When Machines Do Research: Automated Analysis of News and Other Primary Source Texts

The dramatic increase in the use of computing tools in the humanities, social sciences and public policy, to mine and analyze digital news and other types of Web-based textual content presents new challenges to librarians. Three case studies of research projects that use news and other ephemeral materials as sources of data on political and economic events and activities suggest new roles for libraries, which have less to do with maintaining and providing access to electronic content than with documenting and authenticating electronic source materials and supporting enhanced access to same.