Introduction to Special Journal Issue Provides Overview of Digital Archives and Their Uses

In the 21st century, digital humanities—a scholarly field in which digital computational techniques are applied to humanities disciplines—has reshaped literary scholarship in various ways. Digital humanities scholars employ different tools and methods, resulting in interdisciplinary projects (e.g., digital archives, digital databases, computer analysis). In recent decades, many scholars have ventured into the territory of digital humanities, but children's literature studies has not yet fully embraced the field.

In an introduction to a special journal issue, researchers provide an overview of digital humanities and their potential application to children's literature studies; the introduction invites scholars to explore these techniques in their own research. The article was written by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Antwerp.

"The special issue illustrates the wide array of approaches scholars can take to investigate children's literature with digital humanities methods," explains Rebekah Fitzsimmons, associate teaching professor of professional communication at Carnegie Mellon's Heinz College, who coauthored the article. "It provides insights into the work institutions have done in creating digital resources for children's literature studies and the work scholars have done in their research."

The special issue also features an overview of seven digital archives and their possible uses.

"Taken together, the articles in this issue highlight the diverse approaches that digital archivists can take," Vanessa Joosen, professor of English literature and children's literature at the University of Antwerp, who coauthored the article. "Some authors address the methodological considerations when setting up an archive; others highlight the potential for research that the archive holds, which may inspire further research."

Adds Paavo Van der Eecken, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Antwerp, who coauthored the article: "A common thread for these digital analyses is that the results are often not the end point. Rather, they reveal patterns and outliers that lead to hypotheses and findings that can be further tested and refined with close reading strategies."

This special issue of The Lion and the Unicorn is available in Open Access through Project Muse.

More information:
Summarized from an article in The Lion and the Unicorn, Children's Literature and Digital Humanities, by Fitzsimmons, R (Carnegie Mellon University), Joosen, V (The University of Antwerp), and Van der Eecken, P (The University of Antwerp). Copyright 2026. Johns Hopkins University Press. All rights reserved.

Provided by Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College