Help Shape the ACL Anthology!


The ACL Anthology is a treasure. It is the repository of our community’s scientific contributions extending back over fifty years; its engine is nicely designed custom in-house software that still works well after almost two decades; and it has enabled research projects examining topics like author networks and topic shift over time. That all of this labor has been donated by its members further distinguishes the Anthology: it is not a found treasure, but one that has been crafted and shaped over countless hours, as if by a hundred Berninis, holding keyboards instead of chisels.

Over the next few years, we plan a focused effort to build on this remarkable achievement. To do this, we need your help, in the form of project leads and issue-based contributions to tasks in those projects. We have a number of short-term projects related to Anthology operations, and also ideas with longer time horizons that require input, shaping, and direction. In one of the project lead roles, you would have the opportunity to contribute to a substantial piece of the Anthology’s operations and future course.

These roles will be selected by the Director and persist as long or as short as you like.

If you do not have the interest or time to take on a leadership role, but are still interested in contributing, we are also looking for occasional contributors. People in such roles will work with Leads and the Director to dispatch issues on our GitHub page (which are often pieces of larger projects). Examples include:

We welcome volunteers with any relevant background and experience. You can register your interest or ask questions by emailing the Anthology Director, Matt Post, at anthology@aclweb.org.