Encoded Archival Description: An Introduction and Overview

Encoded Archival Description: An Introduction and Overview

Curation

Daniel Pitti, commonly referred to as the “main technical architect” of the Encoded Archival Description (EAD), explains the rationale for substituting EAD for the bibliographic type of record (MARC) used in libraries. He distinguishes archives and their need for creating a stable and faithful finding aid for the collections (fonds) from libraries and their need for specific item and location descriptions. Unlike library records, archival records must also provide greater detail and contextual information; including the origin or provenance of the item and its order of creation within the collection. The collection is then hierarchically arranged from the fond to the smallest piece (archival object) in which each layer is described according to the EAD format. Moreover, the encoding languages, SGML and XML, enable the EAD to be universally accessible through databases and differing hardware and software platforms. Pitti argues that this standard would enable archives and databases to share and link resources in an unprecedented way and that multiple formats and media could be equally standardized.

Pitti, Daniel V.

D-Lib Magazine

1999

Polk, Victoria

1999 Daniel V. Pitti

Online Journal

http://www.dlib.org/dlib/november99/11pitti.html

Pitti, Daniel. “Encoded Archival Description: An Introduction and Overview.” D-Lib Magazine. Novemner 1999 Vol. 5 No. 11 http://www.dlib.org/dlib/november99/11pitti.html