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EAD and beyond: The Representation of Archival Descriptive Results and Archival Content-Management

EAD and beyond: The Representation of Archival Descriptive Results and Archival Content-Management. Dr. Nils Bruebach, Marburg Archives School. A necessary preface: Description in German Archives: A survey.

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EAD and beyond: The Representation of Archival Descriptive Results and Archival Content-Management

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  1. EAD and beyond: The Representation of Archival Descriptive Results and Archival Content-Management Dr. Nils Bruebach, Marburg Archives School

  2. A necessary preface:Description in German Archives: A survey • Parallel national standards (1950-1970) developed both in the former GDR and West-Germany • „“Rules for Arrangement and Description published 1964 for mandatory use in all archives of the former East-Germany • Context-standard with strong content-related elements • Five descriptive levels: Archives, fonds, structure, file, item with assigned descriptive elements and implementation-rules • Very thorough - created as an instrument for untrained and trained archivists

  3. This presentation: • The development of archival description and standardization • EAD: Its benefits and deficits • Existing solutions and futue tasks

  4. …Description in German Archives: • The mangerial benefits of descriptive standards as: • Cooperative work • Coherence of results • Planning • Controlled workflow • Transparency • Improved access ..... played a central role • Both: Bottom-up approach • Ammended by material-oriented and fonds-type oriented standards

  5. …Description in German Archives • Descriptive practice: • Both standards became extensively adopted both in East and West -> any standard proofs ist value by its usability • Implementation tools were developed improvements of the original texts • They became used as teaching-tools • They were fully implemented when IT-Technology became used for archival description • ISAD/ISAAR - compliance

  6. …Description in German Archives • Database-systems in Archives • Designed on purpose from the beginning since the 1980ties • Based on the existing standards • Two approaches: centralized systems using mainframe-computers and PC-based systems • The finding-aid and the repository-guide as traditional results of archival description and access remained

  7. The current situation: Database-Systems • Examples for their impact... • The State-Archives in Hesse (3):...1 Mio descriptive units on file level since 1987 • The State-Archives in Baden-Wuerttemberg (5)... 1,2 Mio descriptive units since 1995 using MIDOSA-Online • The State-Archives in Lower-Saxony (6):...more than 1,3 Mio descriptive units • ... All done using the existing standards • ... And: thousands of older analogue finding-aids

  8. Descriptive results • Inventory/finding-aid („Findbuch“) • Repository guide (Bestaendeuebersicht) • .....as a system and linked together

  9. Contact with EAD • Research Project with the aim to develop online finding-aids conducted by Archives School in 1996/97 • Aim: Put the archives on the web • Assessment of EAD • Solution: HTML-Representation of descriptive results created, maintained and stored in a rational databank • Destinction between input-module, storage module, out and representation module • Software-Tool MIDOSA-Online

  10. Positive Sides of EAD • Flexibility • Hierarchical structure • Capacities as an interchange-format • It is highly accepted and broadly used

  11. But... Problems with EAD • SGML-based when assessed firstly • Describing meant tagging • language • Library tradition vs. authonomous archival tradition of description • Tags in DTD • Structure physical vs. Logical • Set of elements and attributes vs. Elements in national and international standards

  12. Solutions • XML/XSL – based • German DTD‘s for inventory and repository-guide • Adoption of given EAD-Structure and tailoring to our approach • EAD as an interchange-format for representation of descriptive results

  13. The DTD for repository guide: frontmatter Single fonds

  14. The DTD for finding aids: Unit of description

  15. Solutions • Ammending of MIDOSA-ONLINE to XML/XSL • Automatic conversion to EAD (no technical knowledge required) vie the „Control-center“ • Offering both solutions for finding-aids and repository guides

  16. The Midosa-Control-Center with its options for conversion Modes of Conver-sion

  17. A MIDOSA created conversion to an EAD-finding Aid: Arrangement header representing the structure the reference number 502 Title on file-level with supplementary sublevel

  18. Ongoing initiatives and future tasks • Development of combined management- and presentation systems, e.g. VERA • Archival internet portals – not only descriptive information but institutional; in addition cooperative portals together with libraries and museums (->BAM) • System of hierarchy of function oriented access-points • Presentation of digitized/digital records • Retro-conversion of analogue finding-aids: not via „offshore-re-keying“ but using intelligent software-tools • Archival content-management systems

  19. Example: V.E.R.A. V.E.R.A. Verwaltungs-, Erschließungs- und Recherchesystem für Archive • The Concept http:/www.archive.nrw.de/dok/vera • Participants • - Ministerium für Städtebau und Wohnen, Kultur und Sport- Hauptstaatsarchiv Düsseldorf - Staatsarchiv Münster (Coordination)- Staatsarchiv Detmold- Personenstandsarchiv Brühl- Landesamt für Datenverarbeitung (Technical Support)Realisition: Startext GmbH, Bonn (u.a. HiDA, Midosa-Online)

  20. E.R.A. • Anforderungen an eine archivische Fachanwendung Description, Representation Archives Management Repository management Functional interface Access and retrieval C: Frank M. Bischoff,

  21. E.R.A. • Exchange-formats supported by VERA: • CSV • SGML • XML • EAD • Representation-formats of decriptive results • RTF • HTML

  22. Retro-conversion of analogue Finding-aids • Development of „intelligent“ computerized tool of type-written and word-processed finding-aids • Based on a partially automized lay-out-analysis • Generating a XML/XSL based structured file, ready to become imported into online-finding-aids or archival data bases • Funded by the German scientific national fund.

  23. Workfow: (Cf. M. Meusch, INSAR) ------------------------------------

  24. Archival Content-managment-Systems: Components Users Portal Multi-level descriptions applications

  25. Archival Content-managment-Systems: Benefits • Not focussed on the „production-side“ only • Capable of combined management of multi-dimensional archival information form different sources and different media • „on-the-fly“-approach • Not: See what you get (Search-engine-attitude) but: Get what you see • Combination of different research-strategies

  26. Thanks for your audience • bruebach@mailer.uni-marburg.de -

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