Building and verifying the corpus

Existing bibliographic scholarship

Haitian bibliography includes general repertories, surveys of specific periods and specialized studies. The Bibliographie générale et méthodique d'Haïti by Ulrick Duvivier, published in 19411, and the Dictionnaire de bibliographie haïtienne by Max Bissainthe, published in 19512, bring together references and provide classifications, name forms and cross-references that help identify publications.

The Premier supplément by Bissainthe, published in 19735, lists publications from 1950 to 1970 by year and then alphabetically by author. Its appendix adds pre-1950 works absent from the 1951 dictionary. It also revisits some dictionary entries, adding annotations and information while retaining their original numbers. It combines a survey of a later period with retrospective additions and fuller earlier descriptions.

The Bibliographie haïtienne, 1957–1967 by Paul Blanchet and his collaborators6 and the volumes Haitiana by Max Manigat, including the volume covering 1971–19753, survey publications by period. This project takes its title from Manigat’s Haitiana.

Other studies define their corpus by field. Michel S. Laguerre’s guide covers scholarly literature from 1900 to 19804. Léon-François Hoffmann surveys Haitian literary studies from 1804 to 19847. Emmanuel W. Védrine’s book, An Annotated Bibliography on Haitian Creole: A Review of Publications from Colonial Times to 2000, published in 20048, lists publications in Haitian Creole and studies of the language from colonial times to 2000. Védrine also provides an online Haitian bibliography on Potomitan9. These studies are starting points whose periods, languages and document categories must be examined before comparing their references.

Haitiana examines these lists without importing them wholesale. Each reference is checked against the document or other sources that establish its identity and description. Data is corrected when verification warrants it. Inclusion then depends on the publication meeting the corpus criteria and on the verification outcome. The dossier retains the reference as recorded in its source, its volume, page or entry number, and the evidence supporting corrections.

A bibliography’s stated period does not guarantee that it includes every publication from those years. Research therefore continues within periods already surveyed, to find books and other publications that were not recorded, as well as beyond those periods. Library catalogues, archival holdings, institutional repositories and publishers’ catalogues support this additional discovery. Each new reference follows the same verification and inclusion rules. Its absence from a bibliography is assessed against that bibliography’s scope before being called an omission.

Purpose and scope

Haitiana is preparing a general bibliography of Haiti and Haitian studies. Discovery covers publications produced in Haiti, works by Haitian authors and institutions, and studies of Haiti, Saint-Domingue and Haitian diasporas. It includes books, chapters, articles, theses and reports in all languages.

The final publication scope remains to be settled. School textbooks and publications for young readers are being identified and prepared in working batches. Preparation does not constitute an inclusion decision. The chronological boundary and treatment of limited-circulation publications must also be specified before the first corpus edition.

Review of each candidate must establish its connection to the adopted scope and record the inclusion rationale. An author’s or institution’s connection to Haiti must be documented. It cannot be inferred from a name or the document’s language.

Examining and comparing sources

Each source is first examined for its coverage period, languages, document categories and descriptive conventions. Abbreviations, numbering, cross-references and uncertainty markers must be understood before extraction. An online resource must also be associated with an access date and the version actually examined.

Each identified reference must be retained with its origin, transcription and a locator such as a volume, page or entry number. Transcription remains separate from normalized values. Cross-source matching must retain these distinct attestations, even when they lead to a single Haitiana entry.

Comparison then considers title, responsibilities, edition, date and other descriptive elements. A difference may reflect a transcription convention, a reading error, a different edition or bibliographic disagreement. It must be characterized before correction. Agreement between references is also examined to determine whether the sources reflect independent observations or reuse the same description.

Library catalogues, institutional repositories, publishers’ information and consulted copies extend this investigation. They may clarify an edition, locate a copy or supply information absent from the initial reference. Their correspondence must also be checked. A reference found in a bibliography thus opens a documented dossier whose publication depends on the verification described below.

Establishing entries

The description distinguishes the work, its editions and identified physical or digital copies. Edition-specific details, including publisher, place, date, edition statement and pagination, belong to that edition. A digital copy is linked to the edition it reproduces after their correspondence has been checked.

Titles are transcribed in the document’s language. Names are matched to authority records while retaining the forms found in sources. Responsibilities are specified, particularly for authors, translators and publishing agents. Disagreements between sources must be retained in the editorial dossier.

Entry matching considers title, responsibilities, publication data and available identifiers. A matching title or ISBN triggers a bibliographic identity check. A reissue receives a separate description linked to the work. Duplicates are merged after their differences have been examined.

The first Manigat examination batch illustrates this distinction. Some references describe 1971 reprints of nineteenth-century works. Processing must retain the edition recorded by Manigat, distinguish it from the original publication and establish which edition any identified digital copy reproduces. Matching enriches the description without erasing information from the initial source.

Verification and publication decisions

Verification addresses the publication’s existence, identity and the elements retained in its description. It proceeds by examining the document or through documentary corroboration. The dossier must record the method used, consulted sources, confirmed fields, review date and decision maker.

Direct examination uses relevant parts of the document, particularly its title page, publication statements, pagination and, for articles, contents and relevant pages. Documentary corroboration compares the reference with institutional records or publishers’ information precise enough to identify the publication. Several catalogues reusing the same record do not provide independent confirmations.

ISBNs, ISSNs and DOIs help match descriptions. Their presence or formal validity is not sufficient to confirm a publication. Verification also checks correspondence between the identifier, its associated record and the document sought.

Publication is authorized when the evidence identifies the document and supports the retained data. An unresolved conflict about the identity of a work or edition postpones the decision. A gap in a secondary field may be retained and flagged. Confirming a series does not confirm every volume.

An insufficiently documented candidate is deferred and remains available for later review. An out-of-scope candidate is excluded with an explicit reason. Pending entries are unavailable in public search, the resolver and exports.

Uncertainty and corrections

Uncertainty belongs to the affected field. An approximate date, an unknown date, unrecorded information and disagreement between sources are distinct situations. The description must distinguish them without assigning a conjectural value to an empty field.

An approximate date is indicated by a notation such as “[ca 1936]”. Missing places or publishers are stated explicitly. Conflicting values remain in the dossier with the reasons for the editorial choice, when a choice can be established.

Each correction dossier must retain the previous value, new value, reason, supporting evidence and decision date. Correcting metadata does not change the entry’s identifier. Merging entries retains a redirect from the retired identifier.

Indexing and content descriptions

Subjects are assigned from Haitiana’s controlled vocabulary on documented evidence. Source bibliographies’ categories and classifications remain in their source dossiers. Matching them to Haitiana’s vocabulary must account for each term’s meaning and specificity. A title may support a broad subject without establishing detailed content.

A written description relies on consulting the document or a reliable source describing its contents. A bibliographic citation alone is insufficient to produce an abstract. Absence of a description does not prevent publication of an established bibliographic entry.

Automated processing may propose transcriptions, normalization or matches. Each proposal must retain its provenance. The editorial team makes the publication decision.

Coverage and uses of the corpus

Progress tracking must distinguish references matched across bibliographies, publications found in a single source, unresolved dossiers and additions from other research. A publication newly added to Haitiana is described as a supplement to a particular bibliography only after checking both its absence and its fit with that bibliography’s scope.

Statistics describe publications recorded in Haitiana at a given corpus state. Interpretation accounts for examined sources, covered periods and pending dossiers. Low representation in the database alone does not establish low publishing output.

Places of publication document publishing geography. They do not by themselves establish authors’ residence or membership in a diaspora. Analyses must distinguish works from editions so that reissues are not counted as new works.

Versions and project status

Each published entry has a permanent identifier. Dated corpus editions are planned to allow citation of a specific data state. They must identify the method version applied, sources examined and coverage limitations.

The site is currently a prototype. The first annual edition is in preparation and no annual dataset has been published. Editorial validation and preservation of correction history remain under development. These rules define the protocol to apply; its full implementation is work in progress.

Browse the annual editions and the documentation on identifiers and exports.

Reference bibliographies

Works cited in this presentation of the method. Links lead to entries available in the corpus. This list does not indicate completion of their examination.

1. 1Duvivier, Ulrick. Bibliographie générale et méthodique d'Haïti. Port-au-Prince : Imprimerie de l'État, 1941. 2 vol.
2. 2Bissainthe, Max. Dictionnaire de bibliographie haïtienne. Washington : Scarecrow Press, 1951. x-1052 p.
3. 3Manigat, Max. Haitiana 1971–1975 : bibliographie haïtienne. LaSalle (Québec) : Collectif Paroles, 1980.
4. 4Laguerre, Michel S. The Complete Haitiana: A Bibliographic Guide to the Scholarly Literature, 1900–1980. Millwood (N.Y.) : Kraus International Publications, 1982. 2 vol.
5. 5Bissainthe, Max. Dictionnaire de bibliographie haïtienne. Premier supplément. Metuchen (N.J.) : Scarecrow Press, 1973.
6. 6Blanchet, Paul, avec la collaboration de Gerald Dorval, Jacqueline Dolce et Jean-Miotel Casthely. Bibliographie haïtienne, 1957–1967. Port-au-Prince : Éditions Panorama, 1982.
7. 7Hoffmann, Léon-François. Bibliographie des études littéraires haïtiennes, 1804–1984. 1992.
8. 8Védrine, Emmanuel W. An Annotated Bibliography on Haitian Creole: A Review of Publications from Colonial Times to 2000. Coconut Creek (Floride) : Educa Vision, 2004.
9. 9Védrine, Emmanuel W. « Bibliographie haïtienne ». Potomitan. Ressource en ligne.