Our EAD documents are delivered as HTML documents which have been converted from XML using an XSL stylesheet and James Clark's XT. This conversion is not done on the fly, but is done as part of the production process.
At Old Dominion University finding aids are found in a variety of formats: print, word-processor files, and HTML files. The finding aids in electronic format were largely derived from the print finding aids via scanning and OCR software--and finding aids for new collections are being created as Word files. The finding aids that we have encoded to date have all been available previously in electronic format. We began creating EAD 1.0/SGML files using MS Word and a template adapted from Duke University ( http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/findaid/ead/ ). Later, we replaced this process with a Web-based form to allow for consistent creation of the EAD files. We also have begun using Emacs/PSGML to encode those finding aids which differ from our template, and to edit already created SGML documents--and are exploring the use of SoftQuad's XMetal. After the SGML document is created, it is validated with James Clark's NSGMLS, and converted to XML using James Clark's SX (both programs are part of the SP package available from http://www.jclark.com/sp/ ). The XML document is then indexed using Perl's XML::Parser module ( http://wwwx.netheaven.com/~coopercc/xmlparser/intro.html ) into a freely available relational database called MySQL ( http://www.mysql.com ). Once created the indexes can be searched from a web-based interface which uses Perl to manipulate the MySQL database ( http://libstaff.lib.odu.edu/sgml/bin/ead/ead-search.cgi ). These processes (creation of SGML, SGML->XML, XML->MySQL, XML->Interpreted MARC record) are conducted via a web interface ( http://libstaff.lib.odu.edu/sgml/bin/ead/ead-toc.cgi ) Further information can be found at: http://libstaff.lib.odu.edu/projects/ead/