The readings were pretty technical this week and were, I admit, over my head.  The idea behind XML and library use seems interesting; if all metadata must meet certain codes for compatibility then that takes away institutional quirks and/or bias that has marked archival work.  On the other hand, this makes the ability to interpret sources difficult as well; the archivist, like the historian, should have some sort of right to organize information according to standards, but with a sense of individualism.

Walsh states that, “The act of encoding a document is a form of discovery, or prospecting, in which the encoder maps a document’s structure, identifies semantic elements of interest, and documents relationships internal and external to the document.”  This is an interesting way to see encoding, and I think I have to remind myself of this.  While working with webdesign (did I mention I love this) or databases I have felt disconnected from the “doing history” part of the process, however, it is important to note that these digital tools are a part of the process. The use of digital tools force the historian to explore the document in new ways.  Comic books are an interesting way to discuss the implications of this because they use small amounts of text coupled with images.