The development and structure of the encoded archival description (EAD) document type definition

Journal of Internet Cataloging

Volumn 4, Issue 3-4, 2001, Pages 27-59

  Ruth, Janice E ^a  

^a LIBRARY OF CONGRESS   (United States)

Author keywords

Archival description; Berkeley Finding Aid Project; EAD; Encoded Archival Description; Finding aids

Indexed keywords

EID: 0041481331     PISSN: 10911367     EISSN: 15287017     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1300/J141v04n03_03     Document Type: Article

References (51)

1. See Daniel V. Pitti, "Encoded Archival Description: The Development of an Encoding Standard for Archival Finding Aids, " American Archivist 60 (Summer 1997): 268-83, for a fuller discussion of early print and online efforts at building union access to archival material and for an explanation of how these projects set the stage for EAD's development. Countries other than the United States also engaged in similar activities to produce union lists, including, for example, the Public Archives of Canada. Union List of Manuscripts in Canadian Repositories = Catalogue collectif des manuscrits archives canadiennes, ed. Robert S. Gordon (Ottawa: Public Archives of Canada, 1968).
2. United Stales. National Historical Publications Commission. A Guide to Archives and Manuscripts in the United States, ed. Philip M. Hamer (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1961).
3. In 1994 the Library of Congress ceased publishing the printed volumes, and NUCMC office staff redirected their energies to assisting mostly smaller repositories with creating cataloging records for online distribution via RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network), a national-level database.
4. Betty Furrie, "What is a MARC Record and Why Is It Important?" in Understanding MARC Bibliographic: Machine-Readable Cataloging. 5th ed., reviewed and edited by the Network Development and MARC Standards Office. Library of Congress (Washington, DC: Cataloging Distribution Service, in collaboration with The Follett Software Company, 1998), copy available online at http://leweb.loc.gov/marc/ umb/um0.1 to06.html.
5. The Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), the first regional bibliographic utility, was established in 1967 as the Ohio College Library Center and later became a national and international cataloging database. Other bibliographic utilities followed.
6. including the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN), the Washington Library Network (WLN), and the University of Toronto Library Automated System (UTLAS).
7. H. Thomas Hickerson, "Archival Information Exchange and the Role of Bibliographic Networks. " Library Trends 36 (Winter 1988): 553-71.
8. And Richard H. Lytle, "An Analysis of the Work of the National Information Systems Task Force, " American Archivist 47 (Fall 1984): 357-65.
9. According to the Research Libraries Group's Archival Resources Web site, the RLIN database contained 500,000 records as of 1 November 1999. The 1998 annual report of OCLC, which is available online at http://www.oclc.org/ar98/wcal.htm. indicated that its mixed materials database contained 279,578 records.
10. For information on the development of APPM see the prefaces in both editions: Steven L. Hensen. Archives, Personal Papers, and Manuscripts: A Cataloging Manual for Archival Repositories, Historical Societies, and Manuscript Libraries (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1983), v-vi.
11. And Hensen, Archives, Personal Papers, and Manuscripts: A Cataloging Manual for Archival Repositories, Historical Societies, and Manuscript Libraries, 2d ed. (Chicago: Society of American Archivists. 1989), v-viii.
12. Also of interest is Hensen's "'NISTF II and EAD: The Evolution of Archival Description, " American Archivist 60 (Summer 1997): 288-91.
13. Encoded Archival Description Application Guidelines, Version 1.0 (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1999). 6.
14. "Encoding Standard for Elcctronic Aids: A Report by the Bentley Team for Encoded Archival Description Development, " Archival Outlook (January 1996): 10.
15. Pitti, American Archivist, 275-76.
16. Pitti, American Archivist, 279.
17. This summary of SGML is based, in part, on Janice E, Ruth. "Encoded Archival Description: A Structural Overview, " American Archivist 60 (Summer 1997): 311-12.
18. And Pitti, American Archivist, 276-78.
19. Pitti, American Archivist, 279.
20. The meeting in Ann Arbor occurred under the auspices of the Research Fellowship for Study of Modern Archives, a program supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Division of Preservation and Access of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Bentley Historical Library. University of Michigan. The participants were Steven J. DeRose (INSO, formerly Electronic Book Technologies), Jackie M. Dooley (University of California, Irvine), Michael J. Fox (Minnesota Historical Society), Steven L. Hensen (Duke University), Kris Kiesling (Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin), Daniel V. Pitti (University of Virginia, formerly University of California, Berkeley). Janice E. Ruth (Library of Congress Manuscript Division). Sharon Gihbs Thibodeau (National Archives and Records Administration), and Helena Zinkham (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division).
21. In a paper Pitti delivered in March 1995 at the RLG DIAP workshop, he wrote, "There is enough inconsistency in the logical order of finding aids, and in the relations of the various elements to one another, that it was necessary to make the first iteration of the Finding Aid DTD far more complicated and amorphous than it would need to be if there were more structural consistency and agreement on logical order. " See Daniel Pitti, "Access to Digital Representations of Archival Materials: The Berkeley Finding Aid Project, " in RLG Digital Image Access Project: Proceedings from an RLG Symposium (Palo Alto: The Research Libraries Group, 1995), 81; also available online at http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/FindingAids/EAD/diap.html. Also in his application to the Bentley Historical Library's Research Fellowship Program for Study of Modern Archives, Pitti wrote that "it is essential that experts in archival processing and description engage in an informed, careful critique of the work of the Berkeley Finding Aid Project so that a truly community backed data model and standard can be arrived at."
22. Daniel V. Pitti, "Encoding Standard for Electronic Archival Finding Aids: A Proposal to the Research Fellowship Program for Study of Modern Archives, " 4, copy in author's possession.
23. "Ann Arbor Accords: Principles and Criteria lor an SGML Document Type Definition (DTD) for Finding Aids, " Archival Outlook (January 1996): 12.
24. For the full text of ISAD(G). see International Council on Archives, ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description, adopted by the Ad Hoc Commission on Descriptive Standards, Stockholm, Sweden, 21-23 January 1993 (Ottawa, Ont.: International Council on Archives, 1994) or ICA's home page at http://www.iea.org.
25. The EAD Working Group, chaired by Bentley team member Kris Kiesling, initially consisted of all members of the original Benlley team (except Steven J. DeRose) as well as the following additional individuals: Randall Barry (Library of Congress Network Development and MARC Standards Office), Ricky Erway (Research Libraries Group), Anne Gilliland-Swetland (University of California, Los Angeles), Eric Miller (OCLC Online Computer Library Center), Robert Spindler (Arizona Stale University). and Richard Szary (Yale University). In August 1997, Meg Sweet (Public Record Office, United Kingdom) joined the group, and in November 1997, Wendy Duff (University of Toronto) was added and William E. Landis (University of California. Irvine) assumed Gilliland-Swetland's place.
26. Daniel V. Pitti, The Berkeley Finding Aid Project: Standards in Navigation, paper delivered in September 1993 at the Society of American Archivists annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, and revised and presented in November 1994 at the Symposium on Electronic Publishing on the Network, sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries and the Association of American University Presses in Washington, D.C., in November 1994, draft copy available online at http://sunsite.berkeley. edu/FindingAids/EAD/arlpap.html. Later published in Filling the Pipeline and Paying the Piper: Proceedings of the Fourth Symposium. November 5-7, 1994, the Washington Vista Hotel. Washington, D.C., Ann Okerson, ed. (Washington, DC: Association of Research Libraries, 1995), 161-66.
27. This meeting was also sponsored by the Council on Library Resources (later Council on Library and Information Resources).
28. Several minor typographical modifications occurred in late November 1996, resulting in a dale change to the September EAD files. Thus some references to the beta DTD list a November 1996 dale.
29. Daniel Pitti and Kris Kiesling discuss some of these projects in their respective articles in the Summer 1997 issue of the American Archivist.
30. See Pitti, American Archivist, 281-82.
31. And Kris Kiesling, "EAD as an Archival Descriptive Standard, " American Archivist 60 (Summer 1997): 351.
32. Also see the case studies described in the American Archivist 60 (Fall 1997) issue and the implementation sites identified on the official EAD Web site at www. loc.gov/cad/cadsites.html.
33. EAD Working Group chair Kris Kiesling took a six-month leave of absence from her position at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center to advise RLG on EAD-related issues and to assist in creating a two-day workshop. Kiesling and co-instructor Michael Fox developed the initial course with contributions from Daniel Pitti.
34. Tim Hoyer, and Alvin Pollack at the University of California. Berkeley, and input from an advisory panel of early implementors consisting of Lisa Browar (New York Public Library), Steven L. Hensen (Duke University), Steven Mandeville-Gamble (Stanford University), Richard Szary (Yale University), Richard Masters (British Library), and Susan von Salis (Schlesinger Library) who joined Kiesling, Fox, Ricky Erway (RLG), and the Berkeley trio for a three-day meeting in Mountain View, California, on May 23-25, 1996, to discuss curriculum materials.
35. See EAD Help Pages Web site at http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/eud/
36. The EAD Working Group sent out a formal request for comments via the EAD Listserv on 23 June 1997.
37. See Kris Kiesling. "EAD Comment Period Opens. " 23 June 1997, online posting. Encoded Archival Description Listserv. http://www.loc.gov/ cgi-bin/lwgate/EAD/archives/. Although the formal comment period ended on 22 August 1997, the group considered all recommendations received before 31 October 1997. For a listing of working group members.
38. The EAD Working Group, chaired by Bentley team member Kris Kiesling, initially consisted of all members of the original Benlley team (except Steven J. DeRose) as well as the following additional individuals: Randall Barry (Library of Congress Network Development and MARC Standards Office), Ricky Erway (Research Libraries Group), Anne Gilliland-Swetland (University of California, Los Angeles), Eric Miller (OCLC Online Computer Library Center), Robert Spindler (Arizona Stale University). and Richard Szary (Yale University). In August 1997, Meg Sweet (Public Record Office, United Kingdom) joined the group, and in November 1997, Wendy Duff (University of Toronto) was added and William E. Landis (University of California. Irvine) assumed Gilliland-Swetland's place.
39. Kris Kiesling, "EAD Beta-Version 1.0 Changes, " 30 January 1998, online posting, Encoded Archival Description Listserv, http://www.loc.gov/cgi-bin/lwgate/EAD/ archives/.
40. Encoded Archival Description Tag Library, Version 1.0 (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1998).
41. Much of this structural analysis is based on Janice E. Ruth's "Encoded Archival Description: A Structural Overview, " American Archivist 60 (Summer 1997): 310-29.
42. And the author's contributions to the Encoded Archival Description Tag Library. Version 1.0 (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1998).
43. And the Encoded Archival Description Application Guidelines, Version 1.0 (Chicago: Society of American Archivists. 1999).
44. "Encoding Standard for Electronic Aids: A Report by the Bentley Team for Encoded Archival Description Development, " Archival Outlook (January 1996). 10.
45. The TYPE attribute can be set to a value of analytic overview ("analyticover"). to identify a set of series descriptions: "in-depth. " to identify a listing of containers or folders, a calendar, or a listing of items: "combined, " to identify instances in which the description of each series is followed immediately by a listing of subseries, files, and items for that series: and "other, " to identify models that do not follow any of the above-mentioned formats.
46. The TEI is an international, humanities-based effort to develop a suite of DTDs for encoding literary texts or other objects of study. The EAD developers elected to use a TEI-like header in an attempt to encourage as much uniformity as possible in the provision of metadata across document types.
47. EAD Working Group members involved in the guidelines project included Jackie M. Dooley, who served as editor, and Michael J. Fox, Steven L. Hensen, Kris Kiesling, William E. Landis, and Janice E. Ruth. Also participating in the Ann Arbor meetings and writing sessions was Greg Kinney, a Bentley Historical Library staff member.
48. The Society of American Archivists Technical Subcommittee on Descriptive Standards is chaired by William E. Landis and includes Nicole Bouché (Yale University), Donna DiMichele (Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center), Susan
49. Polls McDonald (Emory University), Dennis Meissner (Minnesota Historical Society), and Alden Monroe (Alabama Department of Archives). Outside reviewers were Elizabeth H. Dow (University of Vermont). Chris Powell (University of Michigan), and Kathleen Roe (New York Stale Archives).
50. Encoded Archival Description Application Guidelines, Version 1.0 (Chicago: Sociely of American Archivists, 1999).
51. Daniel V. Pitti, "Setting the Digital Frontier: The Future of Scholarly Communication in the Humanities, " paper presented at the Berkeley Finding Aids Conference, April 1995, available online at http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/FindingAids/EAD/dpitti.html.