Basic Introduction to Encoded Archival Description (EAD)
Queens College GSLIS***
Kevin Schlottmann - Center for Jewish History***
April 22, 2013
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Outline
I. The BasicsII. Finding Aid
Quiz and Break III. Implementation
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Relax!
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I. The Basics
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What is EAD?
XML standard for encoding finding aids
I. Basics
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XML standard for encoding finding aids
I. Basics - What is EAD?
XML (eXtensible Markup Language): a set of rules for structuring data via markup
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XML standard for encoding finding aids
I. Basics - What is EAD?
Tag:
<unitdate era=“ce”>2013</unitdate>
Attribute:
<unitdate era=“ce”>2013</unitdate>
Element:
<unitdate era=“ce”>2013</unitdate>
Elements and attributes defined by a Document Type Definition (DTD) or a Schema
<bioghist> <bionote>
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I. Basics - What is EAD?
XML standard for encoding finding aids
<ead> <eadheader> <titleproper>Guide to the
Papers of Joseph Roth</titleproper>
</eadheader></ead>
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XML standard for encoding finding aids
I. Basics - What is EAD?
XML standard for encoding finding aids
Defined set of containers for descriptive data
EAD : DACS = MARC : AACR2/RDA
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I. Basics - What is EAD?
XML standard for encoding finding aids
A description of records that gives the repository physical and intellectual control over the materials and that assists users to gain access to and understand the materials (SAA)
Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
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I. Basics - What is EAD?
What is EAD?
XML standard for encoding finding aids
I. Basics
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What is EAD?
EAD encoding is not a substitute for sound archival description!
I. Basics
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A Brief Aside: DACS
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
“rules to ensure the creation of consistent, appropriate, and self-
explanatory descriptions of archival material.”
I. Basics
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“DACS defines twenty-five elements that are useful in creating systems for
describing archival materials.”
I. Basics - A Brief Aside: DACS
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Seven Element Types
• Identity• Content and Structure• Conditions of Access and Use • Acquisition and Appraisal • Related Materials • Notes • Description Control
I. Basics - A Brief Aside: DACS
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“Not all of the DACS elements are required in every archival description.”
I. Basics - A Brief Aside: DACS
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Statement of Principles
Principle 7: Archival descriptions may be presented at varying levels of detail to produce a variety of outputs.
I. Basics
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I. Basics - A Brief Aside: DACS
Principle 7• 7.1: Levels of description correspond to
levels of arrangement.• 7.2: Relationships between levels of
description must be clearly indicated.• 7.3: Information provided at each level
of description must be appropriate to that level.
I. Basics
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I. Basics - A Brief Aside: DACS
DACS revision underway
I. Basics
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I. Basics - A Brief Aside: DACS
I. Basics
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I. Basics
II. Finding Aid
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EAD Finding Aid Structure
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE ead SYSTEM "ead.dtd">or
<ead xsi:schemaLocation="urn:isbn:1-931666-22-9 http://www.loc.gov/ead/ead.xsd">
II. Finding Aid
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EAD Finding Aid Structure
<ead><eadheader>Information about repository and finding aid</eadheader><archdesc>Description of archival materials</archdesc>
</ead>
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags <eadheader>
• EAD Identifier
<eadid mainagencycode="NyNyCJH" countrycode="us" encodinganalog="856$u" publicid="-//us::nnlbi//TEXT us::nnlbi::JustinMueller.xml//EN">JustinMueller.xml
</eadid>
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags <eadheader>
• Finding aid author
<titlestmt><author>Processed by Stanislav Pejša.</author>
</titlestmt>
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags <archdesc>
• Minimum required description – “high-level did”<did> <origination>Mueller, Justin J.</origination> <unittitle>Justin J. Mueller Collection</unittitle> <unitdate>undated, 1890-2005</unitdate> <abstract>[short descriptive text]</abstract> […]
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags <archdesc>
• Minimum required description – “high-level did”<did> […] <langmaterial>In German and English</langmaterial> <physdesc>1 linear foot</physdesc> <unitid>AR 10254</unitid> <repository>Leo Baeck Institute</repository> <physloc>V 11/2</physloc></did>
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags <archdesc>
• Biographical information<bioghist><p>Joseph Roth was one of the most prominent
Austrian writers of the first half of the 20th century.</p></bioghist>
• Controlled vocabulary<geogname encodinganalog="651$a" source="lcsh"
authfilenumber="n79040121">Austria</geogname>
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags <archdesc>
• Description of Subordinate Components <dsc><c01 level="series">
<c02>Folder 1<c03>Item 1</c03><c03>Item 2</c03>
</c02><c02>Folder 2</c02>
</c01>
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags <archdesc>
• Description of Subordinate Components
A Component <c> provides information about the content, context, and extent of a subordinate body of materials.
Each <c> element identifies an intellectually logical section of the described materials. The physical filing separations between components do not always coincide with the intellectual separations.
From EAD Tag library <http://www.loc.gov/ead/tglib/elements/c.html>
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags <archdesc>
• Description of Subordinate Components<dsc><c01 level="series"> <did> <unittitle id="serII">Series II: Publications</unittitle> <unitdate normal="1985/1996">1985-1996</unitdate> </did> <c02>Subordinate intellectual parts, e.g. folders</c02></c01>
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags <archdesc>
• Description of Subordinate Components<c02>
<did><container type="box">2</container>
<container type="folder">1</container> <unittitle>Articles</unittitle> <unitdate>1985-1994</unitdate>
</did></c02>
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags <archdesc>
• Description of Subordinate Components<c02>
<did><container type="box">OS 145</container>
<container type="folder">1</container> <unittitle>Newspaper foldout</unittitle> <unitdate>1996</unitdate>
</did></c02>
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags – Human Readable?
<dimensions>
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags – Human Readable?
<dimensions>
A subelement of <physdesc> for information about the size of the materials being described; usually includes numerical data.
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags – Human Readable?
<famname>
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags – Human Readable?
<famname>
The proper noun designation for a group of persons closely related by blood or persons who form a household. Includes single families and family groups, e.g., Patience Parker Family and Parker Family.
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags – Human Readable?
<revisiondesc>
II. Finding Aid
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Common Tags – Human Readable?
<revisiondesc>
An optional subelement of the <eadheader> for information about changes or alterations that have been made to the encoded finding aid.
II. Finding Aid
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EAD Finding AidII. Finding Aid
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QuizII. Finding Aid
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III. Implementation
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III. Implementation:Creating EAD
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III. Implementation: Creating EAD
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Archivists’ Toolkit Archon
ArchivesSpace
III. Implementation: Creating EAD
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NoteTab Dreamweaver
EADitor Note Pad
PASCL spreadsheetIII. Implementation: Creating EAD
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“the spreadsheet from heaven”
My WorkflowIII. Implementation: Creating EAD
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III. Implementation:Using EAD
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Now What?III. Implementation: Using EAD
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XSLTIII. Implementation: Using EAD
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XSLT
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III. Implementation: Using EAD
EAD to HTMLIII. Implementation: Using EAD
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EAD to HTML with DCIII. Implementation: Using EAD
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EAD to PDFIII. Implementation: Using EAD
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EAD to MARCIII. Implementation: Using EAD
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Other Uses
• Integration with other standards (e.g. EAC-CPF)
• Open Archives Initiative – Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH)
• EAD consortia
• Metadata for digitized collections
III. Implementation: Using EAD
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Other Uses
• Flexible search and display
III. Implementation: Using EAD
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Resources
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III. Implementation: Using EAD
SAA EAD Roundtable
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III. Implementation: Using EAD
EAD Tools
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III. Implementation: Using EAD
Tinker!
• Learn more about XML and XSLT
• Download the free trial of oXygen XML editor, the schema, an EAD finding aid, and a stylesheet.
• Try some basic actions: add a folder, change a controlled vocabulary term, remove a series.
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III. Implementation: Using EAD
The Future of EAD
Alpha release of EAD revision, February 2013
• Reduce semantic overload• Simplify and standardize links• Reduce mixed content• Add, deprecate, and delete elements
III. Implementation: Using EAD
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The Future of EADIII. Implementation: Using EAD
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• Revision is schema-based – goodbye, DTD
• LC stylesheet: dtd2schema.xsl
• “Attribute validation errors indicate that the attribute value does not conform to the ruling ISO standard”
The Future of EAD
• Beta release of schema, documentation, and migration tools, July 1, 2013
• New version of EAD released with tag library and migration tools, Winter 2014
slideshare.net/mikerush/ead-revision-progress-report-201208084/01/2013 email from Mike Rush to EAD listserv
III. Implementation: Using EAD
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The Future of EAD
“In an ideal world, EAD and EAC-CPF would be opaque to all but a few expert users, created when needed as secondary outputs from efficient and adaptable software tools with archivist-optimized interfaces.”
Thirty Years On: SAA and Descriptive Standards
III. Implementation: Using EAD
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The Future of EAD
“This next wave [of archival standards] is going to push beyond online versions of print-based document genres and embrace the Web as the native format for description—dynamic, diverse, and discoverable description.”
Thirty Years On: SAA and Descriptive Standards
III. Implementation: Using EAD
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Relax!III. Implementation: Using EAD
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http://www.slideshare.net/archivistkevin