maximizing resources: ead and marc in the small repository valerie gillispie assistant university...

Maximizing Resources: EAD and MARC in the small repository

Valerie GillispieAssistant University ArchivistWesleyan UniversityMiddletown, Connecticut

Wesleyan’s Special Collections & Archives: January 2006

14 finding aids online 500+ collections not described

online Existing finding aids

created in Microsoft Word and transformed into HTML documents

paper Minimal catalog records in OPAC

Consequences of lack of (encoded) online presence?

The curiosity cabinet

Technical services challenges

Setting priorities Finding assistance Updating technology

Prioritizing collections

What is available digitally or on paper?

Heavily used collections Collections central to mission of

institution Collections appropriate for your

workers’ skills

Types of assistance

Library and IT professionals

Student workers

Graduate school interns

Appropriate student projects

Small collections that do not require complex re-arrangement

Larger collections that need only an inventory

Projects of personal interest can be good choices . . . but sometimes not

Why move to EAD?

Puts tags around each item in finding aid, i.e. metadata

Transform XML into MARC or other frequently used metadata schemas

Connects us to other institutions and archivists

Online toolkits and references

NCEAD Toolkit http://www.ncecho.org/dig/ncead.shtml

LoC EAD website http://www.loc.gov/ead/index.html

EAD Cookbook http://www.archivists.org/saagroups/ead/ead2002cookbook.html

Take advantage of encoding

MarcEdit http://oregonstate.edu/~reeset/

marcedit/html/index.php

External Resources

EAD listserv SAA listserv Other institutions’ websites Regional/national networking

Wesleyan’s Special Collections & Archives: January 2009

Over 90 finding aids online, nearly all in EAD

Enhanced MARC records More students and outside

patrons finding collections through Google

The lessons of more product, less process

Thank you!

Valerie Gillispievgillispie@wesleyan.eduhttp://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/

schome/