{"id":204136,"date":"2026-04-10T06:49:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T20:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=204136"},"modified":"2026-04-12T08:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T22:00:17","slug":"about-digital-texts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/about-the-library\/about-digital-texts\/","title":{"rendered":"About the Digital Texts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nRevised: 12 April 2026\n<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/a> | Formats<\/a> | Tufte inspired page design<\/a> | Citation Tool<\/a> | Multi-Pane Readers<\/a>\n\n\n\n

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Introduction<\/h2>\n\n

In the Library texts of various kinds can be found. Most are books, but there are also pamphlets, political documents, and declarations in which ideas about liberty and power have been vigorously discussed and debated. We also have online a large number of images, such as works of art, book illustrations, and propaganda which express political ideas. See the “illustrated essays” we have written under “Topics \/ Images of Liberty and Power” in the top navigation bar.<\/p>\n\n

Formats of the Digital Texts<\/h2>\n\n
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Our philosophy is to provide the written texts in a variety of formats which can be read online or downloaded. These include:<\/p>\n\n

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  1. a facsimile PDF of the original work, which is the foundational version of the text, which provides the chapter structure for the table of contents and the pagination<\/li>\n
  2. an HTML version of the facsimile PDF which we have \u201cenhanced\u201d by including the original page numbers of the book in square brackets [123<\/strong>], the inclusion of a citation tool to aid scholars, and a format which is easier to read online (based on the design ideas of Edward Tufte; see a discussion of the design principles of the DLL&P website<\/a> for more details)<\/li>\n
  3. an ePub version which can be read on portable devices<\/li>\n
  4. and for more complex works we have developed a multi-pane framework in which to read the texts which have large numbers of notes, appendixes, and glossaries, or to view translations of key texts side-by-side with the original. (See the collection of “Multi-pane Readers” and “Bilingual Readers” here<\/a>.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n

    Edward Tufte inspired page design<\/h2>\n\n

    We have adopted an easier to read format for the texts based upon the ideas of Edward Tufte [see this page<\/a> for details]. The aim is to make these rather dense texts more readable online. The texts are 600px wide, with more spacing between the lines and the paragraphs, and the background colour is an off-white. Here is a sample page from Locke’s Two Treatises of Government<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n

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    Although Tufte is an advocate of sidenotes in place of endnotes we have continued to use endnotes for the most part. The exception is the Multi-Pane Readers which use a separate side “pane” to display notes. See below for details on “sidenoting” and the collection of Multi-Pane Readers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

     <\/p>\n\n

    The Citation Tool<\/h2>\n\n

    One of the enhancements we have made to the HTML version of the texts is to insert a unique ID number for each paragraph (e.g. p id=”text-p123″) into the text. This enables some clever Java script to pluck the ID number out of the text and package it into a snippet which contains the full bibliographic information about the book and a URL which links directly to that paragraph. This allows the reader to cite that paragraph accurately in their research.<\/p>\n\n

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    Below is a specific example to show how this works. We have chosen the classic text: John Locke, TWO TREATISES OF Government: In the former, The false Principles, and Foundation OF Sir ROBERT FILMER, And his FOLLOWERS, ARE Detected and Overthrown. The latter is an ESSAY CONCERNING THE True Original, Extent, and End OF Civil Government.<\/em> LONDON, Printed for Awnsham Churchill, at the Black Swan in Ave-Mary-Lane, by Amen-Corner, 1690. The facsimile PDF of the text is online here<\/a>\n“http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/liberty\/Books\/1690-Locke_TwoTreatises\/Locke_TwoTreatises1690-ebook.html”.<\/p>\n\n

    Let us say we wish to cite the passage in which Locke talks about the purpose of government \u201cbeing for the benefit of the Governed, and not the sole advantage of the Governors\u201d. It comes from section 93 on p. 121 of the text, in Chap. VIII of Book I. Link<\/a> is “http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/liberty\/EnglishClassicalLiberals\/Locke\/TwoTreatises\/1690_Edition\/index.html#TT-p105” – where “TT-p105” is the unique paragraph ID number for “Two Treatises paragraph number 105”.<\/p>\n\n

    The following are the steps required to find and cite this accurately:<\/p>\n \n

    1. Select the style of citation<\/strong> from the drop down menu at the top of page under the heading \u201cSource\u201d; this will structure the way the citation is formatted; the default setting is \u201cMLA Style\u201d; the other options are \u201cAPA Style\u201d and \u201cTurabian Style\u201d.<\/p>\n\n

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     <\/p>\n\n

    2. Do a word search<\/strong> within the text for the phrase \u201cthe governed\u201d (there are 2); the second occurrence is the one we want to cite; it is in Locke\u2019s section number 93, which in the online edition is coded as \u201cp class=”section” id=”TT-p105″” – “93. Children therefore, as has been shew’d, by the \u2026\u201d. As you hover the cursor over the paragraph two icons will appear in the left margin – an “Anchor” icon and a “Star” icon.<\/p>\n\n

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     <\/p>\n\n

    3. Clicking on the “Anchor” icon<\/strong> will produce a box which contains the URL which links directly to this paragraph. Clicking on the “Star” icon will produce a box which contains the full bibliographical reference for the text as well as the URL which links directly to this paragraph. Either can be copied and pasted into the paper you are writing on Locke.<\/p>\n\n

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    The end result<\/strong> might be something like this is your article or paper on Lockean consent theory\u201d:<\/p>\n\n

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    In his discussion of the rights and duties of children and fathers in a family Locke makes a passing comment on the rights and duties of \u201cthe Governed\u201d and \u201cthe Governors\u201d which he would later expand into a full theory of consent in the second part of the book. He states that \u201cBut Government being for the benefit of the Governed, and not the sole advantage of the Governors \u2026 cannot be Inherited by the same Title, that Children have to the Goods of their Fathers.\u201d [Footnote: John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690 edition), Section 93, p. 121. Online at [Link]; visited on 1\/21\/2023.]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

    Multi-Pane Readers<\/h2>\n\n

    See our collection of texts which are in the Multi-Pane Reader<\/a> format.<\/p>\n\n

    A number of texts in the Collection are quite complex, having large numbers of footnotes\/endnotes, appendices, long notes, indices, and glossaries. In order to make these texts easier to read and navigate from one part of the text to another I created a \u201cMulti-Pane Reader\u201d.<\/p>\n\n

    I adapted the idea of using several \u201cpanes\u201d on the same page (defined and filled by Java script) in which to view separate sections of texts (such as chapters) yet still allow cross-linking between the different parts of a complex text. Each pane is independently “scrollable” so the human reader can still see the \u201cbig picture\u201d of the whole text while at the same time reading a particular chapter and moving at will between, for example, the Table of Contents, to the text, to the notes, and back again.<\/p>\n\n

    Typically, the ToC is in the far left pane, the main body of the text is in the middle left pane, the footnotes\/endnotes are in the middle right pane, and the other notes and glossaries are in the far right pane. The aim is for the reader to see at all times where they are in a complex work without having to lose their place by having to constantly \u201cflip back and forth\u201d.<\/p>\n\n

    This is how the complex Pareto text<\/a> – Vilfredo Pareto, Trait\u00e9 de sociologie g\u00e9n\u00e9rale. \u00c9dition fran\u00e7aise par Pierre Boven. Revue par l\u2019auteur. Volume I (Paris: Librairie Payot, 1917). Volume II<\/em> (Paris: Librairie Payot, 1919) – is laid out:<\/p>\n\n

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    The most complex Reader we have created to date was designed to accommodate the special requirements of Pierre Bayle\u2019s Dictionnaire historique et critique<\/em> (1702). This Reader uses 5 Panes in order to display the main entry of the Dictionary, its minor side-notes, its major Notes, and the minor side-notes of the major Notes. Thus we have a ToC, and a \u201csquare\u201d of 4 panes for text with endnotes, and notes with their footnotes.<\/p>\n\n

    Here is the entry for “Abelard”:<\/p>\n\n

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     <\/p>\n\n[See my selection of 47 entries from Pierre Bayle, Dictionnaire historique et critique de Pierre Bayle. Nouvelle \u00e9dition, augment\u00e9e de notes extraites de Chaufepi\u00e9, Joly, La Monnoie, Leduchat, L.-J. Leclerc, Marchand, etc., etc.<\/em> (Paris: Desoer, 1820-1824). The 11th edition in 16 vols. Online<\/a>.]\n\n

    All these versions of the \u201cMulti-Pane Readers\u201d include a modified version the citation tool which enables the reader to grab the URL of any specific paragraph for citation purposes, and the Edward Tufte inspired colour scheme to make things easier on the eyes.<\/p>\n\n

     <\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Revised: Introduction | Formats | Tufte inspired page design | Citation Tool | Multi-Pane Readers Introduction In the Library texts of various kinds can be found. Most are books, but there are also pamphlets, political documents, and declarations in which ideas about liberty and power have been vigorously discussed and debated. We also have online … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":48931,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_import_markdown_pro_load_document_selector":0,"_import_markdown_pro_submit_text_textarea":"","footnotes":""},"wf_page_folders":[102],"class_list":["post-204136","page","type-page","status-publish"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/204136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204136"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/204136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204262,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/204136\/revisions\/204262"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wf_page_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_page_folders?post=204136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}