Text+, which is one of the 19 consortia funded to date (as of April 2022), began operations in October 2021. It aims to establish a research data infrastructure for the humanities and other text-based fields of study, with a focus on linguistic and text data. A wide spectrum of disciplines is represented by the consortium’s 34 partner institutions. These include not only universities and research libraries but also data centres, members of academic institutes and computing centres. One main focus of the consortium’s work is the further development of standards and best practices for dealing with research data, and this is accomplished in cooperation with research communities and academic societies, networks and information services. Their goal is the integration of data stemming from the community.
Text+ is currently divided into the data domains of collections, lexical resources and editions. As a data and competence centre in the data domain editions (coordinated by the Nordrhein-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften und Künste / North Rhine-Westphalia Academy of Sciences and Arts), the HAB participates in the clusters ‘Ancient and Medieval Texts’ and ‘Early Modern, Modern and Contemporary Texts’. As part of its work in these clusters, the HAB makes available data, tools and services, such as the Wolfenbütteler Digital Library (WDB) publication platform, while also providing comprehensive coordinated consulting services, an area in which the HAB is able to bring its expertise to bear. Additionally, the HAB is also helping to establish a curated registry of editions that will offer users and editors structured access to the great number of available resources. This will not be limited to digital editions but will also include printed works. The focus here is on providing general category-based access and ensuring the FAIRness of the editions.
Through its involvement in sections of the NFDI e.V. and its membership of the association Geistes- und kulturwissenschaftliche Forschungsinfrastrukturen e.V. (Research Infrastructures in the Humanities and Cultural Sciences, formerly known as TextGrid e.V.), the HAB is also closely involved in work on subjects with crossover between different consortia.
Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG)
Duration: October 2021 – September 2026
Project participants: Daniela Schulz (team member), Dr Hartmut Beyer (contact)
