How authorship is made and named: a meta-aggregator / Electronic Literature Lab (ELL)
Electronic Literature Lab (ELL)
https://labs.wsu.edu/grigar-ell
infrastructureAvant-garde and experimental archivesactive
The archive's reading. none stated: the saved page records the lab as preservation infrastructure for born-digital literature, a library of works with the hardware to read them, and records nothing of whose authorship it keeps or under what name. The lab meets the question of #940 only through The NEXT, which it manages and where author collections stand under published names and pen names.
| Relation to this census | infrastructure |
|---|---|
| Record type | institution |
| The question it answers | Where can born-digital literary works be read on the hardware they were made for (preservation and access; authorship not recorded on the saved page)? |
| Kind | a lab 'For Advanced Inquiry into Born Digital Literature', one of four media archaeology labs in the U.S. giving scholars access to obsolete digital works on appropriate equipment (its own words) |
| Operator | Washington State University Vancouver; directed by Dr. Dene Grigar, with an associate director, a project manager and a technical specialist named on the page |
| Evidence | primary text; catalogue |
| Unit of record | a work in its library of electronic literary works, or a computer in its collection, as listed in its database of computers and library (the database itself was not saved) |
| What it records | a library of 200 electronic literary works and 61 vintage Macintosh computers and PCs dating back from 1977, used for curating, preserving and producing born-digital literary works, including experiments in preserving literary apps |
| Whose authorship it keeps | not recorded: the saved page names a library of 200 electronic literary works and lists none of their authors |
| Under what name | not recorded: the catalogue that would show how works and authors are named (dtc-wsuv.org/ell-catalog) was not saved |
| Who holds it | the Electronic Literature Lab at Washington State University Vancouver, which gives scholars access to obsolete digital works on appropriate equipment; it also manages The NEXT, whose physical artifacts it holds (The NEXT home page; Wikipedia) |
| Authorial function and responsibility | not recorded: the page records the lab's preservation and access role and nothing of how the authorship of the works is attributed |
| Method | media archaeology: keeping obsolete computers working so that born-digital works can be read on the platforms they were made for; curation and preservation, with experiments in preserving literary apps |
| Coverage | geography: not stated (the lab is at Washington State University Vancouver); period: computers dating back from 1977 |
| Count | value: 200 electronic literary works; 61 vintage computers; as_of: not dated on the page (its staff list names 2021 undergraduate researchers) |
| Holdings | a library of 200 electronic literary works; 61 vintage Macintosh computers and PCs dating back from 1977; a database of computers and library (linked and unsaved); the physical artifacts of The NEXT (Wikipedia, third party) |
| Stated limits | none stated on the saved page |
| Data access | access for scholars to obsolete works on period hardware; a database of computers and library at https://dtc-wsuv.org/ell-catalog (named on the page, not saved) |
| Licence | not stated in the saved sources |
| Lifecycle | state: active; detail: the saved page gives no date beyond its list of 2021 undergraduate researchers; The NEXT's home page (read 2026-11-01) names the lab as its manager |
| Version and time | staff_list: 2021; read: 2026-11-01 |
What its record can settle
- that the lab holds 200 electronic literary works and 61 vintage computers
- that it gives scholars access to obsolete works on period hardware
- who directs and staffs it, as of the page's 2021 list
What it cannot settle
- which works and authors its library holds, or under what names (the catalogue is unread)
- anything of machine participation or attribution
- its staff or activity after the 2021 list
Kept apart
- NOT The NEXT: the lab manages the online museum, which is its own row
- NOT a record of authors or names: the saved page lists no works
- NOT read through ELMCIP: the ELMCIP page saved only a redirect
- NOT an aggregator on the saved evidence beyond its stated library and catalogue: the catalogue is unread
Relations
- neighbour: The NEXT (the lab manages The NEXT and holds its physical artifacts (The NEXT home page; Wikipedia))
Evidence
- self_description (the resource's own statement):
Electronic Literature Lab For Advanced Inquiry into Born Digital Literature
https://labs.wsu.edu/grigar-ell · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 cb62790d8dcf7f89… - holdings (the resource's own statement):
Directed by Dr. Dene Grigar, ELL contains 61 vintage Macintosh computers and PCs, dating back from 1977 and a library of 200 electronic literary works.
https://labs.wsu.edu/grigar-ell · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 cb62790d8dcf7f89… - purpose (the resource's own statement):
It is used for the advanced inquiry into curating, preserving, and the production of born digital literary works.
https://labs.wsu.edu/grigar-ell · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 cb62790d8dcf7f89… - media_archaeology (the resource's own statement):
It is one of four media archaeology labs in the U.S. that allow scholars access to obsolete digital works on appropriate computer equipment and the only lab experimenting with the preservation of literary apps.
https://labs.wsu.edu/grigar-ell · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 cb62790d8dcf7f89… - catalogue (the resource's own statement):
To access ELL’s database of computers and library: https://dtc-wsuv.org/ell-catalog
https://labs.wsu.edu/grigar-ell · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 cb62790d8dcf7f89… - director (the resource's own statement):
Director: Dene Grigar , PhD
https://labs.wsu.edu/grigar-ell · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 cb62790d8dcf7f89… - staff_2021 (the resource's own statement):
2021 Undergraduate Researchers
https://labs.wsu.edu/grigar-ell · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 cb62790d8dcf7f89… - operator (the resource's own statement):
Washington State University Vancouver
https://labs.wsu.edu/grigar-ell · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 cb62790d8dcf7f89… - manages_next (the resource's own statement):
The NEXT is supported by grants, donations, and commissions and managed by the Electronic Literature Lab.
https://the-next.eliterature.org/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 34dca9a805e7e346… - physical (a third-party account):
Physical artifacts are held at the Electronic Literature Lab in Vancouver, Washington , US.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_NEXT_Museum · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 92caf8d621194af2…
Unchecked
electronic-literature-lab--elmcip (https://elmcip.net/node/13223): http 200 with 138 characters, a redirect notice to /organizations/electronic-literature-lab-ell; the ELMCIP record is unread and unquoted; the lab's database of computers and library (https://dtc-wsuv.org/ell-catalog) and its information page (https://www.dtc-wsuv.org/wp/ell): linked and unsaved; the titles and authors of the 200 works in its library
Cite: Lee Sharks, ed. "Electronic Literature Lab (ELL)." How authorship is made and named: a meta-aggregator, leesharks.com, compiled 2026-11-01. https://www.leesharks.com/apparatus/aggregators/electronic-literature-lab