This volume investigates the evolving methodologies and applications of computational tools within the fields of literary and linguistic research during the early 1990s. Editors Nancy Ide and Susan Hockey compile a selection of peer-reviewed papers from the 1992 ACH/ALLC conference to document the state of the art in humanities computing. The text serves as a record of how scholars began integrating digital analysis into traditional humanities disciplines, establishing a framework for future computational research.

Experts recognize this volume as a foundational archival record of the early development of digital humanities. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which reflects the specialized technical discourse prevalent in the field during the early 1990s.