Building Better Digital Humanities Tools: Toward broader audiences and user-centered designs

Despite significant investments in the development of digital humanities tools, the use of these tools has remained a fringe element in humanities scholarship. Through an open-ended survey and virtual panel discussion, our study outlines the experience of historians using various digital tools. The results of the study reveal the variety of users interested in digital tools as well as their enthusiasm, reactions, and frustrations, including the expectations and confusion that has created barriers to tool use and to the wider adoption of new research methodologies. We suggest that an emphasis on cultivating a broader audience must be a concern not only for tool builders but also for funders to account adequately for the time and expense of quality interfaces and documentation.