EAD Testing and Implementation at the Library of Congress

Abstract

This case study chronicles the Library of Congress's participation as an early implementer of Encoded Archival Description (EAD). The activities described include testing the alpha version of the EAD DTD, tagging approaches used in two test finding aids in the Manuscript and the Prints and Photographs divisions, a pilot project in the Manuscript Division which encoded ten finding aids, exploration of how EAD accommodates finding aids in various formats, and the work of the library's EAD Task Force in resolving organizational and technical issues. The authors' conclusions are based on their two-year involvement with EAD at the Library of Congress.

Adoption and diffusion of Encoded Archival Description

“…This literature consists primarily of overviews of the history and evolution of EAD (e.g. Hensen, 1997; Kiesling, 1997; Pitti, 1997) and case studies (e.g., Bouché, 1997; Lacy & St. Clair, 1997) describing individual experiences with EAD. These case studies are problematic because they are not generalizable.…”