Presented July 1, 2011, as part of the session "Standards, Information, and Data Exchange" at the 7th International Seminar of Iberian Tradition Archives, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Formats for Exchanging Archival Data: An Introduction to EAD, EAC-CPF, and Archival Metadata Standards
1. Formats for Exchanging Archival
Data
An Introduction to EAD, EAC-
CPF, and Archival Metadata
Standards
VII International Seminar of
Archives from Iberian Tradition
2. Michael Rush
Accessioning Archivist / EAD
Coordinator,
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript
Library, Yale University
Co-Chair, Technical Subcommittee
2 for Encoded Archival Description,
4. Assumptions
Familiarity with some ICA standards - ISAD (G),
ISAAR (CPF), ISDF, or ISDIAH
Awareness of EAD, but little of no experience with
it
Little or no experience with XML
4
10. Governance and Maintenance
EAD
EAD Working Group (1995-2010)
Technical Subcommittee for EAD (2010- )
EAC-CPF
Ad hoc working group (2001-2004)
EAC Working Group (2007-2011)
Technical Subcommittee for EAC-CPF (2011- )
Schema Development Team (2010- )
10
12. EAD Design Goals
Represent hierarchical structure of finding aids
SGML, then XML
Flexibility, to encourage adoption.
Compatibility with ISAD (G)
12
14. Example EAD Implementations
Yale Finding Aid Database
Online Archive of California (OAC)
Northwest Digital Archive (NWDA)
Archives Portal Europe (APEnet)
14
15. EAC-CPF Design Goals
Close compatibility with ISAAR (CPF)
A change from EAC Beta to current schema
XML
Philosophical neutrality
Relatively simple and straightforward
Extensible design
Adaptability to relational database structures
15
17. Oral history
interview with
Terry Sanford
UNC SOHP
Terry
Terry Sanford
Terry Sanford
papers, 1946- Sanford records and
papers, 1945-
1993
1998
UNC (#3531) (EAC- Duke University
CPF)
Terry Sanford’s
Governor’s
papers, 1959-
1965
NC State
Archives
18. Example EAC-CPF
Implementation
The Social Networks and Archival Context Project
(SNAC)
18
20. Challenges
Data migration and/or creation
Establishing encoding best
practices
Delivery
Indexing and search
Display
Data maintenance
Sharing
20
21. Data migration/creation
Methods
Hand encoding
Templates
Scripting
Outsourcing
Export from databases (Archivists’ Toolkit, Archon,
ICA AtoM)
Costs
Staff time
Staff training
Consultant or outsourcing fees
21
Software
22. Encoding Best Practices
Local
Yale EAD Encoding Best Practice
Guidelines [EAD]
Consortial
Northwest Digital Archives Best
Practice Guidelines [EAD]
RLG Best Practice Guidelines for
Encoded Archival Description [EAD]
22
23. Delivery
Indexing and search
No single solution
Popular tools include :
XTF (eXtensible Text Framework)
Fedora Commons Repository Software
Display
Transformation via XSLT (Exstensible
Stylesheet Language – Transformations)
XML --> HTML
XML --> PDF
23
25. Data Maintenance
File management
Version control
Link maintenance
25
26. Sharing
Consortia
Bulk Aggregators
ArchiveGrid
Topical Aggregators
U.S. National Library of Medicine,
History of Medicine Finding Aids
Consortium
26
28. Related Description Standards
ICA standards:
ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival
Description - Second edition
ISAAR(CPF): International Standard Archival
Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons
and Families, 2nd Edition
ISDF: International Standard for Describing
Functions
ISDIAH: International Standard for Describing
Institutions with Archival Holdings
National Description Standards
DACS: Describing Archives: A Content Standard
28 (USA)
39. Descriptive Elements
Valid as at all levels of description
<did> is required at each level of
description.
39
40. Descriptive Identification
<did>*
Always the first child of
<archdesc> and the component
elements.
Wrapper element containing
elements with basic identifying
information.
Must have one child element.
40
41. <did> Children
<unitid> - Unit Identification
[ISAD(G) 3.1.1]
<unittitle> - Unit Title
[ISAD(G) 3.1.2]
41
42. <did> Children (continued)
<unitdate> - Unit Date
[ISAD(G) 3.1.3]
<physdesc> - Physical
Description
[ISAD(G) 3.1.5]
42
43. <did> Children (continued)
<origination> - Origination
[ISAD(G) 3.2.1]
<langmaterial> - Language
of the Material [ISAD(G)
3.4.3]
43
44. <did> Children (continued)
<note> - Note [ISAD(G) 3.6.1]
<abstract> - Abstract
<physloc> - Physical Location
<materialspec> - Material
Specific Details
<repository> - Repository
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45. <did> Children (continued)
<did>
<container> - Container
<dao> - Digital Archival
Object
<daogroup> - Digital
Archival Object Group
45
46. <did> Siblings
<bioghist> - Biography or History
[ISAD(G) 3.2.2]
<custodhist> - Custodial History
[ISAD(G) 3.2.3]
<acqinfo> - Acquisition Information
[ISAD(G) 3.2.3]
46
48. <did> Siblings (continued)
<accessrestrict> - Conditions
Governing Access [ISAD(G) 3.4.1]
<userestrict> - Conditions
Governing Use
[ISAD(G) 3.4.2]
<phystech> - Physical
Characteristics and Technical
Requirements [ISAD(G) 3.4.4]
48 <otherfindaid> - Other Finding Aid
49. <did> Siblings (continued)
<originalsloc> - Location of
Originals
[ISAD(G) 3.5.1]
<altformavail> - Alternative Form
Available
[ISAD(G) 3.5.2]
<relatedmaterial> - Related
Material
49 [ISAD(G) 3.5.3]
53. EAC-CPF Concepts
SINGLE IDENTITY: one person (or corporate body or family) with a single identity
represented in one EAC-CPF instance. (Most common.)
MULTIPLE IDENTITY-MANY IN ONE: two or more identities (including official identities)
with each represented by distinct descriptions within one EAC-CPF instance. Can be
programmatically converted into Multiple Identity-One in Many. (Less common though
not
rare.)
MULTIPLE IDENTITY-ONE IN MANY: two or more identities (including official identities)
each represented in two or more interrelated EAC-CPF instances. Can be
programmatically
converted into Multiple Identity-Many in One. (Less common though not rare.)
ALTERNATIVE SET: derived EAC-CPF instance that is based on and incorporates two
or more
alternative EAC-CPF instances for the same entity. To be used by a consortia or a
utility
providing union access to authority records maintained in two or more systems by
two or more agencies. Alternative EAC-CPF instances may be in different languages
or in the same
53 language.
55. Basic Structure
<control>: identity, creation, maintenance, status,
rules and authorities, and sources used to
generate the EAC-CPF instance.
<cpfDescription>: description of the EAC-CPF
entity
<identity>: names
<description>: formal and informal descriptive elements
<relations>: relationships to other entities, resources
and function descriptions
55
67. EAD Revision Timeline
Comment period complete (October 2010 –
February 2011)
EAD Revision Forum (SAA Annual Meeting,
August 2011)
TS-EAD Working Meeting (March 2012)
Release draft schema (Fall 2012)
Second comment period (Winter 2013)
Finalize schema and documentation (Spring
2013)
Release revised schema (August 2013)
67
68. EAD Revision Goals
Clarify relationship with EAC-CPF
Improve interoperability with databases
Reconsider finding aids as documents or data
Simplification
To eliminate unnecessary complexity
To make implementation easier
Improve usability
Enable profiles (schema subsets)
Data-friendly
Implementation-friendly (may or may not be the
same as data-friendly)
68
69. Future EAC Development
EAC-CPF Implementation
Review by 2016
Companion EAC standards?
EAC-Functions (EAC-F)?
EAC-Institutions with Archival
Holdings (EAC-IAH)?
69