The Chronicle is running a well-meaning piece called “Digital Hobbyists” [subscription required] about scholarly digitization projects in history and other fields:
As the cost of high-quality scanning equipment dwindles and the Internet’s reputation as an academic tool grows, more and more professors in history and other humanities disciplines are [. . .] digitizing research that falls outside of their chief fields of study.
The reporter, Brock Read, spoke to all the right people: Roy Rosenzweig, Greg Crane, Vernon Burton, among others. The problem is that the hobbyist becomes the hook for the story, and so we’re back to puttering in the garage while readers learn that the Web is primarily notable for influencing otherwise productive researchers to stray from their specializations and spend time pursuing extracurricular interests.
Maybe I’m just being cranky. It really is a pretty balanced piece overall. Besides, some awfully good things have come out of the garage.
Posted by mgk at September 2, 2003 04:45 PM