The Book and the World Wide Web

Aleš Vaupotič

Method

Reading of a literary theory monograph

The »scholarly dynamic reference work«: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (1998—)

Publishing model

(1) a password-protected web interface for authors, which allows them to download entry templates, submit private drafts for review, and remotely edit/update their

entries;

(2) a password-protected web interface for the subject editors, which allows them to add new topics,

commission new entries, referee unpublished entries and updates (updates can be displayed with the original and

updated versions side-by-side with the differences highlighted);

(3) a secure web server for the principal editor, by which the entire collaborative process can be managed with a very small staff;

(4) a tracking system – e.g. it determines who owes work and when, automatically sends occasional, friendly email reminders, and provides a summary to the principal editor;

(5) software which dynamically cross-references the SEP when new entries are published, and which periodically checks for broken links throughout the content;

(6) software which automatically creates an archive every quarter, providing the proper basis for scholarly citation;

and (7) mirror sites (faster access, extra backups).

Other web based encyclopaedias

(1) behind a subscription wall and even invisible to search engines;

or (2) don't have an administrative system capable of screening new entries and updates prior to publication

and ensuring that entries are responsive to new research,

or (3) don't allow the authors/editors to directly contact the server to update/referee the content;

or (4) lack a system of archives for stable, scholarly citation,

or (5) lack a university-based Advisory Board as a supplement to the Editorial Board.

Academic journals on the web and on-line preprint exchange

(1) do not typically update the articles they publish,

(2) do not aim to publish articles on a comprehensive set of topics,

(3) do not aim to cross-reference and create links among the concepts,

(4) typically serve a narrow audience of specialists,

Academic journals on the web and on-line preprint exchange

and (5) do not have to deal with the asynchronous activity of updating, refereeing, and tracking separate deadlines for entries, since they are published on a

synchronized schedule.

The issue of »proximity« in the case of the book and on-line (Vilém Flusser's »proxemics«)

Beyond the book – the new media textualitySMS sonnet (2010) by Teo Spiller