Just the Essentials

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 EAD 2002 DTD and Official Documentation (Current supported version)

Release date: Dec. 2002

• EAD DTD Version 2002 and related files: FTP instructions
• EAD Version 2002 Tag Library (English): Printed edition | Changes/Errata | Web (HTML) edition| Unofficial XML (TEIXLITE P4)
• EAD Version 2002 Tag Library (Chinese): 檔案編碼描述格式標準元素辭典
• EAD Version 2002 Tag Library (French): Description Archivistique Encodée Dictionnaire des balises  PDF
• EAD Version 2002 Tag Library (German): Encoded Archival Description Tag-Library  PDF
• EAD Version 2002 Tag Library (Greek): Κωδικοποιημένη Αρχειακή Περιγραφή  PDF
• EAD Version 2002 Application Guidelines: (Not yet available)

 EAD 1.0 DTD and Official Documentation (Superceded. For refence purposes only)

Release date: 1998

• EAD DTD Version 1.0 and related files: FTP instructions
• EAD Version 1.0 Tag Library: Printed edition | Web (HTML) edition
• EAD Version 1.0 Application Guidelines: Printed edition | Web (HTML) edition
• EAD Version 1.0 Application Guidelines (German): EAD Version 1.0 Anwenderleitfaden  PDF

 ISO Standards used in EAD

EAD suggests the use of certain ISO standards in the construction of certain element values. These related standards can be found here: isostandards.html

EAD Listserv

Your first port of call in getting your EAD-related question answered by the community is the EAD Listserv. List details, instructions on how to join and/or unsubscribe, and a link to the list archives, are available at http://www.loc.gov/ead/eadlist.html.

Best Practice Guidelines

Over the ten years that EAD has been implemented by many hundreds of archival repositories worldwide, communities of archivists have determined best practice guidelines for the use of EAD tags in marking up their finding aids. Below a list of best practice guidelines available on the web.

NOTE: The EAD Roundtable makes no reccomendation as to which guidelines, if any, to follow. This listing is neither exhaustive nor comprehensive; to help make it more complete please submit links to best practice guidelines to stephen.yearl@yale.edu.

• EAD 2002 -- Northwest Digital Archive Best Practice Guidelines for EAD 2002 Version 3.0  PDF Release date: Dec. 2005
• EAD 2002 -- North Carolina EAD Best Practice Guidelines for EAD 2002 Version 2.0  PDF Release date: May 2005
• EAD 2002 -- Online Archive of California Best Practice Guidelines Version 2.0  PDF Release date: Feb. 2005
• EAD 2002 -- Recommended Best Practices for EAD Finding Aids at the Library of Congress Release date: Dec. 2004
• EAD 1.0 -- Virginia Heritage Project Best-Practice Guidelines for Encoded Archival Description  PDF Release date: Apr. 2003
• EAD 2002 -- RLG Best Practice Guidelines for Encoded Archival Description  PDF Release date: Aug. 2002
• EAD 1.0 -- Best Practice Guidelines for the Implementation of EAD Finding Aids in Florida Institutions  PDF Release date: Sept. 2002
• EAD 1.0 -- Online Archive of California Best Practice Guidelines Version 1.0  PDF Release date: Aug. 2001