Digital Publishing and The Reader

这一合作研究项目的目的是调查数字环境下出版性质的变化，特别是鼓励读者、文本和作者之间互动的例子。该项目的研究重点位于图书情报学和出版业。通过重点案例研究，该项目将为大英图书馆提供与馆藏建设和展示英国文化活动有关的政策方面的研究。该项目符合AHRC“数字转型”研究主题，特别是研究新兴媒体和“数字时代的传播和创造力”。它的重点是研究读者和作者之间的互动，以及新技术在塑造这些互动中的作用。英国出版业性质的变化是这项研究的核心，它完全符合RCUK的“数字经济”主题，包括：知识的复制和传播；新的表现形式；出版的变化；以及作者的观念。该项目将解决三个具体问题：1.数字出版中的技术变化，包括新技术和现有技术的再利用，以支持读者、文本和作者之间的互动；2.技术变化对读者和作者的行为以及他们与文本的互动的影响；以及3.这些变化对记忆机构的意义，特别是关于收藏和其他活动的问题，以反映阅读和作者行为和技术的这些变化。数字技术正在改变阅读、写作和出版，为对实验和创新感兴趣的作家和读者创造了多重机会。预计在几年内，所有新兴作家都将接触到新的形式和/或平台，以及与读者联系的新方式。随着读者、作者和文本之间的互动在多个平台和模式上变得更加流畅和普遍，大英图书馆等记忆机构将如何捕捉和表现文本的生活？目前，读者与作者的互动很少与文本一起存档，尽管与作家和他们的文本在线互动是一项非常受欢迎的活动，因为已经存在大量充满活力的社区和网络。任何解决阅读和出版技术变化问题的研究项目都必须解决这些变化对作者和文本的影响。巴斯温泉大学和大英图书馆之间的博士研究合作将产生一系列开创性的案例研究，其中大英图书馆收集的与文本和游戏有关的参数可以得到扩充和扩展，解决出版和相关的读者/玩家/作家互动应该如何由记忆机构表示和收集的研究问题。在博士学位期间，学生将能够运行深入的正在进行的案例研究，考察获奖文学作家如Tessa Hadley教授、Philip Hensher教授、David Almond教授、Maggie Gee教授和Fay Weldon教授的书籍的写作过程、出版前、出版后和出版后的读者参与。案例研究可以检验技术在所有这些关键阶段中扮演的角色，从写作到读者参与，跨越图书节、社交媒体、社交阅读和目前整个出版生态圈。除了文学文本，案例研究也可以围绕凯特·普林格教授和娜奥米·奥尔德曼教授在数字小说、游戏、参与式写作项目和合作文本领域所做的工作来建立；巴斯温泉的创意写作部门不同寻常，因为它的员工包括这个新兴领域最杰出和国际知名的两位创新者。

The purpose of this collaborative research project is to investigate the changing nature of publishing in digital environments, with particular emphasis on examples which encourage interaction between readers, texts and authors.The research focus of the project is located in library and information science and publishing. Through focused case studies, it will provide policy-relevant research for the British Library on issues related to collection-building and representation of cultural activity in Britain.This project fits within the AHRC 'Digital Transformations' research theme, in particular examining emerging media and 'communication and creativity in a digital age'. Its focus is on examining the interaction between readers and authors, and the role of new technologies in shaping these interactions. The changing nature of UK publishing is central to this research, and it fits firmly within the RCUK's 'Digital Economy' theme, including topics such as: the reproduction and dissemination of knowledge; new forms of expression; changes in publishing; and notions of authorship.The project would address three specific questions:1. Technology change in digital publishing, including new technologies and reuse of existing technologies to support interaction between readers, texts and authors;2. The impact of technology change on behaviours of readers and authors and their interaction with texts; and3. The significance of these changes for memory institutions, in particular questions on collection building and other activities to represent these changes in reading and authorship behaviours and technologies.Digital technologies are transforming reading, writing and publishing, creating multiple opportunities for writers and readers interested in experimentation and innovation. Within a few years, all emerging writers will be expected to be engaged with new forms and/or platforms as well as new ways of connecting with readers. As interaction between readers, writers, and texts becomes more fluid and pervasive across multiple platforms and modes, how will the life of a text be captured and represented by memory institutions like the British Library? Currently, reader-writer interaction is seldom archived alongside the text, though engagement with writers and their texts online is a hugely popular activity with large and vibrant communities and networks already existing. Any research project that addresses questions around technological change in reading and publishing must also address the impact of these changes on authors and texts.A doctoral research collaboration between Bath Spa University and the British Library will produce a series of ground-breaking case studies where the parameters of what the British Library collects in relation to texts and games could be augmented and expanded, addressing the research question of how publishing and related reader/player/writer interaction should be represented and collected by memory institutions. Within the time period of the doctorate the student will be able to run in-depth on-going case studies looking at the writing process, pre-publication, publication, and post-publication reader engagement of books by award-winning literary writers like Prof Tessa Hadley, Prof Philip Hensher, Prof David Almond, Prof Maggie Gee, and Prof Fay Weldon. Case studies could examine the role that technology plays in all these key stages, from writing to reader engagement across book festivals, social media, social reading and the whole ecosphere of publishing currently. As well as literary texts, case studies could be built around the work that Prof Kate Pullinger and Prof Naomi Alderman do in the field of digital fiction, games, participatory writing projects, and collaborative texts; Bath Spa's creative writing department is unusual in that its staff includes two of the most prominent and internationally-renowned innovators in this emerging field.