Encoded Archival Description Research Articles

The Semantic Mapping of Archival Metadata to the CIDOC CRM Ontology

In this article we analyze the main semantics of archival description, expressed through Encoded Archival Description (EAD). Our main target is to map the semantics of EAD to the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CIDOC CRM) ontology as part of a wider integration architecture of cultural heritage metadata. Through this analysis, it is concluded that an EAD document is a hierarchy of documentation elements and attributes and that through this documentation the archive is semantically expressed via 3 hierarchies: hierarchy of physical objects, hierarchy of information objects, and hierarchy of linguistic objects. These semantic views of the archive and its description (e.g., finding aid) as well as their interrelationships are mapped to CIDOC CRM.

An Archival Approach to Digitization and Web Accessibility at the Archives of American Art

The Archives of American Art, an archival unit of the Smithsonian Institution, with generous support from the Terra Foundation for American Art, has developed a digitization methodology to provide Web access to the papers of artists, dealers, critics, historians and art world figures that have been scanned in their entirety. The Archives’ unique role as an aggregator and distributor of primary resources through microfilm beginning in 1954, and adoption of the tools designed by and for archivists, including the USMARC AMC format in the 1980s, and particularly Encoded Archival Description (EAD) in the late 1990s, provided the operational infrastructure, capacity, and conducive environment that led to its ability to fully digitize and provide access to entire collections. The scalable infrastructure and workflow put in place where digitization and Web presentation seamlessly follow the fundamental archival work of arrangement and description demonstrate that a digitization methodology for archival collections need not be dictated by mismatched technology and approaches at the item or object level practiced by libraries and museums.

Noteworthy: Cost of Resource Exchange (CORE) Protocol; BISG Issues Best Practices and Roadmaps for the Book Supply Chain; DAISYpedia Offers Implementation Advice for Digital Talking Book Standard; Call for Comments: Revision of Encoded Archival Description (EAD); Survey Conducted to Learn Current Practice in Using Standardized Journal Article Version Terminology; NARA Provides Guidance on Managing Records in Cloud Computing Environments; LAC

Noteworthy: Cost of Resource Exchange (CORE) Protocol; BISG Issues Best Practices and Roadmaps for the Book Supply Chain; DAISYpedia Offers Implementation Advice for Digital Talking Book Standard; Call for Comments: Revision of Encoded Archival Description (EAD); Survey Conducted to Learn Current Practice in Using Standardized Journal Article Version Terminology; NARA Provides Guidance on Managing Records in Cloud Computing Environments; LAC

A Season of Change: How Science Librarians Can Remain Relevant with Open Access and Scholarly Communications Initiatives.

The article focuses on maintaining the relevance of science librarians with new developments such as new communication initiatives and Open Access publishing. Current issues demonstrating the impact of such initiatives include the digital divide existing between the public and the research community, transformation of the physical space in the library and increasing reliance on electronic journals. Standards on interoperability in sharing library data and collections include the Encoded Archival Description (EAD) and the Dublin Core (DC).

Encoded Archival Description as a Halfway Technology

In the mid 1990s, Encoded Archival Description (EAD) appeared as a revolutionary technology for publishing archival finding aids on the Web. The author explores whether or not, given the advent of Web 2.0, the archival community should abandon EAD and look for something to replace it.

Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Metadata Scheme: An Analysis of Use of the EAD Headers

An exploratory study was designed to gain a perspective on the current state of Encoded Archival Description (EAD) metadata use and quality. This article examines the implementation of EAD metadata at 6 digital archival repositories. It identifies EAD metadata elements that evince the most frequent inconsistent and incomplete usage. For this, the header <eadheader> areas of a collection of 150 randomly collected EAD metadata records were analyzed in terms of frequency, completeness, and consistency. In addition to these criteria, 3 best practices guidelines for EAD were consulted to determine how EAD metadata tags are used in local repositories vis-à-vis the guidelines. Analysis focuses on patterns of usage of certain aspects of EAD metadata within each repository as well as comparison across all 6 repositories. Implications and issues drawn from the evaluation are also discussed in relation to the issue of semantic interoperability across EAD digital repositories.

Interoperability Between Archival and Bibliographic Metadata: An EAD to MODS Crosswalk

In this article we investigate the problem of semantic interoperability between archival and bibliographic metadata used in digital libraries and repositories. We investigate the semantic relationships between two metadata standards, namely the Encoded Archival Description (EAD) and the Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS). We propose a crosswalk between EAD and MODS consisting of three basic components: (a) a semantic mapping from EAD elements/attributes to MODS elements/attributes, (b) techniques to map the hierarchical structure of the EAD document to MODS, and (c) techniques to retain in MODS the information related to the archival components that is inherited from the descriptions of components of higher hierarchy in the EAD document.

It's Complicated: Barriers to EAD Implementation

Eleven years after the release of Encoded Archival Description (EAD), archivists' reactions to it range from wholehearted acceptance to outright rejection. In the middle of this spectrum are archivists who decide to implement EAD but encounter obstacles in doing so. This paper reports the findings of a survey of sixteen such cases. It identifies barriers to implementation such as lack of staff and a gap between the technology needed to publish EAD and the skills of many archivists. It discusses solutions and recommends changing the emphasis of EAD training, using server-friendly software, and engaging consultants to bolster archivists' technology expertise.

Preparing Locally Encoded Electronic Finding Aid Inventories for Union Environments: A Publishing Model for Encoded Archival Description

This paper will briefly discuss encoded archival description (EAD) finding aids, the workflow and process involved in encoding finding aids using EAD metadata standard, our institution’s current publishing model for EAD finding aids, current EAD metadata enhancement, and new developments in our publishing model for EAD finding aids at Florida State University Libraries. For brevity and within the scope of this paper, FSU Libraries will be referred to as FSU, electronic EAD finding and/or archival finding aid will be referred as EAD or EADs, and locally encoded electronic EAD finding aids inventories will be referred to as EADs @ FSU.

Tales from the Shoulders of Giants: Collaborative Implementation of Encoded Archival Description at the University of Minnesota Libraries

ABSTRACT Since the late 1990s, few case studies on implementation of Encoded Archival Description (EAD) have appeared in the literature. How has or hasn't the landscape changed? This article reports on the experience of EAD planning and implementation at the University of Minnesota Libraries and suggests that though many of the lessons learned by early implementers still hold true, some of the challenges have changed; the body of experience and tools developed by early implementers have greatly eased the technical tasks of encoding and display of EAD finding aids. The article also attempts to provide much needed statistical data on the average time required to produce an EAD finding aid.

Adding Archival Finding Aids to the Library Catalogue: Simple Crosswalk or Data Traffic Jam?

Dalhousie University Archives and Special Collections (DUASCSC) has been producing Encoded Archival Description (EAD) finding aids to describe its archival collections since 2003. The EAD descriptions started as a way to convert the collection of print and electronic (MS Word and WordPerfect) finding aids into a stable, software neutral format. As the collection of finding aids grew it became apparent that we needed a way to search these documents beyond what was possible via a basic browse on the DUASC website. As a result, we embarked on a systematic crosswalk of the EAD finding aids into MARC format for inclusion in the Novanet library catalogue. This has facilitated searching and discovery of the materials by a much broader audience of Dalhousie University Library users as well as users from all of the other Novanet member libraries in Nova Scotia and the general public. This article describes the primary motivation for the project and the technical aspects of converting the EAD finding aids into MARC format for inclusion in the Novanet catalogue.

Taming the “Beast”: An Archival Management System Based on EAD

ABSTRACT In April 2005, the University of Maryland Libraries launched ArchivesUM (www.lib.umd.edu/archivesum), an online database of finding aids for manuscript and archival collections using Encoded Archival Description (EAD). ArchivesUM, however, is only the publicly available end-product of a much larger project-an integrated system that ties together the basic archival functions of accessioning, inventory control, and description with a public interface for searching and browsing collection descriptions. In this article, the authors explore the challenges and solutions encountered while developing the system, addressing the theoretical, practical, and programming decisions that contributed to the design of this archival management system.

The Germans from Russia: Documenting the Immigrant Experience in Northern Colorado

ABSTRACT The Sidney Heitman Germans from Russia Collection at the Colorado State University Libraries is named in honor of the late Dr. Heitman's years of research and teaching about Colorado's second largest ethnic group. Created to support his Germans from Russia in Colorado Study Project, active at the university in the late 1970s, the collection's centerpiece is the oral histories generated by the project. This article provides information on the collection and describes a digital project supported by an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant through the Colorado Digitization Project (CDP) to make a selection of the oral histories, transcripts, photos, project documentation, and the finding aid available online to researchers. In addition to providing access to more than 1,500 digital objects, project staff developed important metadata for their discovery, retrieval, and management using the Western States Dublin Core Metadata Best Practices and Encoded Archival Description (EAD).

Cataloging and Digitizing Ephemera

The growing interest in ephemera collections within libraries will necessitate the bibliographic control of materials that do not easily fall into traditional categories. This paper discusses the many challenges confronting catalogers when approaching a mixed collection of unique materials of an ephemeral nature. Based on their experience cataloging a collection of Pennsylvania German broadsides and Fraktur at the Pennsylvania State University, the authors describe the process of deciphering handwriting, preserving genealogical information, deciding on cataloging approaches at the format and field level, and furthering access to the materials through digitization and the Encoded Archival Description finding aid. Observations are made on expanding the skills of traditional book catalogers to include manuscript cataloging, and on project management.

The Metrica Regni Project: The Polish Experience of EAD

SUMMARY The fonds of Crown Chancery Public Register (Metrica Regni) was chosen for the pilot project to introduce Encoded Archival Description (EAD) because of its historical value, typical archival structure and existing finding aids. The rights and privileges granted by Polish kings were recorded in the Register. The oldest books in the series of registrations (Libri Inscriptionum) began in the middle of the fifteenth century. This paper discusses how the Polish EAD project was completed from the fall of 2003 by the staff of the Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw. It started with the theoretical background and ended with practical work with a Polish HTML editor–“Pajączek” (Little Spider). The data were prepared and exported from a Microsoft Access database and a Microsoft Word editor into an XML file. After validations and corrections, the stylesheet from the “EAD Cookbook” was adopted as a delivery method. On 29 July 2004 the first version of the inventory of Crown Chancery Public Register in EAD was published on the Web site of the Central Archives of Historical Records.

Different Strokes for Different Folks: Presenting EAD in Three UK Online Catalogues

SUMMARY This article discusses three different online services providing federated access to finding aids relating to archives found in a number of repositories: the Archives Hub, Access to Archives (A2A) and Navigational Aids for the History of Science, Technology and the Environment (NAHSTE). While the scale of the services is very different, a significant similarity is the key role of Encoded Archival Description (EAD). The flexibility of EAD is clearly shown by the different ways it is used for the creation, storage, indexing, searching and presentation of finding aids online reflecting the differing needs of the contributors and users of each service involved.

Professional Training for Encoded Archival Description in Europe

SUMMARY This paper represents an abridgement of a panel session that reported on the status of training for archivists in the use of Encoded Archival Description (EAD) in seven countries (France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States). It touched on related archival descriptive standards and practices and associated technological issues.

Metadata Standards for Archival Control: An Introduction to EAD and EAC

SUMMARY This article provides a concise guide to the structure and use of the Encoded Archival Description (EAD) and Encoded Archival Context (EAC) metadata standards. After a brief outline of archival description, the finding aid, and the objectives behind EAD, the structure of EAD is examined in detail. Discussion of all of the important elements in the EAD document-type definition (DTD) will be supplemented with examples of actual finding aids and their encoding, with attention to the common necessity of “reengineering” existing finding aids. The current status of EAD implementation and some issues affecting the widespread adoption of EAD are considered. A close look at the emerging EAC standard closes the article, providing key element definitions from the EAC Tag Library (Beta version, Feb. 2004), and examples of EAC records–including early implementations such as the University College London's LEADERS project.

Adoption and diffusion of Encoded Archival Description

AbstractIn this article, findings from a study on the diffusion and adoption of Encoded Archival Description (EAD) within the U.S. archival community are reported. Using E. M. Rogers' (1995) theory of the diffusion of innovations as a theoretical framework, the authors surveyed 399 archives and manuscript repositories that sent participants to EAD workshops from 1993–2002. Their findings indicated that EAD diffusion and adoption are complex phenomena. While the diffusion pattern mirrored that of MAchine‐Readable Cataloging (MARC), overall adoption was slow. Only 42% of the survey respondents utilized EAD in their descriptive programs. Critical factors inhibiting adoption include the small staff size of many repositories, the lack of standardization in archival descriptive practices, a multiplicity of existing archival access tools, insufficient institutional infrastructure, and difficulty in maintaining expertise.

Ordering Chaos: An Integrated Guide and Online Archive of Walt Whitman's Poetry Manuscripts

In order to organize the widely dispersed manuscripts of Walt Whitman, The Walt Whitman Archive, in partnership with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, has utilized the power of Encoded Archival Description (EAD) to create a single, scholarly enhanced guide to Whitman's poetry manuscripts. This integrated finding guide to Whitman's poetry manuscripts includes item-level description, links to repository guides that provide both location information and collection context, links to digital images of the manuscripts, and links to Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) transcriptions. In creating such a guide, we had to work cooperatively across disciplines and institutions, expand the use of EAD, and address how best to integrate description and transcription (EAD and TEI files). This essay describes our procedure as we created the integrated guide. From collecting finding aids and creating partnerships with other institutions, to developing a proper encoding standard and establishing good cross-department working relations, our project has embodied many of the benefits and challenges of digital work in the humanities. By identifying our procedures, and by laying out our future hurdles, we hope we can advance knowledge about Whitman and about how scholars and archivists can collaborate effectively to advance research, improve access, and realize the potential of EAD.