I’m really proud to be part of this Berkeley-led project, which was just awarded a $165,000 grant by the NEH. Our goal is to spread the good news about the way the law treats text and data mining (it’s heavily favored by fair use!), and to help folks think through an array of legal and ethical issues that come up once you get into the nitty gritty of doing that kind of research. Next June we will assemble a group of humanities researchers, librarians, and research staff and walk them through these issues, with help from a star-studded team of experts.

As I say in the blog post, one of the most compelling things about this project, for me, is the way it will help level the playing field for researchers by removing a major source of uncertainty and doubt. My hope is that as these literacies spread, we’ll see more and more folks using these tools, from all kinds of institutions and all points in their academic careers.