In the coming weeks, I will be producing a new set of standardized instructions for entering data into Itinera, as well as updating the older data to comply with these new insructions. Key changes include the way we will handle agents, tours, and tour stops going forward. Work on Itinera has discovered that the boundary of a "tour" is actually quite fluid, and the fact that a particular agent is stationary on one tour does not mean that he or she will not travel in a later tour entered by a future Itinera researcher. Therefore each agent entered into Itinera will receive a tour and every life event a tour stop. This opens opportunities for future development, including the development of a module in which the research is able to enter in informtation for moving objects as well as people. As more users add their research to Itinera, new researchers can build on the research of their predecessors by expanding and developing existing agents.
There is also interest in using Itinera to research the broader spectrum of travel. Presently, Itinera deals with European travelers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. My work on Alexander von Humboldt amd Aimé Bonpland extends Itiera into South America and Russia. Drew Armmstrong is interested in extending Intinera into the 20th century with the travels of Le Corbusier. The hope is that, with clear input standards, more and more researchers will find Itinera to be a useful tool. As our network becomes denser and more complex, more inter-related opportunities will emerge.