Stirring the Alphabet Soup: Standards in Motion

Mary Lacy mlac@loc.govManuscript Division

Archives ForumMay 17, 2012

Why Use Standards?

Improve quality and consistency of data

Enable data sharing

Can create tools for creating and using data

Benefits of Archival Standards

By using EAD, DACS, AACR2, and MARC:

Finding aids are searchable in OCLC’s ArchiveGrid; through Google; and LC Website

Data can be viewed in multiple formats, online and print Information about creators in EAC available through SNAC

website (which Google finds) AACR2 (and RDA) headings promote compatibility within

catalogs, and searching in next-generation catalogs DACS complies with international archival descriptive

standards

Better Discovery = More Users

LC now has 1700 EAD finding aids online Reading room use up for Manuscript

Division, with 1500 EAD finding aids discoverable by local and remote users

Researchers better prepared before visiting In-person visits are up: better for researchers

and better for us

What Kind of Standards?

Standards for content of description

Standards for sharing description (encoding)

Standards for Description: General

AACR2 (Anglo-American Cataloging Rules) – in current use

RDA (Resource Description and Access)

– coming in 2013

Standards for Description: Archival and Specialized

DACS (Describing Access: A Content Standard) – For modern archival collections (United States)

CCO: Cataloging Cultural Objects: A Guide to Describing Cultural Works and Their Images

– used primarily in museum settings

DCRM (Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials)– Maintained by Bibliographic Standards Committee, Rare

Book and Manuscript Section, ACRL/ALA

And more …

Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials

DCRM: Books DCRM: Serials DCRM: Music (draft) DCRM: Graphics (will be second edition of Graphic Materials: Rules for

Describing Original Items and Historical Collections) DCRM: Manuscripts (will cover individual manuscripts on paper, on

microfilm, or in the form of digital surrogates) DCRM: Cartographic (will replace Cartographic Materials: A Manual of

Interpretation for AACR2, Second Edition) AMREMM (Descriptive Cataloging of Ancient, Medieval,

Renaissance, and Early Modern Manuscripts)

Catalog Record or Finding Aid?

LC uses both for describing archival collections

Both are used in finding aid search system DACS is content standard for both cataloging

records and finding aids AACR2 and RDA used only for bibliographic

and authority records

Sharing Description: Standards

MARC (MAchine-Readable Cataloging)– Bibliographic records and authority records

EAD (Encoded Archival Description)– XML encoding for archival finding aids

EAC:CPF (Encoded Archival Context: Corporate, Personal, Family)– XML encoding for archival creators

Where Are They Going (General)?

RDA– Set to supersede AACR2 in 2013

MARC – Not so good for RDA bibliographic and authority

records (too flat to express FRBR relationships)– Bibliographic Framework Initiative: working on

replacing 1960’s MARC transmission standard

Where Are They Going (Archival)?

EAD– New edition to be published 2013– Core principles: interoperability, simplification,

compatibility with other data standards DACS

– New edition 2013? – Eliminates sections which repeat AACR2 for

headings: provide content standard for EAC EAC:CPF

– It’s new, but looking at widespread implementation within U.S. archival community

What’s Up, EAC?

Have a SNAC: Social Networks and Archival Context Project

– First phase, 2010-2012 (NEH funding) built test database of EAC records harvested from LC Name Authority File, and EAD records from LC, Online Archive of California, Northwest Digital Archive, Virginia Heritage

– Built 175,000 EAC-CPF records from 30,000 finding aids – Second phase, 2012-2014 (Mellon funding) will vastly

increase scope: 13 consortia and 35 research repositories in U.S., U.K., and France

Why SNAC?

To demonstrate that names and descriptions can be extracted and assembled as EAC

To show what EAC can be used for:– Provide integrated access to archival resources

and context for understanding the resources– Add features such as geographic coordinates,

develop timelines, sequential organizational displays, and networks of relationships for research purposes

Relationships are complicated …

Archivists Assemble!

“Building a National Archival Authorities Infrastructure” meeting at NARA in May 2012– Can U.S. archivists establish a sustainable

National Archives Authorities Cooperative?– Like NACO for name authorities (national

collaboration, centrally maintained)– Federal agencies, research librarians, and

funding agencies to look at desirability and feasability

Change is Good?

Our core principles stay the same: providing access to our archival collections

Change isn’t sudden, but all our standards seem to be in flux at the same time

Not everything will change at once We’ve done it all before; we can do it again! We’re using these standards to make our

alphabet soup spell s-u-c-c-e-s-s!

Want to Know More?

LC EAD finding aid staff page (will link to handouts): http://www.loc.gov/staff/rr/ead/

SNAC Prototype: http://socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu/xtf/search

RDA at LC: http://www.loc.gov/aba/rda/ DACS revision:

http://www2.archivists.org/standards/describing-archives-a-content-standard-dacs