TEI News

Contents

New TEI Webstore Launched

With great pleasure, the TEI announces the launch of its new Webstore and Members Centre (http://www.tei-shop.org/). For the first time this will allow members to subscribe to the TEI as individuals and register for the annual conference online, using a credit card. Institutional members, who generally prefer to be invoiced, should be able to enroll and renew memberships on-line by invoice or credit card in late 2009 or early 2010; in the meantime there is a link to the membership form available from the webstore. We expect also to be able to begin selling paper copies of the Guidelines directly from the new store in late 2009 or early 2010. Currently print copies of the Guidelines are available from Omnipress on a print-on-demand basis.

The TEI has long been well supported by institutions and projects, but has maintained a relatively low base of individual subscribers. At $50, individuals can subscribe to the TEI for a rate comparable to or lower than that charged by similarly influential scholarly organisations. With this on-line registration system, enrolling as a subscriber is now a straightforward task. Subscribers receive a number of benefits including 1/2 price registration at the conference (a $45 benefit), the ability to order copies of the print guidelines at cost (a $30 discount--contact the membership secretary for details), and significant discounts on select software such as the OxygenXML editor. These benefits are also open to affiliates of member institutions. Member institutions, which provide the TEI with the bulk of its financial support also have additional benefits including the right to vote in TEI elections. They are eligible for other benefits such as a digitization service which we hope to be able to announce at the members meeting this November.

The new TEI webstore also allows individuals in the TEI community to register for our annual conference. Early registration for the 2009 conference (Nov. 11-15, 2009 in Ann Arbor, MI [USA]) is now open. Early registration fees are $90 for the general public, $45 for affiliates of member institutions and subscribers, and $10 for students Early registration closes October 10, after which the fees are $120 (public), $60 (member affiliates, subscribers), and $15 (students). The cheapest block of hotel rooms on reserve for conference goers in Ann Arbor expires September 24--so you may want to register even before the end of the early registration period. It is also possible to register for one of our pre-conference workshops on-line.

Let me once again invite you to consider joining the TEI as an individual subscriber--and encouraging institutions and projects you work with to consider joining as institutional members. And of course, sign up for the conference!

Nominations to TEI Council and TEI Board (Closes July 1, 2009)

The Text Encoding Initiative Consortium (TEI-C) invites nominations for election to the TEI-C Board and Council. Nominations should be sent to the nomination committee at [nominations at tei-c.org] by July 1, 2009. Members of the nomination committee this year are Julia Flanders, Malte Rehbein and Christian Wittern (chair). The elections will take place via electronic voting prior to the annual Members' Meeting in November 2009.

Self-nominations are welcome and common. All nominees should provide a brief statement of interest and biographical paragraph, and notice that, if elected, they will be willing to serve. Example candidates' biographies from last year's election can be found at http://www.tei-c.org/Membership/Meetings/2008/mm45.xml

All nominations should include an email address for the nominee and should indicate whether the nomination is for Board or Council.

The TEI-C Board is the governing body for the TEI Consortium, and is responsible for its strategic and financial oversight. The TEI-C Council oversees the technical development of the TEI Guidelines. Service in either group is an opportunity to help the TEI grow and serve its members better.

For more information on the Board please see: http://www.tei-c.org/About/board.xml

For more information on the Council please see: http://www.tei-c.org/Activities/Council/index.xml

TEI-C membership is NOT a requirement to serve on the Board or Council. Candidates should be familiar with the TEI and should be willing to commit time to discussion, decision-making, and TEI activities. If you have ideas about how to make the TEI stronger or can help it do a better job, nominate yourself! Or, if you know someone who you think could contribute to TEI, nominate him or her!

Answers to Vendor Questions for Digitization RFP Now Available.

The Text Encoding Initiative Consortium (TEI http://www.tei-c.org/) has released answers to vendor questions submitted as part of Requests for Proposals (RFP) competition for the provision of digitization services as a benefit to its institutional members.

The answers, with a link to survey data on our membership, can be found at http://www.tei-c.org/Admin/RFP_Answers.xml.

For further information please contact digitization@tei-c.org

Call for Participation: Advanced Seminars in TEI Encoding

Applications are invited for participation in a new series of advanced text encoding seminars, sponsored by the Brown University Women Writers Project with generous funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

These seminars assume a basic familiarity with TEI, and provide an opportunity to explore specific encoding topics in more detail, in a collaborative workshop setting. Each seminar will focus on one of two topics:
  1. Manuscript encoding: focusing on the detailed challenges of encoding manuscript materials, including editorial, transcriptional, and interpretive issues and the methods of representing these in TEI markup.
  2. Contextual information: focusing on TEI methods for formalizing and representing information about context: named entities such as people and places, thematic analysis and keywords, text classification, glossaries and annotations.
These seminars are intended to provide a more in-depth look at specific encoding problems and topics for people who are already involved in a text encoding project or are in the process of planning one. Each event will include a mix of presentations, discussion, case studies using participants' projects, hands-on practice, and individual consultation. The seminars will be strongly project-based: participants will present their projects to the group, discuss specific challenges and encoding strategies, develop encoding specifications and documentation, and create encoded sample documents and templates. We encourage project teams and collaborative groups to apply, although individuals are also welcome. A basic knowledge of the TEI Guidelines and some prior experience with text encoding (e.g. an introductory workshop, job experience, etc.) will be assumed.

Travel funding is available of up to $500 per participant.

Dates, locations, and application deadlines are below. For information on how to apply, and for more detailed information on each workshop, please visit http://www.wwp.brown.edu/encoding/seminars.

The workshop schedule is as follows:
  • University of California, Santa Barbara, September 14-16, 2009; application deadline: June 15, 2009. This workshop will focus on the encoding of contextual information.
  • University of Maryland, College Park, January 20-22, 2010; application deadline: August 1, 2009. This workshop will focus on the encoding of manuscript materials.
  • Brown University, April 8-10, 2010; application deadline: November 1, 2009. This workshop will focus on the encoding of contextual information.
  • University of Nebraska-Lincoln, July 2010 (precise date and deadlines TBA). This workshop will focus on the encoding of manuscript materials.
  • University at Buffalo, October 2010 (precise date and deadlines TBA). This workshop will focus on the encoding of manuscript materials.
  • University of Maryland, January 2011 (precise date and deadlines TBA). This workshop will focus on the encoding of contextual information.

TEI Cosponsored Meeting Balisage 2009 Program Announced.

The organizing committee has released the program for "Balisage 2009: The Markup Conference" to be held in Montreal from 11 to 14 August, 2009.

The program can be found in two forms:
Topics include:
  • design of tools for writing XML and ways to hide XML from authors;
  • XML processing pipelines;
  • encoding multiple versions of documents, theory of document versioning, and change management in a compex XML environment;
  • creating XSD sschemas from UML;
  • linking, namespaces, vocabularies,
  • and a variety of XML-related specifications including Schematron, XSLT, XPath, & XForms and a host of others.
Several slots have been left open for late-breaking news.

Speakers from business and government include representatives of: Appolux, Mark Logic, Saxonica, National Archives and Records Adminstration, Mulberry Technologies, Electronic Commerce Connection, Black Mesa Technologies, Ramsey Systems, XML Solutions, Informing Healthcare (NHS Wales), Xerox Research Centre Europe, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Fujitsu America, Document Engineering Services, and Oracle.

Speakers from the academic world include people from: Université de Montréal, W3C, University of Bergen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Bielefeld University, Technische Universität München, Institute for the German Language (Mannheim), University of Bologna, University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, Jacobs University Bremen , Université de Lyon , Queensland University of Technology, Acadia University, University of Warsaw, and University College Cork.

Balisage 2009: The Markup Conference is produced by Mulberry Technologies, Inc. of Rockville, Maryland (http://www.mulberrytech.com/), sponsored by Mark Logic (http://www.marklogic.com), and co-sponsored by:
  • the World Wide Web Consortium (http://www.w3.org/) -
  • the XML Guild (http://xmlguild.org/)
  • W3 Quebec (http://www.w3qc.org/)
  • OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standard, http://www.oasis-open.org/)
  • the TEI Consortium (http://www.tei-c.org/)
  • the Philadelphia XML Users Group (http://www.xmlphilly.org/)
  • the DC XML Users Group (http://www.eccnet.com/xmlug/)

CALL FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS (Reminder: Workshop proposals due 30 May)

Text encoding in the era of mass digitization: 2009 Conference and Members' Meeting of the TEI Consortium, November 11-15, 2009. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (http://www.lib.umich.edu/spo/teimeeting09/)

Traditionally, the TEI Conference and Members' Meeting has been preceded by educational workshops. The goal of these workshops is to give members of the TEI community an opportunity to learn more about the use of the TEI markup under the guidance of experienced instructors and practitioners. In the past such workshops have ranged from a basic introduction to the use of TEI markup to more specialized sessions on specific aspects of the TEI or its use in specific domains. They have ranged in length from a single morning or afternoon to a maximum of two days. Workshops are run on a cost-recovery basis: a separate fee is charged of participants that is intended to cover the costs of running the workshop.

We are now soliciting proposals for workshops for the 2009 Conference and Members' Meeting, to be held November 11-15 in Ann Arbor, Michigan (USA). Workshops are distinct from other conference activities, such as papers, sessions, and Special Interest Group meetings. They should be educational in focus and propose topics that are likely to be of interest to recognizable segments of the TEI community. Possible topics include:
  • An Introduction to TEI TEI and libraries
  • Editorial practice and the TEI
  • Extending and customizing the TEI
  • Introduction to the ODD system
  • Using the TEI with other standards and markup languages
  • Images and the TEI
Proposals addressing other topics are welcome and encouraged. If you are interested in proposing a workshop for the 2009 Members Meeting and Conference, please email tei-meeting-2009@umich.edu by 30 May 2009. Expressions of interest should include the following information:
  • A proposed topic
  • A rationale explaining why this topic is likely to be of interest to the TEI community
  • A proposed instructor or slate of instructors including brief discussion of relevant experience
  • Method of instruction
  • Preferred length for the workshop
  • A preliminary budget

Proposals will be evaluated by the program committee primarily on the basis of their likely appeal to the TEI community, the quality of the proposed instructors and method of instruction, and cost. The committee will work with selected organizers after this date to refine the details of their workshops.

23 May 2009

Call for Bids: TEI Conference and Members Meeting, 2010

The annual TEI Conference and Members' Meeting takes place every year in late October or early November. We are now seeking bids to host this event in 2010.

The conference and meeting this year (2009) will take place on November 11-15 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, USA. The previous meetings have been:
  • London, England, November 6-8, 2008. hosted by King's College London.
  • College Park (MD), USA, October 31-November 3, 2007. Hosted by the University of Maryland.
  • Victoria, Canada, October 27-28, 2006. Hosted by the University of Victoria.
  • Sophia, Bulgaria, October 28-29, 2005. Hosted by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
  • Baltimore, USA, October 22-23, 2004. Hosted by Johns Hopkins University.
  • Nancy, France, November 7-8 2003. Hosted by ATILF.
  • Chicago, USA, October 11-12 2002. Hosted by the Newberry Library and Northwestern University.
  • Pisa, Italy, November 16-17 2001. Hosted by the University of Pisa.

The site of the conference and meeting has typically alternated between Europe and North America, but that is not a fixed rule. We welcome proposals from other parts of the world, and in particular from areas where new TEI communities are arising.

This year's conference and meeting will be a four-day event (plus pre-conference workshops), with approximately 120 attendees. The three days of the main conference will include a mix of plenary lectures by invited speakers, round-table discussions, and conference-style sessions; there will also be a business meeting of the membership. The fourth day (Sunday) will be a closed session for members of the Board. Meetings of TEI Special Interest Groups (SIGs) may also scheduled for this day. Future meetings should assume roughly this shape, although there is considerable room for local initiative in consultation with the Board.

The TEI Consortium guarantees direct costs of the conference and meeting up to a maximum of US$5200 with special provisions for funding attendance in excess of approximately 120 attendees. The conference organising committee is also expected to seek additional funds from local institutions, commercial sponsors, and other organisations. A conference registration fee is charged to assist the TEI in recovering its expenditure and ensure that it is able to underwrite the cost of future conferences.

Bids should be sent to info@tei-c.org by no later than September 1, 2009, though institutions considering making a proposal are encouraged to contact chair of the TEI (daniel.odonnell@uleth.ca) much earlier in the process in order to discuss their ideas. Bids should include the following information:
  • The name of the institution(s) making the bid
  • The name, address, email, and telephone number of the contact person
  • A brief description of the facilities available for the event (rooms, equipment, technical support, food)
  • An indication of what financial support, if any, the hosting institution is prepared to give (for instance, sponsoring one or more receptions or pre-meeting workshops; payment of travel expenses for one or more plenary speakers; etc.)
  • Any other details that may be useful in assessing the bid (e.g. the presence of a conference on a related topic at the institution around the time of the meeting; the launch of a new TEI-related initiative at the institution, etc., ideas for a particular theme or focus).
In submitting bids, local organisers are encouraged to be creative: the TEI is willing to work with hosts to reflect local interests and strengths.

Further information about the requirements for the conference and members meeting may be found in our document on Hosting a Members Meeting and the Board's own Practices and Procedures document.

All bids will be reviewed by the TEI board, which makes the final decision.

21 May 2009

Digitization Program: Amendments to Request for Proposals

The RFP for the TEI's proposed digitization program has been amended. These changes correct the required accuracy standards and provide a direct link to the required DTD. See the new "Corrections and Clarifications" section of the document for details.

20 May 2009

Digitization Program: Request for Proposals

The Text Encoding Initiative Consortium (TEI http://www.tei-c.org/) is in the final stages of a Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funded program investigating the provision of digitization services as a benefit to its institutional members.

We are now seeking Requests for Proposals (RFP) for this program. Details can be found at our website: http://www.tei-c.org/Admin/RFP.xml.

About the TEI

The TEI is a community-based consortium responsible for establishing and maintaining guidelines for encoding machine-readable texts for the purpose of literary and linguistic study. The initiative was established in 1987, incorporated as a non-profit organization in 2000, and today represents 81 institutions in 19 countries. Many more projects, institutions, and individuals participate in TEI activities including an annual conference, mailing list, and instructional activities.

The main deliverable of the TEI is its Guidelines (http://www.tei-c.org/Guidelines/P5/index.xml). Now in its fifth edition, the Guidelines are used by Libraries, presses, and scholarly projects to mark up the electronic text collections they produce out of their own holdings. Currently TEI members digitize, on average, approximately 176,000 pages of primary (print, handwritten, and microfilm) materials per year, emanating from book, serials, newspaper, and manuscript collections.

About the RFP

The TEI is currently focussed on expanding its membership base. This RFP is a central part of this program. As the result of a poll taken in 2008, the TEI has identified access to high-quality digitization services as an attractive benefit for its membership. The goal of such a program would be to allow TEI's members to pool their digitization work in order to take advantage of volume-based discounts and workflow from preferred vendor(s). For their part, the vendor(s) selected by TEI would be able to reduce their own set-up costs by grouping together smaller jobs that are to be digitized according to identical standards. Based on its polling of its member institutions, TEI estimates that the contract value of the TEI work described here may range from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars per year. This RFP is an invitation to vendors to participate in defining and developing an appropriate method for delivering on this potential.

Time-line

Our goal is to be able to announce a program in time for our 2009 members meeting--to be held in November in Ann Arbor Michigan. The following is the time-line we expect to follow for this process:
  • May 13, 2009 TEI RFP distributed to vendors
  • May 29, 2009 TEI deadline for receipt of vendor questions
  • June 12, 2009 TEI deadline to provide responses to vendor questions
  • June 22, 2009 TEI deadline for receipt of vendor proposals
  • July 6, 2009 TEI announces short list of vendor finalists, start of testing
  • July 20, 2009 TEI testing period ends for vendor finalists
  • August 15, 2009 TEI announces vendor selection
The TEI reserves the right to modify this time-line as well as to qualify, accept or reject any vendor or proposal.

For more information or further inquiries, please contact Daniel Paul O'Donnell, chair and CEO, at digitization@tei-c.org.

13 May 2009

2009 Annual Members Meeting: Ann Arbor, 11-15 November

The 2009 Annual Meeting of the TEI Consortium will be held November 11-15, 2009 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The program, organized around the theme "Text encoding in the era of mass digitization," will feature keynote lectures, parallel sessions, the annual TEI business meeting, a poster session/tools demonstration and slam, and Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings.

For more information, visit the conference website.

Please direct all inquiries to tei-meeting-2009@umich.edu.

06 April 2009

TEI Vesta release

The Vesta desktop TEI processor is now available. Vesta is a simple Java desktop application which lets you run conversions on TEI files. It understands what to do with ODD files, and can generate schemas and documentation. It can process simple TEI XML files and make HTML, LaTeX, FO and Word 2007 .docx output.

A MacOS version can be downloaded from https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=106328&package_id=298013 and Debian/Ubuntu users can pick up a "tei-vesta" package by adding the right APT source to their local setup (see http://tei.oucs.ox.ac.uk/teideb/ ). The source is available on Sourceforge.

01 April 2009

Print copies of the P5 Guidelines now available for sale

Print copies of the P5 Guidelines are now available. The two volume set, which is particularly suitable for reference and use within the lab, has a retail price of $150.00 USD + Shipping and handling. Current Members and Subscribers may purchase the Guidelines at cost ($120.00 + shipping and handling)) using a special discount code. In addition, Members receive one free copy of the Guidelines as a Membership Benefit.

30 March 2009

Show your support for the TEI!

Add a button to your website indicating your use of the TEI in your work. [More...]

17 March 2009

Balisage 2009

The TEI is a proud co-sponsor of Balisage 2009, a markup-related conference that will be held in Montréal from August 11-14. TEI members are eligible for discounted conference registration.

06 February 2009

TEI P5 release 1.3.0

Version 1.3.0 of TEI P5 has been released. The new release
  • adds two new elements ( <listEvent> and <locusGrp> )
  • includes extensive modifications to the French translation, undertaken by the GE8 group under J-L. Benoit
  • includes a large number of Chinese examples provided by the Taiwan team under M. Bingenheimer
  • contains a range of minor changes agreed by the TEI Council between November 2008 and January 2009, in response to suggestions and bug reports received at the TEI Sourceforge request tracker.

Changes made are listed briefly in date order at http://www.tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/readme-1.3.html . Where further discussion of the change is available in the SF bug tracker, the ticket number is indicated in parentheses in the list.

The release can be found in four places:

New versions of Roma (3.7) and the XSL stylesheets (5.15) accompany this release, and can be found in the same locations listed above. and are in the same places as given for P5.

06 February 2009