E-Content on a Shoestring E-Content on a Shoestring: Using the EAD Cookbook and Ebind XML in the Archives CIL Conference: March 16, 2001 Christopher J. Prom, Assistant University Archivist University of Illinois Archives

XML/EAD Implementation Issues 4 Cost 4 Data sharing 4 Technical requirements for digitization –xml “foreign” to many library programmers, an emerging technology 4 Why Choose XML? –Simplification and cost control –Demand for best-practice system

Reston Finding Aid Project 4 Provide finding aid (box and folder listing) 4 Integrate digital copies of documents to finding aid

James B. Reston 4 New York Times 4 Reporter, Chief Correspondent, Editor, Vice President 4 Reputation as a journalistic insider, from the 50s to the 80s

Confidential Memorandum 4 Document off-the- record background conversations

Diaries 4 Moscow trip, China, interview of premier Chou En-lai, 1971.

Interviews 4 Henry Kissinger 4 Ted Kennedy 4 Jimmy Carter

Correspondence 4 Some public 4 Much internal NY Times 4 Copyright unclear in many cases

Reader Mail 4 Illustrates the challenge posed by copyright law in constructing on- line research collections Jack Valenti MPAA

Our Mandate 4 Provide as much on-line as possible 4 at the lowest cost 4 using archival/manuscript descriptive standards

Project Issues (1) 4 Archival/policy –compliance with archival practices of arrangement and description (context) –integrate images directly into finding aid –Not involve time-consuming cataloging or design 4 Cost –Can you rely on open source software?

Project Issues (2) 4 Technical –Markup efficiency of markup staffing turnover and concerns –Manuscript display. Needed system to: handle thousands of images in varied in formats provide a printable image be easily navigable and quick and dirty, without depending on expensive equipment or software

Tools and Techniques (1) 4 Open-source is the solution 4 EAD (Encoded Archival Description) –Archival finding aid markup (XML) –allows nesting of “levels” in finding aid – tag

Tools and Techniques 4 EAD Cookbook (Michael Fox) –predefined tag library –XSLT stylesheets to generate static HTML –Stylesheets easy to modify –implementation instructions 4 WordPerfect’s XML editor for markup

Tools and Techniques 4 Image display/turner –EBind Berkely, –Perl script generates html from SGML files –book oriented UI Archives modifications –optimized for Windows server –built in limitations removed –added fields for physical description and genre –enhanced user interface for integration to EAD Cookbook and use with manuscripts

4 Notetab Light (Clips)

4 Clip Language: Easy to program (really!)

4 CompuPic Pro (only software purchased) 4 DOS batch file integrated into clip automates site update

Tools and Techniques 4 Workflow –1. Scan images to uncompressed.tif –2. Perform batch conversion routine (simple, but needs “one click” automation) –3. Complete query box in Notetab –4. Click “create worksheet” (editing rare) –5. Click “move”

Entering descriptive data

Tagging automatically inserted and file saved

worksheet created and automatically saved Corresponds to relative path File sequence Structure may be edited for complex documents

XML created automatically from worksheet Image sequencing Bibliographic data

Updating the site (takes place for each document) 1.Transforms EAD to HTML 2. Creates EBind SGML file 3. Moves everything to web server in consistent directory structure 4. Archives the uncompressed.tif to disk in parallel structure

Interface: Opening Page Navigable TOC in frame

Dublin Core in Frameset

Interface: Series Level level linked from TOC

Interface: DAO Links

Interface: Ebind TOC

Interface: Ebind Thumbnails

Interface: Ebind Page View Navigation bar repeated at bottom Hi-res prints on single sheet of paper

Costs 4 EAD markup, proofreading and display –Reston: $ or $3.65 per printed page –Bardeen: $110 or $1.96 per printed page 4 Ebind –For recent student workweek 142 images in 9.5 hours ( includes 1 hour selecting documents): $ or.83 cents per page scanned and added

EAD Cookbook/Ebind/Notetab: Strengths –Open source approach helps control costs –Standards compliant, syntactically sound –Will allow for data sharing and exchange –Easy design for staff, easy workflow for students

EAD Cookbook/Ebind/NoteTab: Weaknesses –Low accuracy of description; does not fully comply to rules of archival description Journalism students, supervision difficult –Load times. Need to rewrite stylesheets –Not currently searchable.

Resources 4 EAD Cookbook – 4 Ebind (Berkeley) – 4 EBind (University of Illinois) – 4 Notetab Light –