Legacy Data in a Digital Age

In this article we discuss the evolution of data collection and use in the context of A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose (ONP), which is a dictionary covering the medieval language of Iceland and Norway. This dictionary started as a collection of citations on paper slips, which were later used as the lexicographical material for a multi-volume, but incomplete, print edition. Today the citations form the basis of the digital version of ONP, currently available online at onp.ku.dk [1]. We account for the evolution of the data within three different periods, separated by certain milestones. We demonstrate how the legacy data have evolved and been enhanced throughout the years to provide innovative ways to bring together and take advantage of all the information gathered by ONP during its existence.