Leader: William Warner

Group Members: Donna Beth Ellard, Lisa Gitelman, Mark Goble, Paula McDowell, Carol Braun Pasternack, Clifford Siskin, Alison Walker

• How, over the long history of reading, did the interface that linked writers to readers change?
• What factors seemed to drive the evolution of the reading interface, from the manuscript codex through early modern print to 20th century xerography?
• How can we visualize the morphing and pluralization of the reading interface?
• What can we learn from the history of reading about collective authoring and reading practices that might inform efforts to address today’s era of “social computing” with its interrelated problems of information credibility, authority, and privacy?
• How can our study of the history of the reading inform our long term goal: the development of smart tools for enhancing the versatility, efficiency, network functionality, and cultural value of online reading?