This page and those that link to it serve as an index of sorts to the main EAD Sites Annotated Page. That page contains short write-ups from repositories that explain how they produce and publish finding aids that conform to EAD. This page looks at each step and lists how some of the steps are being done with links to the repositories choosing the various methods. Many institutions use a combination of methods. Please consult the institutional write-ups to read a full description of what each is doing and how they are combining the methods.

IMPORTANT NOTE: These lists are meant to connect you with institutions willing to share their experience. They do not attempt to represent the number of institutions using a particular product or the relative popularity of one product versus another. Keep in mind that some institutions started using one application and then switched to another, but would still be listed here under both applications. Few institutions use only one application. Most use a combination of applications, deciding which one works best for the various stages of production.

There are several steps to producing and publishing finding aids encoded according to the EAD DTD. For documentation and files need for creating and delivering finding aids in EAD format, please see the EAD files page.

The best way to get a sense of how institutions are actually doing this work is to read through the
Annotated Implementor Descriptions.

The following pages categorize specific processes used by different institutions:

1. Preparation

You may wish to convert existing finding aids into EAD format. This page lists methods for converting paper finding aids into electronic formats. It also lists common formats for finding aids already in electronic (but not EAD) formats. If you have finding aids in electronic format, it may be helpful to see how institutions with legacy finding aids in the same format chose to implement EAD. For documentation on and scripts for converting finding aids to EAD format or converting finding aids in EAD beta to EAD 1.0, see the page on conversion.

2. Mark-Up

Mark-up is the process of adding EAD tags to a finding aid in electronic format or typing descriptive information into an online system that will then generate a finding aid in EAD format. Some repositories use commercial products, some write their own scripts and macros, and many use a combination of methods. Some repositories use different methods for the collection-level descriptive information (sometimes called frontmatter) and the container lists. Please note that some repositories are marking up in SGML and others in XML.

3. Validation/Parsing

Once the finding aid is marked-up, you will need to check to make sure that the tagging conforms to the EAD DTD (insuring that it is a "valid SGML instance".) This is known as "parsing" or "validation". Some institutions use the validation or parsing component of the software they use for mark-up to do this. Others choose to use a different program.

4. Derive Other Formats

Some institutions mark-up their finding aid in one format (SGML or XML) and present them to users in a different format (usually HTML). Derivations can be done file by file, through batch conversions, or on-the-fly. Additional formats might be derived to make it easier for users to access the finding aids or because indexing or delivery software cannot use SGML files. Please see the write-ups on individual projects for information about why a particular institution chose to derive additional file formats.

5. Indexing and Delivery

There are several ways to make your finding aids available over the WWW. You can provide a list with links. You can index them and make them searchable. You can provide them in multiple formats (HTML, SGML, or XML.) This page lists software used for delivery (and, in some cases, indexing), methods used for delivering HTML and methods used for delivering XML.

6. Communicating with Other Systems

You may wish to use the Z39.50 ANSI standard to allow other types of systems to search your data.