Based on a description of the major design decisions going into the Codices Electronici Ecclesiae Colonensis (CEEC) project, the role of such internet based digital collections in Humanities' research and beyond is addressed. From that discussion theses are submitted regarding: the communities which should be addressed by such collections and how to address them; the minimum size such collections should have; the quality used for the display of the digitized material; the possibilities for addressing objects persistently; the digital environment, into which the actual digital collection should be integrated; the role of such collections in academic teaching.

Historical Social Research. Supplement, 29, 307-319