After finishing up the recipe pamphlet digital collection over winter break, and taking a much-needed breather from school, I'm gearing up to start a brand new project this semester. And I have a partner! Joanna Lee and I are going to be working together on the Encoded Archival Description (EAD) pilot collection. I will again be working in Digital Library Services, with Jen Wolfe and Sue Julich as project mentors.
For any non-library types in the audience, EAD is an XML markup language that enables encoding of archival finding aids into records that are platform-independent, machine-readable, and fully searchable. In other words, it will allow users to search across various online indexes of archival collections, which are currently not standardized.
This project should prove to be fairly different from the previous one, as it will involve figuring out how to implement a new process that isn't yet in place. This will require researching how other institutions have used EAD and determining the best way to begin using it at the U of I Libraries. As I understand it, the end goal is to produce a prototype EAD collection on which to base future migration of HTML finding aids.
Our first assignment from Jen has been to research EAD and find case studies discussing its integration into other institutions' collections. We are looking at online resources and reading articles from LIS journals. On Monday, we'll be meeting with her to discuss what we've learned. The next step will be to start analyzing other EAD sites on the Web.
