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Maximizing Resources: EAD and MARC in the small repository. Valerie Gillispie Assistant University Archivist Wesleyan University Middletown, Connecticut. Wesleyan’s Special Collections & Archives: January 2006. 14 finding aids online 500+ collections not described online
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Maximizing Resources: EAD and MARC in the small repository Valerie Gillispie Assistant University Archivist Wesleyan University Middletown, Connecticut
Wesleyan’s Special Collections & Archives: January 2006 • 14 finding aids online • 500+ collections not described online • Existing finding aids • created in Microsoft Word and transformed into HTML documents • paper • Minimal catalog records in OPAC
Consequences of lack of (encoded) online presence? • The curiosity cabinet
Technical services challenges • Setting priorities • Finding assistance • Updating technology
Prioritizing collections • What is available digitally or on paper? • Heavily used collections • Collections central to mission of institution • Collections appropriate for your workers’ skills
Types of assistance • Library and IT professionals • Student workers • Graduate school interns
Appropriate student projects • Small collections that do not require complex re-arrangement • Larger collections that need only an inventory • Projects of personal interest can be good choices . . . but sometimes not
Why move to EAD? • Puts tags around each item in finding aid, i.e. metadata • Transform XML into MARC or other frequently used metadata schemas • Connects us to other institutions and archivists
Online toolkits and references • NCEAD Toolkit http://www.ncecho.org/dig/ncead.shtml • LoC EAD website http://www.loc.gov/ead/index.html • EAD Cookbook http://www.archivists.org/saagroups/ead/ead2002cookbook.html
Take advantage of encoding • MarcEdit • http://oregonstate.edu/~reeset/marcedit/html/index.php
External Resources • EAD listserv • SAA listserv • Other institutions’ websites • Regional/national networking
Wesleyan’s Special Collections & Archives: January 2009 • Over 90 finding aids online, nearly all in EAD • Enhanced MARC records • More students and outside patrons finding collections through Google • The lessons of more product, less process
Thank you! Valerie Gillispie vgillispie@wesleyan.edu http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/schome/