Connecting Community to Collections with Online Finding

AidsUtah Library Association Conference Layton, UT • May 2011

THE NEED FOR “FINDABILITY”

Utah Valley University Sutherland Archives

Utah Valley University

Digital Collections started 2006.

Campus Archives started 2004.

Processing Took Priority!!!

Basic means of access

I created catalog records and inventory lists for each physical collection.

Sample Inventory List

UVU Sutherland Archives Finding

Aids

I eventually created in-depth print finding aids for each collection.

But there had to be a better way…

Added Links to Finding Aids in

Catalog Records

• I inserted links to PDF copies into the catalog records of archival collections.

Access Finding Aid through Catalog

There STILL has to be a better way…

• My finding aids are not searchable• They are not “found” by Google, etc.• Only someone searching UVU

Library’s catalog will find them and our collections

• I’ve heard of making finding aids searchable online with EAD…What is it?

• I need it, how do I get it, and how do I use it????

UTAH STATE UNIVERSITYHow We Did It

Online Finding Aids

• Since 1996, the Fife Folklore Archives at USU Libraries’ Special Collections & Archives has hosted online finding aids. • Before we hosted our guides, we made sure that each included well defined descriptive matter.

• Descriptive matter for our finding aids include:• Collection Overview

• Creator• Title• Dates• Collection Number• Quantity (size)• Summary• Repository Information

• Biographical Note/Historical Note• Content Description (Scope & Content)• Collection Use (Restrictions/preferred citation, etc.)• Administrative Information (Provenance)• Subjects (This came later. . .when we moved to EAD.)• Collection Inventory (Container lists)

• Box • Folder• Item information/description

Online Finding Aids

• First efforts were encoded in HTML/PHP• This afforded content access by search engines, like Google• Easy to print register (for both in-house and patron use)• Unique look to brand us• But no archival standards—although we followed in house/SAA guidelines (defined descriptive

matter)

• Online presence led to increased visibility of collections• Australian mother seeks lullabies for her developmentally challenged child• Researcher seeks folk song/citation information for Bob Dylan biography• Cowboy poetry enthusiasts seek poems• In-house use ease for researchers and SCA staff• Increased reference services—mostly via web

HTML

PHP

USU Move to EAD

• In 2007-8 USU (along with others in the Mountain West Digital Library) began to encode and host finding aids in EAD.

• Encoded Archival Description (EAD) is an XML standard (set of rules) used to encode archival finding aids.

• EAD is maintained by the Library of Congress in partnership with the Society of American Archivists. Many repositories in the US, England, Australia and other places have adopted and implemented EAD.

• EAD originated in 1993 (1.0 version was released in 1998) at the University of California at Berkeley. The project's goal was to create a standard for describing collections held by archives and special collections, similar to the MARC standards for describing regular books.

EAD file in XML

Finding aid text is encoded using EAD and XML markup so the finding aids can be shared, searched and viewed electronically.

XML is the markup language that allows EAD files to be read and exchanged electronically.

At USU we use Oxygen XML editor.

USU Move to EAD

• Through funding from a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Grant, in partnership with the Utah Manuscripts Association (UMA), USU was able to migrate 550 existing online registers to EAD. • Folklore• Manuscript• Photographs• Archives

• The move was exciting,but not without

growing pains…

Challenges • Problems using CONTENTdm software

• Lack of permanent URLs• Unable to keep same URL if need to update finding aid• Could not replace finding aid, had to reload as new object• New object given a new URL• URL recorded in catalog records, online references, etc., became broken links

• Limits on number of characters in a record• Had to split large finding aids into multiple parts

• CONTENTdm EAD upload option inadequate• Had to upload one file at a time• Did not allow links to digitized content• Did not import some needed EAD fields (bioghist, accessrestrict, etc.)

• Had to create our own program (actually a script) for uploading EAD files into CONTENTdm• Program crosswalked EAD data into Dublin Core fields before uploading • Made EAD data searchable in a Dublin Core metadata record• Allowed us to link to a digitized content• Allowed us to import batches of files rather than one file at a time

• Now working with NWDA to host EAD files, but will be harvested by MWDL

• Search engine (Google) issues

• Conversion Challenges• For some partners, inconsistent descriptive matter complicated conversion into EAD and made outsourcing

difficult

EAD Benefits

• Help standardize how archival information are represented & or presented in an electronic environment

• Enable effective searching & retrieval

• Display & exchange of the information contained in an archival aid

• Future migration potential/ease

• Participation in a regional/topical consortium• Allows for more robust searching options (for directed researchers)• Professional networking and collegial support

William Osei-Poku, “Encoded Archival Description: EAD– INFO 653 Short Paper 2.” Selected Works: Bepress. http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=raspino&sei-redir=1#search=%22encoded+archival+description%22

USU EAD Portal

digital.lib.usu.edu/ead.php

UTAH STATE ARCHIVESHow We Did It

The Beginning

• EAD 1.0 (2000) Conversion of hundreds of existing files Software: XMetal, transformation to

HTML pages and PDF for printing• EAD 2002 (2008)

LSTA grant + development of new software

Processed Containers moduleWorkspace for linking containers to location and describing contents

“Automagical”

Output

• One-button generation

• Strange Characters

• Validation

Finding Aid Review

• According to Best Practice Guidelines Adding

o abstractso browsing terms

Notes in right fields Imported container lists

Uploading to MWDL

• Successes Extraction script

automating process Sharing collections

• Challenges Importing

o File management – New and Replace

Updatingo Avoiding duplicates

Online Everywhere

• Utah State Archives Website Pages in Research section Government Agency information

• Mountain West Digital Library• Web/Google Searching

Google35%

Archives42%

Direct17%

Courts6%

Traffic SourcesApr 2011

Digital Too

• Container list data digital metadata

• Links in container lists to digital objects

Being Analyzed

• ArchivesZ Project: Visualizing Archival Collections - What is in all those boxes?

• Data analysis in 2009

Collection size• http://archivesz.org

/

Outcomes• 1,718 migrated

now 1,867• Most popular…

Top 5 rep. 10% of all views but there’s a “long tail…”

Prison Commitment Reg-isters

Birth Certificates

Salt Lake Death Register

Brigham City Sexton's Record

Death Certificates

Take a Look!

archives.utah.gov/research/inventories

COLLABORATING ON FINDING AIDS

LSTA Project for creating EAD files and a statewide search portal

Utah Manuscripts Assn. LSTA Project

• Funding: Library Services and Technology Act grants program

• Timeframe: 2007-2008 • Principal Investigator: Bradford Cole

at Utah State University Library

Utah Manuscripts Assn. LSTA Project

Brigham Young

University

Weber State

University

University of Utah

Utah State University

Utah State Archives

Utah State History

Six partners created EAD files:

Utah Manuscripts Assn. LSTA Project

A local EAD collection

Utah Manuscripts Assn. LSTA Project

Display of an EAD finding aid

Standardizing:EAD 2002 Schema

See loc.gov/ead

Best Practice Guidelines

See LSTA project wiki: lsta.lib.byu.edu

Encoding Tools

• Tool created by LSTA grant at U of U: xEAD

http:// lsta.lib.byu.edu• Other commercial tools:

Oxygen XMLhttp://www.oxygenxml.com

Archivist’s Toolkithttp://www.archiviststoolkit.org

AXAEM http://www.axaem.com

xEAD

Encoding tool from Univ. of Utah

EAD validationsoftware

BPGilyzer adapted by BYU

EAD uploading process

for CONTENTdmExtraction of fields from EAD

XSL stylesheet for displaying EAD files

An EAD file in XML

Same file rendered for the Web with

XSL

Training materials

Procedures developed by U of U trainers

Local searching

Weber State – search on phrase

Local searching

Weber State

Local searching

Weber State

Mountain West

Digital Library

Utah State

University

Brigham Young

University

Weber State

University

Utah State

Archives

Utah State

History

University of Utah

Statewidesearch portal

Harvest of metadata to central portal

Statewidesearch portal

Statewidesearch portal

Statewidesearch portal

Statewidesearch portal

Links back to local repository

Statewidesearch portal

Portlet

Statewidesearch portal

Statewidesearch portal

Statewidesearch portal

New EAD collections

• Utah Valley University Library• Westminster College, Giovale Library• Salt Lake County Archives• Open to you, too!

Mountain WestDigital Library

• Repository hubs that are supporting EAD: University of Utah, Marriott Library Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier

Library Brigham Young University, Lee Library Weber State University, Stewart Library Utah Valley University Library Utah State Archives

• To set up a partnership, contact Sandra McIntyre, sandra.mcintyre@utah.edu

Collaboratingfor the future

• Grant project was too short• Need is expanding to many others• More training needed• Need economies of scale for tools

and processes

New collaborative project proposed

• IMLS planning grant proposal, 01/2011 Principal investigator: Greg Thompson, U

of U Three multi-state EAD programs:

o Mountain West Digital Libraryo Northwest Digital Archiveso Rocky Mountain Online Archive

Planning for combined search capability and one set of tools (probably NWDA’s system)

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?Utah Valley University

Most Important Points

• Finding aids, whether print or online, are essential for archival collection usability;

• Online finding aids will increase the visibility and “findability” of collections;

• Encoded Archival Description (EAD) is the accepted standard by which to put finding aids online;

• There are resources available for help and support!

Challenges

• Do I have the time to commit to learning and implemeting EAD?

Challenges

• EAD Software--Everyone uses something different! xEAD? XMetaL? Archivist’s Toolkit? oXygen? AXAEM

Resources for Help

Brigham Young

University

Weber State

University

University of Utah

Utah State University

Utah State Archives

Utah State History

Cooperative Effort among institutions, with help from LSTA Grant and Utah Manuscripts Assn., may help me also!

Resources For Help

The Society of American Archivists

has an EAD Help Page

http://www.archivists.org/saagroups/ead/

Resources for Help

• So does the Library of Congress!

• http://www.loc.gov/ead

Resources for Help

The Utah Manuscripts Association has a wiki

http://lsta.lib.byu.edu

Resources for Help

• Utah Manuscripts Association EAD “Triage Team”

• Melissa Ferguson, current UMA President ,

mferguson@utah.gov Gina Strack gmstrack@utah.gov Cory Nimer cory.nimer@byu.edu Gordon Daines gordon.daines@byu.edu

Resources for Help

• Mountain West Digital Library digitization hubs at www.mwdl.org

• Repository hub managers can help answer basic questions and put you in touch with trainers

Is It Worth It?YES!!!

Presenters

• Catherine McIntyre, Utah Valley University(801) 863-8821 • mcintyca@uvu.edu

• Sandra McIntyre, Mountain West Digital Library(801) 585-0969 • sandra.mcintyre@utah.edu

• Gina Strack, Utah State Archives(801) 531-3843 • gmstrack@utah.gov

• Randy Williams, Utah State University(435) 797-3493 • randy.williams@usu.eduEndorsed & sponsored by:  Archives, Manuscripts, and Special Collections (AMSC) Roundtable and Technical Services Roundtable