The American Council of Learned Societies Commission on Cyberinfrastructure for the Humanities & Social Sciences has released a report on, well, cyberinfrastructure for the humanities & social sciences.
Conclusion
We should place the world’s cultural heritage — its historical documentation, its literary and artistic achievements, its languages, beliefs, and practices — within the reach of every citizen. The value of building an infrastructure that gives all citizens access to the human record and the opportunity to participate in its creation and use is enormous, exceeding even the significant investment that will be required to build that infrastructure.
In a recent public presentation of the draft findings of this report, the Commission’s chair was asked “If your report were a complete success, what would be the result, five or six years from now?” The answer is two-fold: first, if this report’s recommendations are implemented, then in five or six years there will be a significantly expanded audience for humanities and social science research, among the general public. … Second, if the recommendations of this report are implemented, humanities and social-science researchers five or six years from now will be answering questions that today they might not even consider asking.
Now that’s the sort of rhetoric I like to hear.