Tools & helper files EAD Cookbook (EAD version 2002)

The first edition of the EAD Cookbook appeared in 2000 in response to a desire within the profession for practical, step-by-step assistance with the implementation of EAD. It contained a simple model encoding protocol with an accompanying suite of software tools for “authoring” electronic finding aids and stylesheets for “publishing” them on the Web. It functioned as an extension of the EAD Tag Library and the EAD Application Guidelines.

The appearance of EAD Version 2002, the shift of the EAD community from SGML to an XML environment, the appearance of new tools for creating and distributing finding aids, and the emergence of community-based encoding protocols necessitate a revision of that earlier work. While the basic EAD recipe has not changed, some of the ingredients have. As an update, this edition focuses on those aspects of implementation that have changed since 2003, specifically changes in the EAD element set, new tools for creating EAD-encoded documents, and the need to provide additional XSLT stylesheets for transforming EAD files into HTML.

The encoding protocol in the first edition was a compilation of guidelines from several sources. In this version, it is based on the "RLG Best Practice Guidelines for Encoded Archival Description," though no significant differences have resulted from that change. Regularized encoding is important for very practical reasons. The consistent use of the EAD element set makes it possible to exchange and consolidate multiple finding aids from many institutions into union databases or simply with others in one's own repository. Without standardized encoding, it is difficult to manage indexing, display, and manipulation of files. Consistency of presentation also improves user understanding of the purpose and scope of inventories just as the standardized display of library catalogs makes them comprehensible to a large and diverse audience. As testimony to the necessity and wisdom of such regularization, every EAD consortium has adopted some form of encoding protocols.

This edition provides assistance in using three applications for creating encoded finding aids- XMetaL, <oXygen/>, and Note Tab. This includes instructions for installing and modifying the applications, and auxiliary files such as templates that make them easier to use.

New stylesheets have been created that accommodate the changes in EAD 2002, offer greater flexibility and more choices for local display, and a simpler and more fully documented syntax to facilitate local modifications.

Bon appetit!

Michael J. Fox
March 2004

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Download the EAD Cookbook


Instructions (Word 95 format): EAD2002Cookbook.doc

Instructions (PDF format): EAD2002Cookbook.pdf

Whole cookbook (Zip archive): EAD2002Cookbook.zip


Download special sections of the EAD Cookbook


Appendix A: Sample encoded finding aid