EAD Twenty Years Later: A Retrospective of Adoption in the Early Twenty-first Century and the Future of EAD

Abstract

Encoded Archival Description (EAD) was adopted as the first standard for encoding finding aids using archival description in 1998. Since then, rapid changes in technology and archival standards have influenced access, use, and adoption of EAD across a variety of institutions. This article was inspired by an initial survey conducted by one of the authors. The results led to a broader survey and a twenty-year literature review surrounding EAD and online finding aids. The authors developed a twenty-five-question survey to reach a broader audience and delve deeper into the initial questions. The purpose was to answer the following questions: Is there a specific year or time period when a mass adoption of the standard can be identified? What factors influenced whether or not an institution adopted the standard? To what extent has technology influenced the usage of EAD? By surveying archivists across the United States, we gathered their input as to why they did or did not use EAD and how changes in technology and tools influenced their adoption and usage of EAD over the past twenty years. This article explores past trends and predictions, as well as current thoughts by archivists about the past, present, and future of this standard.