Encoding Across Frontiers (PDF)

Discover the history, development, and use of EAD, EAC, and EAG

Encoding Across Frontiers is a careful selection of the finest presentations from the European Conference on Encoded Archival Description and Context (EAD and EAC) held in Paris, France in October 2004. International experts explore the history and practical use of EAD in Europe, the development and future of EAC, and a data format for information about archive holders, Encoded Archival Guide (EAG). Archivists will learn the latest in technology, practical applications, and international perspectives on how to transcend the printed word.

Archivists have long imagined the practical benefits of using advanced technologies in their work. Encoding Across Frontiers is a detailed look at the technologies that have been transforming archival description, revealing a future that travels beyond the limits of traditional media. Respected authorities discuss ways to use technology to bring information to a wider audience through online services, standardization of data, the development and use of EAD, the issues in EAD implementation, case studies of implementation from France and the United Kingdom, the need to structure contextual information to allow access to archival material, and funding issues.

Topics in Encoding Across Frontiers include:

• the history, use, and spread of EAD in Europe
  
• development of standards for describing archive creators and archive holders—and the tool called Encoded Archival Guide (EAG)
  
• a case study of the Bodleian Library's conversion to EAD
  
• the status of training for archivists in the use of EAD
  
• an examination of MidosaXML in Germany as a pilot application and tool
  
• the BASYS-Fox system and the scope of EAD in the Bundesarchiv
  
• EAD's capabilities as a tool for information created by different professional communities
  
• the sharing of descriptive standards between public archives and private collections
  
• a case study of the Metrica Regni Project in Poland
  
• four projects providing EAD users the means to control the quality of archival finding tools
  
• the Archives Départementales de la Côte-d'Or's decision to use a simple and efficient software package to publish online archival descriptions and the library catalogue
  
• a discussion of three different online services that provide federated access to finding aids in the United Kingdom
  
• the influence of American and European practices on EAD
  
• the relationship of EAD and EAC as data formats to national and international content standards
  
• the SIASFI Project and the Online Guide to the State Archives of Florence
  
• EAC and the development of national and European gateways to archives
  
• and so much more
  
  

Encoding Across Frontiers is crucial reading for every archive professional at any level, archive students in training, and any allied library and museum professional with an interest in EAD, EAC, and EAG.