An electronic finding aid using extensible markup language (XML) and encoded archival description (EAD)
| Date | 01 March 2000 |
| Pages | 15-27 |
| Published date | 01 March 2000 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830010314375 |
| Author | May Chang |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
An electronic finding aid
using extensible markup
language (XML) and
encoded archival
description (EAD)
May Chang
Introduction
This project lies at the confluence of two events
in 1998: the World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C) Recommendation of the eXtensible
markup language (XML), and the adoption of
the encoded archival description (EAD)
document type definition (DTD; see glossary)
as a standard by the Library of Congress and
the Society of American Archivists. The
objective was to investigate the application of
XML and EAD in information management
and retrieval. The prototype electronic finding
aid was completed in April 1999 (http://
vidar.grainger.uiuc.edu/ adcouncil/).
Up to this point, the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) archives have
depended mainly on printed finding aids. The
project provides a model for the development of
electronic finding aids and enabled an
understanding of markup languages and the
potential of XML applications in libraries and
access to resources and materials across the
World Wide Web (Web).
This article is a review of the project and the
prototype electronic finding aid that was
developed. As pointed out by Fox (1997), there
are a number of administrative and technical
considerations in implementing such projects.
The focus here is on the technical aspects of the
prototype within the setting of a small- to
medium-sized archive with limited resources.
Finding aids
A finding aid is a descriptive access tool (such as
an inventory, register, index, or guide) created
by archives, libraries, and museums to locate
source materials. It is usually more detailed
than a catalog record, often providing
information about a collection's provenance,
conditions of access or use, biographical or
organizational histories, and scope and content
notes. The finding aid also provides
progressively more detailed descriptions of the
parts or components of the collection together
with the corresponding identifying numbers.
Users are thus able to identify and request the
physical items of interest.
Printed finding aids such as record cards and
multi-page guides face limitations similar to
The author
May Chang is based at the Graduate School of Library and
Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA.
maychang@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu
Keywords
Computer languages, Information retrieval, Internet
Abstract
Increasingly, XML applications are appearing on the World
Wide Web, from e-commerce to information management.
In the case of libraries and archives, XML enables more
flexible information management and retrieval than using
MARC or a relational database management system.
Describes a project to explore the use of XML and the EAD,
and the development of a prototype electronic finding aid. It
focuses on the technical aspects, and reviews the options
available and the choices made. This is done within the
setting of a small- to medium-sized archive with minimal
tools and resources.
Electronic access
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available at
http://www.emerald-library.com
15
Library Hi Tech
Volume 18 .Number 1 .2000 .pp. 15±27
#MCB University Press .ISSN 0737-8831
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