A RCHIVAL COLLECTIONS IN A D IGITAL W ORLD Cheryl Walters Nov. 6, 2008

I F Y OU WERE RESEARCHING A TOPIC TODAY … Where would you go for information? What tools would you use? What steps would you follow? Topic examples: Researching a rare disease Writing a biography about someone

N OW GO BACK IN TIME A HUNDRED YEARS … Where would you go for information? What tools would you use? What steps would you follow? Topic examples: Researching a rare disease Writing a biography

H OW DID WE GET TO THIS PLACE WHERE INFORMATION IS SO EASY TO FIND ? In 1800s, handwritten catalog cards in local card catalogs In Library hand “The fact remains that nothing pays the candidate for a library position better … than to be able to write a satisfactory library hand.” (New York State Library School 1903, 278) Even though the Library of Congress had begun distributing typewritten catalog cards in 1901, handwritten library cards were still preferred for years by many library directors.

G UIDE TO HANDWRITING FOR CATALOG CARDS

T YPEWRITTEN CATALOG CARDS In first half of 1900s, union catalogs, typed catalog cards, & local card catalogs Info collected by Library of Congress Reproduced in book format (National Union Catalog) Library of Congress sold catalog card sets to Libraries for their card catalogs. At least three cards needed for each title: one for author, title, and at least one subject. For more info on library catalog card history:

A DVENT OF THE COMPUTER In 1960s, two important developments MARC (Machine Readable Cataloging) invented Catalog records could be shared electronically OCLC, a library network in Ohio Opened up to other libraries Libraries could share cataloging records Libraries could easily check who owned what Libraries could borrow books from each other using OCLC By 1980s, most libraries switched from card catalogs on online catalogs (OPACs)

W HERE WE ARE TODAY Internet: worldwide access & communication Many standards and formats so that information can be exchanged electronically Digitization of resources Eliminates need to travel to archives Facilitates discovery of information Anyone with a computer can use materials WorldCat & Making it easy to find info

A LPHABET SOUP OF FORMATS & STANDARDS  MARC: 1960s MARC  EAD: 1993 Encoded Archival Description EAD  Dublin Core: elements Dublin Core  XML eXtensible Markup Language (a more flexible html-type language) XML  MARCXML: MARC rendered into XML MARCXML  METS: Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard METS  MODS: Metadata Object Description Schema MODS

W AYS TO SEARCH MULTIPLE DATABASES Z39.50: metasearching of multiple databases OAI-PMH (Open Archive Initiative protocol for metadata harvesting) harvesting Dublin Core metadata from various databases into one search interface links back to objects in local databases Crosswalking data from one format to another Identifies similar elements in two different formats Maps data from old format into target format

MARC & MARCXML

EAD Arithematic Sandburg, Carl The Grouse Creek (Utah) Cultural Survey Collection, July 1985-October More info:

D UBLIN C ORE

MODS

T HINGS CREATED WITH THESE FORMATS & STANDARDS Marc Record EAD finding aids Digital object records Digital Collections

A GGREGATING INTO LARGER GROUPS OF RECORDS MARC recordsOnline catalogsWorldCatUnion online catalogs

P OOLING FINDING AIDS FROM MANY ARCHIVES Papers Folders Archival Collection EAD encoded file In print locally Finding Aid Searchable Google discovery One stop searching of many archives Online Finding Aids Collection

E VERYTHING CONNECTS Digital collections & Libraries Digitized archival materials Finding aids

O NCE USERS HAD TO COME IN TO A RCHIVES TO USE MATERIALS User comes into Library Via curator finds collection Looks thru physical collection with aid of inventory

N OW THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO DISCOVER AND ACCESS ARCHIVAL MATERIALS Archival collection Digital Collection Google & harvesters Users on site Online Finding aids

M ANY ROUTES TO ONE COLLECTION … Grouse Creek Cultural Survey Collection Inventory/Finding Aid: in print, html Book written about the survey & published by Library of Congress Online catalog record to collection: in MARC Digitized audio interviews, photographs, slides, fieldnotes (wav, jpegs, pdfs) Digital collection part of USU Digital Library and regional Heritage West Digital Library: in DC Digital collection Link added to online catalog record leading to local digital collection: in MARC Metadata harvested by Mountain West Digital Library pkp central harvester: in DCMountain West Digital Library Finding aid digitized & added to local Digital Library and statewide Finding Aids Database: in EAD, XML, DC

U TAH ’ S EAD F INDING A IDS P ROJECT Tools developed: Best Practices Guides (two versions, 26 pages and 72 pages long) Template for creating & inputting new finding aids Two validators to check coding List of browse topics Visual basics script to map XML EAD fields to Dublin Core Procedures Stylesheet for consistent web display of finding aids

F OR MORE INFORMATION MODS: METS: XML: MARCXML: Dublin Core: Crosswalk example: metadata/crosswalks.html Introduction to Metadata, Online Editions: rometadata/index.html rometadata/index.html