eca 2010 archives hub
DESCRIPTION
Adding digital contenta and displaying images in Archives Hub descriptions using the EAD EditorTRANSCRIPT
archiveshub.ac.uk
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the encoder:
The Archives Hub EAD Editor
Jane StevensonArchives Hub
Mimas, The University of Manchester
ECA 2010
archiveshub.ac.uk
Describes archives for research and education Represents 200 institutions across the UK Brings together descriptions in Encoded Archival
Description (EAD) Receives over 50,000 searches per month
ECA 2010
The Archives Hub
archiveshub.ac.uk
200 contributors is a challenge: ◦Different methods of content creation◦Different standards◦Different levels of detail◦Different levels of expertise◦Different levels of commitment◦Different expectations◦Different levels of engagement
ECA 2010
Contributing content
archiveshub.ac.uk
EAD is often seen as a barrier:◦ Too technical◦Demands knowledge of tags◦Not an out-of-the-box solution◦Not compatible with software management systems
But there is awareness that EAD:◦Provides structure◦ Is an international standard◦ Is useful for data exchange
ECA 2010
EAD assessment
archiveshub.ac.uk
Online form Familiar, easy to use Description had to be created in one session –
could not store descriptions Quite complicated to add lower-level entries No additional functionality – quite basic
ECA 2010
Archives Hub template (2001-08)
archiveshub.ac.uk
Enhanced functionality Save and store descriptions Graphical tree structure Persistent identifiers Minimal understanding of tags Upload EAD descriptions from elsewhere Create pre-populated templates
ECA 2010
EAD Editor (2009-)
archiveshub.ac.uk ECA 2010
EAD Editor: filestore
archiveshub.ac.uk ECA 2010
EAD Editor: template
archiveshub.ac.uk ECA 2010
EAD Editor: formatting
archiveshub.ac.uk ECA 2010
EAD Editor: online view
archiveshub.ac.uk ECA 2010
EAD Editor: enhancements
archiveshub.ac.uk
Adding links to digital content
ECA 2010
archiveshub.ac.uk
Definition:
Electronic representations of the described materials
Images, audio-visual, text
Digital Archival Objects
ECA 2010
archiveshub.ac.uk
Pressing need to include links to content Use of EAD <dao> tag and related tags Add links to representations of the archives Implementation of this within a distributed system
with 200 contributors! Standards-based implementation for
interoperability Easy for contributors to use
ECA 2010
Implementation of DAO
archiveshub.ac.uk
Digital Archival Objects <dao> Digital Archival Object group <daogrp> Digital Archival Object location <daoloc> Digital Archival Object description <daodesc>
The EAD behind the display
ECA 2010
archiveshub.ac.uk
(1) Embedding images for display(2) Linking to files (3) Embedding images and linking to high-resolution
images(4) Two or more objects described as a group
Options for DAO
ECA 2010
archiveshub.ac.uk
We link to images/objects on the contributor’s server
The images/objects are their responsibility We follow standard practice, as dictated by EAD
and HTML
How it works
ECA 2010
archiveshub.ac.uk
<dao href="http://www.foo.ac.uk/image.jpg" show="embed"><daodesc>
<p>Caption for image</p></daodesc>
</dao>
(1) Embedding images for display
ECA 2010
archiveshub.ac.uk
<dao href="http://www.foo.ac.uk/textfile.pdf" show=“new"><daodesc>
<p>Link text</p></daodesc>
</dao>
(2) Linking to files
ECA 2010
archiveshub.ac.uk
<daogrp><daodesc>
<p>Image description</p></daodesc><daoloc href="http://www.foo.ac.uk/image-small.jpg" label="thumb"/><daoloc href="http://www.foo.ac.uk/image-large.jpg" label="reference"/>
</daogrp>
(3) Thumbnail / Reference Images
ECA 2010
archiveshub.ac.uk
<daogrp><daodesc>
<p>Group description</p></daodesc><daoloc href="http://www.foo.ac.uk/image.jpg">
<daodesc><p>Image description</p></daodesc></daoloc><daoloc href="http://www.foo.ac.uk/pdf-file.pdf" title="PDF document"/><daoloc href="http://www.foo.ac.uk/word-file.doc" title="Word document"/>
</daogrp>
(4) Group of digital objects
ECA 2010
archiveshub.ac.uk
Simply use a form-type approach 4 options, with boxes for location and description
ECA 2010
DAO on the EAD Editor
archiveshub.ac.uk ECA 2010
Display of image
archiveshub.ac.uk
Standardised Works in a distributed environment Descriptions remain interoperable Enables different options for both embedding
images and linking to content
ECA 2010
Advantages of our approach
archiveshub.ac.uk
Display may be sacrificed for rigour There is little flexibility about where images are
placed Image sizes The display of several images for one description
is not great Persistent addresses for images/content Uptake
ECA 2010
Issues
archiveshub.ac.uk
We are excited about including images and linking through to content
There will be feedback and adjustments We need an online tutorial for contributors who are
nervous or unsure about the process Linking to content is part of our whole ethos of
creating more links out from the Hub The Archives Hub is about providing quality
metadata; links to content are an enhancement
ECA 2010
Conclusions