RDA and DACS: Using a MARC-EAD Crosswalk to Improve

Access to Special Collections Resources,

a Project at UWGGUGM

May 15, 2014

Presenters: Blynne Olivieri (Special Collections)

and Shelley Rogers (Cataloging)

Agenda

1)Process towards implementing EAD Finding Aids2)Reviewing DACS23)Reviewing RDA for Archival Materials4)Crosswalk for Local Practices5)Demo of Catalog Record, Finding Aid, and

Informational spreadsheet6)Wrap Up and Questions

EAD

Encoded Archival Description (EAD) is an international standard

for encoding finding aids.

EAD

EAD is represented in XML (Extensible Markup Language), a platform-neutral data format

that ensures data longevity when migrating from one software

environment to another.

XML example

Finding aids

Finding aids are inventories of archival materials,

such as the papers of past university presidents,

the papers of Newt Gingrich, and the records of local cultural,

religious, and service organizations.

EAD finding aids

EAD finding aids are critical for making archival collections discoverable

through the Internet. EAD finding aids have a consistent

coding and structure so that it is easy to submit your

finding aids to other discovery access points

like ArchiveGrid

ArchiveGrid http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/

Challenges

• Technical infrastructure (file management, delivery, public display/discovery)

• Lack of staff to implement EAD and juggle

other work in special collections

Process1. Creating a decision matrix for technical infrastructure based

on an assessment of our needs, wants, and what resources did we have to meet those challenges.

2. Creating crosswalk3. Obtaining xml software to get started4. Researching conversion services5. Process of cleaning up bib records --- starting with our Local

History Collections6. Exporting bib records out of Voyager and importing into

Archivists’ Toolkit7. Training on Archivists’ Toolkit. 8. Writing a grant application to secure $$ for 1st year hosting

fees and $$ for finding aid conversion.

DACS

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Second edition adopted Jan. 2013 by the Council of the Society of

American Archivists

DACS“DACS is related to other standards. Descriptions created according to DACS are shared electronically using encoding standards, such as MAchine-Readable Cataloging (MARC 21), Encoded Archival Description (EAD), and Encoded Archival Context (EAC). There are also close connections with Resource Description and Access (RDA) and with standards promulgated by the International Council on Archives (ICA), including International Standard Archival Description—General (ISAD[G]), the International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons, and Families (ISAAR[CPF]), and the International Standard for Describing Functions (ISDF).”

RDA

In the beginning…- RDA research - hand-marking up print out

of catalog record- consulting with Shelley and

Miriam- Shelley and I jointly

decided to use RDA for Special Collections resources on August 5, 2013

Example of RDA Changes & Choices

Date of Production• RDA now mapped to 260 subfield c or new 264 field (instead of

245 subfield f)• We chose to use the 264 $c.

RDA & DACS: Cory NimerSee Cory Nimer's (BYU) presentation,

“Cataloging Archival Materials: Using RDA with DACS”

from ALCTS, May 2012.

Cory Nimer’s summary:- For archivists, RDA provides greater

opportunities for recording characteristics and attributes of archival materials and creators.

- For librarians, DACS provides more detailed instructions (and examples) for describing archival materials.

Spreadsheets

Blynne's Excel spreadsheet for Local History morphed into an Excel

spreadsheet by Shelley with tabs for Local History, Manuscripts,

Political Collections, and University Archives.

see the handout

Finding Aid

see the handout for the Carroll County Veterans Memorial Park

records

Bibliographic record example on OCLC

Carroll County Veterans Memorial Park records

see handout

Holdings record on Voyager

verso of bib record handout

•shelf location goes in $c•extent goes in $z

Wrap-up and Questions

Resources: see verso of spreadsheet handout

Resources for Implementing EAD Finding Aids• A dated, but full, description of implementing EAD is available at the

Library of Congress website. http://www.loc.gov/ead/ag/aghome.html• See also their publishing description at http://

www.loc.gov/ead/ag/agpub.html • Implementation brief overview at the University of Washington. http://

www.lib.washington.edu/msd/pubcat/mig/eaduse • The EAD Cookbook 2002, available for download through GitHub, also

offers an outline for implementing EAD along with XSLT stylesheets that institutions can modify. http://saa-ead-roundtable.github.com/

Resources for Implementing Archive Management Systems• Google “Implementing Archivist’s Toolkit” for dozens of examples. • For information on ArchivesSpace see the Google Group for using and

configuring the application. https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/archivesspace

Articles“Over, Under, Around, and Through: Getting Around Barriers to EAD Implementation,” an OCLC Research publication whose co-authors include Merrilee Proffitt and Mark Matienzo, February 2010.