Home Method

ArchBio approaches the study of Iberian life writing from a new perspective by harmonizing traditional scholarship with digital technologies, digital scholarly editing, and visualization techniques. Below is a succint overview of the methodology that is implemented across the different sections of ArchBio.

  • Infrastructure

    The site infrastructure is designed using the CMS Drupal 8, opting for a custom template developed essentially from the ground up. Drupal was selected for its scalability, adherence to web standards, open-source foundation, and efficiency. Currently, content is presented in English, with plans to introduce a Spanish version. All imagery adheres to open access and copyright-free standards.

  • Database

    The database stands at the core of ArchBio, converting the rich tapestry of biographical literature into analyzable computational data. This transformation allows for an unprecedented exploration of structured data, answering critical research questions about authors, preservation of texts, biographees' historical versus fictional nature, their occupations, gender representation, manuscript and edition availability, translations, and language use. Additionally, the database encompasses chronological and geographical insights, including dates and places of birth, residency, and death.

    The database is created within Drupal with the PHP MySQL system and it is in charge to organize all the materials and data: authors, editions, biographies, historical characters, gender, place of birth and death, noble title, job, geographical coordinates, among many other variables. Here are more details on the information that is being gathered:

    • The creation of the database features to date only Iberian authors and their literary works, such as collective and single biographies, or mémoires.

    • Each author, biographee, and works, when possible, are connected to authority files and semantic data (BNE Datos, VIAF, Wikidata)

    • Works have a section, under construction, that aims to compile existing manuscripts, old and modern editions of the text, year and places of publications. For the manuscripts, most of the information is manually recovered from PhiloBiblon.

  • Texts

    A key objective of ArchBio is establishing a digital library of Iberian biographical writings, notably including works unavailable online.

    • As of now, texts are recovered from the last copyright-free editions, most of them published at the beginning of the 20th century. While not the ideal scenario, this method represents the most efficient strategy for digitizing these texts. Conversion to plain text (UTF-8) via OCR is followed by error corrections.Those texts without a modern print edition will need manual transcription since they only exist in manuscripts.

    • Texts are enriched and encoded with XML markup, adhering to the Text Encoding Initiative guidelines. This XML-TEI markup is minimal and it only encodes structural information (chapters, paragraphs, notes, etc.) and semantic elements (i.e. name places, person names, dates, geographical places, etc.). The encoded corpus will be available soon in GitHub, as well as the documentation.

    • In the future, texts should offer diplomatic editions of their manuscripts, as well as a modernized version.

  • Digital Surrogates of Primary Sources

    • ArchBio has developed a bespoke system for accessing digital reproductions of primary sources, especially those not available online through institutional repositories. This system utilizes the Internet Archive Book Reader software, offering users an intuitive way to explore original manuscripts. A beta version, including a comprehensive manuscript list, is currently accessible here.

  • Bibliography

    • Bibliography for ArchBio is organized using Zotero, a bibliographic management tool. This ensures the entire collection, along with its subcollections, is systematically cataloged and easily accessible via the Zotero online platform here. ArchBio leverages Zotero's API to seamlessly integrate bibliographic details directly into its various sections.  

  • License

    • All images and texts used are in open access and free of copyright.