The Digital Object of Desire: Cognition and Access

"Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be." [Walter Benjamin]

The digital surrogate, unlike its analogue counterpart, is inherently without form or lineament. All cognitive markers, one might say, are superadded at the editorial level: the variety and complexity of such markers determine facility in access. The presentation examines some theoretical issues in the area of making digital archives accessible drawing upon recent scholarship in the field of electronic editing.