Formats for Exchanging Archival Data

(1)

An Introduction to EAD, EAC-CPF,

and Archival Metadata Standards

7

th

_{International Seminar of Archives}

from Iberian Tradition,

1 July 2011

Formats for Exchanging Archival

Data

(2)

Michael Rush

Accessioning Archivist / EAD

Coordinator,

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript

Library, Yale University

Co-Chair, Technical Subcommittee for

Encoded Archival Description, Society

(3)

(4)

Assumptions

Familiarity with some ICA standards - ISAD

(G), ISAAR (CPF), ISDF, or ISDIAH

Awareness of EAD, but little of no experience

with it

(5)

Definitions

EAD: Encoded Archival Description

EAC-CPF: Encoded Archival Context –

Corporate bodies, Persons, and Families

XML: Extensible Markup Language

(6)

(7)

EAD Development History

Berkeley Finding Aid Project (1993-1995)

EAD Alpha (1996)

EAD Beta (1996)

EAD 1.0 (1998)

EAD 2002 (2002)

EAD 2002 Schema (2007)

EAD 2013?

(8)

EAC-CPF Development History

Meeting at Yale University (1998)

Meeting at University of Toronto (2001)

EAC Beta (2004)

(9)

(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- )

(11)

(12)

EAD Design Goals

Represent hierarchical structure of finding

aids

SGML, then XML

Flexibility, to encourage adoption.

Compatibility with ISAD (G)

(13)

EAD Applications

Delivery

Standardization

Sharing

Transmission/Communication

Repurposing

(14)

Example EAD Implementations

Yale Finding Aid Database

Online Archive of California

(OAC)

Northwest Digital Archive

(NWDA)

(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

(16)

EAC-CPF Applications

Identity/Authority

Description

Relationships

Aggregation

Transmission/Communication

(17)

(18)

Example EAC-CPF Implementation

The Social Networks and Archival Context Project (SNAC)

(19)

(20)

Challenges

Data migration and/or creation

Establishing encoding best

practices

Delivery



Indexing and search



Display

Data maintenance

Sharing

(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  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

(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

(24)

(25)

Data Maintenance

File management

Version control

(26)

Sharing

Consortia

Bulk Aggregators

 ArchiveGrid

Topical Aggregators

(27)

(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

(29)

(30)

EAD: Basic Structure

<ead>*



<eadheader>*



<archdesc>*

(31)

EAD Header

<eadheader>*



<eadid>*



<filedesc>*



<profiledesc>



<revisiondesc>

(32)

File Description

<filedesc>*



<titlestmt>*

➢

<titleproper>*

➢

<author>



<publicationstmt>

➢

<publisher>

(33)

Profile Description

<profiledesc>



<creation> -

Creation



<langusage> -

Language Usage



<descrules> -

Descriptive Rules

(34)

Revision Description

<revisiondesc>



<change> - Change

➢

<date> - Date

➢

<item> - Item

(35)

EAD: Basic Structure

<ead>*



<eadheader>*



<archdesc>*

(36)

Hierarchical Encoding

<archdesc>



Top level of description.

<dsc>



Optional child of <archdesc>

(37)

Components

<c> - Component (Unnumbered)

Or

<c01> - Component (First Level)



<c02> - Component (Second

Level)

➢

Through <c12> - Component

(38)

(39)

Descriptive Elements

Valid as at all levels of

description

<did> is required at each level

of description.

(40)

Descriptive Identification

<did>*



Always the first child of

<archdesc> and the

component elements.



Wrapper element containing

elements with basic identifying

information.

(41)

<did> Children

<unitid> - Unit Identification

[ISAD(G) 3.1.1]

<unittitle> - Unit Title

[ISAD(G) 3.1.2]

(42)

<did> Children (continued)

<unitdate> - Unit Date

[ISAD(G) 3.1.3]

<physdesc> - Physical

Description

(43)

<did> Children (continued)

<origination> - Origination

[ISAD(G) 3.2.1]

<langmaterial> - Language

of the Material [ISAD(G) 3.4.3]

(44)

<did> Children (continued)

<note> - Note [ISAD(G) 3.6.1]

<abstract> - Abstract

<physloc> - Physical Location

<materialspec> - Material

Specific Details

(45)

<did> Children (continued)

<did>



<container> - Container



<dao> - Digital Archival

Object



<daogroup> - Digital

(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]

(47)

<did> Siblings

<scopecontent> - Scope and

Content

[ISAD(G) 3.3.1]

<accruals> - Accruals

[ISAD(G) 3.3.2]

<appraisal> - Appraisal

[ISAD(G) 3.3.3]

<arrangement> - Arrangement

[ISAD(G) 3.3.4]

(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]

<otherfindaid> - Other Finding Aid

[ISAD(G) 3.4.5]

(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

[ISAD(G) 3.5.3]

<separatedmaterial> - Separated

Material

(50)

<did> Siblings (continued)

<bibliography> - Bibliography

[ISAD(G) 3.5.4]

<note> - Note

[ISAD(G) 3.6.1]

<odd> - Other Descriptive Data

[ISAD(G) 3.6.1]

<processinfo> - Processing

Information

(51)

<did> Siblings (continued)

<prefercite> - Preferred

Citation

<controlaccess> - Control

Access

<fileplan> - File Plan

<index> - Index

(52)

(53)

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 language.

COLLABORATIVE IDENTITY: a single identity shared by two or more persons (e.g. a shared

pseudonym used in creation of a collaborative work). Use Multiple Identity-One in Many. (Rare.)

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<eac-cpf>*



<control>*



<cpfDescription>

➢

<identity>

➢

<description>

➢

<relations>

Basic structure

(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

(56)

<eac-cpf> <control></control> <cpfDescription> <identity></identity> <description></description> <relations> <cpfRelation></cpfRelation> <cpfRelation></cpfRelation> </relations> </cpfDescription> </eac-cpf>

Philosophical neutrality (1)

(57)

Philosophical neutrality (2)

<eac-cpf>

<control></control>

<multipleIdentities>

<cpfDescription></cpfDescription>

</multipleIdentities>

</eac-cpf>

(58)

<control>

(59)

<entityType>*

<nameEntry>**

<nameEntryParallel>**

<entityId>

<descriptiveNote>

<cpfDescription>/<identity>

(60)

Basic Name Models

<nameEntry>

<part></part>

<useDates></useDates>

</nameEntry>

<nameEntryParallel>

<nameEntry></nameEntry>

</nameEntryParallel>

(61)

<cpfDescription>/<description>

(62)

<cpfRelation>

<functionRelation>

<resourceRelation>

◦ @*RelationType ◦ <relationEntry> ◦ <objectBinWrap> ◦ <objectXMLWrap>

◦ <date>, <dateRange>, <dateSet> ◦ <place>

◦ <descriptiveNote>

(63)

@cpfRelationType

 identity  hierarchical  hierarchical-parent  hierarchical-child  temporal  temporal-earlier  temporal-later  family  associative

(64)

@resourceRelationType

 creatorOf  subjectOf  other

(65)

@functionRelationType

 controls  owns

 performs

(66)

(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)

(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

(69)

Future EAC Development

EAC-CPF Implementation

Review by 2016

Companion EAC standards?



EAC-Functions (EAC-F)?



EAC-Institutions with Archival

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