JISC

Early English books online in teaching & research

In association with ProQuest, JISC & the English Subject Centre

Organisers Dr Ian Gadd (i.gadd@bathspa.ac.uk) & Dr Tracey Hill (t.hill@bathspa.ac.uk)

Confirmed speakers Professor William Sherman (University of York), Richard Ovenden (Bodleian Library) 

Since 1998, Early English Books Online (EEBO) has given scholars and students 'instant access' to over 125,000 sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English books. Books in research libraries across the world can now be read at any time and in any place; moreover, it reaches readers who, because of their status or their geography, have traditionally found it difficult to access these rare book collections. By bringing early printed books into any library, into the academic office, into the classroom, even into the home, EEBO has changed how scholars and students study these texts. 

But how much impact has EEBO had on research and on teaching? What have scholars and students gained? What have they lost? How does EEBO fit with the renewed attention to the materiality of the early modern text and the increasing interest in the history of early printing and publishing? Just how scholarly are the technologies and structures underlying EEBO? What kind of relationship should there be between EEBO and academia? How should EEBO develop?

Call for papers

The organisers invite proposals from literary and historical scholars for 10-15 minute case-study presentations outlining personal techniques, methods and experiences of using EEBO as a teaching tool. Please send proposals (max. 250 words), along with a brief biography and any audio-visual requirements, to Dr Tracey Hill (t.hill@bathspa.ac.uk) by 31 MAY.

Conference

This conference, the first to focus specifically on EEBO as a teaching and research tool, will bring together academics, students, librarians and technology specialists from the UK and abroad to explore these questions through a series of lectures, seminar presentations and workshops. There will be extended opportunities to discuss and debate the use and development of EEBO with representatives from ProQuest (who provide EEBO), JISC and EEBO-TCP. 

The conference is aimed at anyone studying, teaching or researching the early modern period (whether or not you have had any direct experience of EEBO) or at anyone with an interest in the use of digital resources such as EEBO. Postgraduate students are particularly welcome. For further details about the conference, please contact Patricia Lynn (p.lynn@bathspa.ac.uk), Project Development Officer, at the School of English & Creative Studies, Bath Spa University College, Newton Park, Bath BA2 9BN (01225-875559). 

There will be no registration fee; however, a charge will be levied for the optional conference banquet (Thursday evening).

Further information 

EEBO (Early English Books Online)
EEBO-TCP
Hosting charges for UK HE and FE institutions
Bath Spa University College
School of English & Creative Studies, Bath Spa University College
ProQuest
English Subject Centre