1 / 15

Enhancing Libraries with EAD Migration: Iowa's Finding Aid Journey

This project documents Iowa's ongoing EAD migration effort, initiated in Spring 2008, to improve accessibility to archival materials housed within Special Collections, University Archives, and Iowa Women’s Archives. The findings explore the current status of HTML finding aids and user experiences while browsing collections. Key aspects include the development of an EAD template tailored to Iowa's needs, the transition to using Archon for hosting finding aids, and potential enhancements for user interface and functionality. The project emphasizes the importance of standardization and user-centric access to archival content.

santos
Télécharger la présentation

Enhancing Libraries with EAD Migration: Iowa's Finding Aid Journey

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. EAD and finding aid hosting tools 6/23 XML + XSLT for Libraries

  2. Today • Your impressions of current HTML finding aids • Background on Iowa’s finding aid migration • Iowa’s EAD template • Archon database for hosting finding aids • Migration workflow • In class continue Assignment 4: Encode finding aids in EAD

  3. Iowa’s current finding aid interface • What are your impressions of the finding aids in their current format? • What was your user experience browsing the collections like? • What kind of functionality should be added?

  4. Iowa’s finding aid migration • Ongoing project that began Spring 2008 • Convert thousands of HTML finding aids from • Special Collections • University Archives • Iowa Women’s Archives (IWA) • Project Team: EAD Migration Task Force • representing DLS, Web Apps, Cataloging, Archives, ITS

  5. Goals for EAD implementation • Improve user experience • Add access points • Unite content of the three archives • Link with digital content • Standardize descriptive practices • Structure data

  6. Implementing EAD at Iowa • My role • get familiar with EAD standard • get familiar with archival content • learn from best practices and implementation plans at other institutions • develop EAD template for Iowa: http://slis.uiowa.edu/~jlee/239/sampledocs/EAD-TemplateNotes.doc • help develop implementation plan • Iowa chose to use Archon to edit, store, and host finding aids

  7. What is Archon? • Archon is an open-source tool developed by The University of Illinois, Champaign Urbana • Archon is a database structured to mimic EAD’s structure • Information is stored in pieces that are mapped to EAD elements

  8. What does Archon look like? • Archon’s site: http://www.archon.org/index.php • Our installation: http://archon.lib.uiowa.edu/

  9. Strengths of Archon • Assists in migration process • If you can get your content into the Archon database in the right pieces, you have EAD finding aids. • Option to export in EAD XML. • Strong staff interface for creating new finding aids • Archivists do not have to encode in XML. • Customizable • The user interface and the underlying structure of the database can be changed.

  10. Limitations of Archon • While structured after EAD, Archon is a rigid subset of the elements • It represents Illinois’ EAD template, not ours. • Customization may cause problems during upgrades. • The staff interface is a bit clunky and slow • Mainly a publishing platform, does not offer many management features

  11. Three stages of implementation • Migrate existing HTML finding aids into Archon • Develop user interface: http://test.lib.uiowa.edu/archon/basicsearch.aspx • Train archivists how to use Archon to write new finding aids

  12. Other tools for implementing EAD • eXtensible Text Framework (XTF): http://www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/xtf/ • Archivist’s Toolkit: https://wikis.nyu.edu/lm1394/ArchivistsToolkit/index.php/FAQ/GeneralQuestions#whyUseAT

  13. Take a break

  14. In Class • Continue withAssignment 4: Encoding finding aids in EAD • Use Iowa’s template as a guide: http://slis.uiowa.edu/~jlee/239/sampledocs/EAD-TemplateNotes.doc

More Related