellings, and grammatical forms. I can also go
looking for all mentions of a specific patron in the documents, and the CD
ROM is portable, projectable for a class, and easy to search. I vote for
the CD ROM.
Do you have any other format suggestions or concerns about the REED volumes?
Please list below.
5. Do you think your library would prefer REED volumes in print, CD-ROM or
web-based format? If you are unsure, please consult with your librarian.
Our library director is very much interested in materials available online.
I think that he would be much more open to buying the CDs than the print
volumes.
A suggestion from my wish-list: I wish that the biographies of the patrons
from the published collections were available online or on CD, compiled in
the same format that they appear in the volumes, with performance dates and
page numbers to all the volumes published so far. I have seen the web
sample database, which is excellent, but an additional CD index of patrons
biographies from all the volumes would be just great.
6. What features would you expect to find on a REED volume in electronic
format?
Search engine
Index which is a table of contents, linked to sections
Hyperlinked notes from editor's introduction
Hyperlinked endnotes from documents
Documents and editorial apparatus (appendices, translations)
Index? (If there is a search feature, this might not be needed)
7. What advantages do you think REED volumes in electronic format (CD-ROM
or on the web) would offer?
-Portability for use on research trips and general commuting. I can carry a
set of Cds with me much more easily and use them with a laptop computer on
resarch trips.
-Storage convenience in office or library: CDs or web based formats take up
much less/no shelf space
-Lower cost (given example of Kent above)
-The "read what you need" approach: I can search the CD for what I need.
-Projectability for students: you can project from electronic format,
making it easier to use these materials in lectures or presentations.
Students would also have access to them for the same purposes.
Elza C. Tiner
Geraldine Lyon Owen Professor of English
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Lynchburg College
1501 Lakeside Drive
Lynchburg, VA 24501
