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Online Archive of California

Online Archive
of California

Projects, Programs & Services > Online Archive of California (OAC)

Submitting and Editing Finding Aids

See sections below:

Overview

You can submit finding aids to the CDL via a process known as "ingest", using the voroEAD system. voroEAD is also used to preview and publish finding aids in the OAC. The following is an overview of the ingest, preview, and publication process:

  • Upload finding aids from your workstation to your voroEAD directories on our server, using a WebDAV connection. You have two different vorEAD directories (see voroEAD Setup Procedures below for instructions on creating a WebDAV connection from your workstation to these directories):
    • voroEAD Testing Directory: Use this directory to upload in-process EAD files. Use of this directory is optional.
    • voroEAD Production Directory: Use this directory to upload completed EAD files.
  • Once you've uploaded finding aids to a directory, process them online using the voroEAD interface associated with the directory:
    • voroEAD Testing Interface [password-protected]: Use this interface to validate and preview in-process EAD files. Finding aids can be previewed using the "Entire finding aid" view option only (the "Standard" view option will not display properly). A finding aid must be present in this directory to be processed. Note that finding aids should not be stored in this directory for long-term management purposes. Files older left in voroEAD Testing for more than three weeks may be removed by the CDL.
    • voroEAD Production Interface [password-protected]: Use this interface to validate and publish completed EAD files. A finding aid must be present in this directory to be processed. Finding aids without any EAD DTD or OAC Best Practice Guidelines for Encoded Archival Description (OAC BPG EAD) compliance errors are automatically queued for publication on a weekly basis. Deadlines for processing finding aids for publication are provided on all voroEAD Production pages; the current weekly deadline for processing finding aids for publication is every Friday at noon. Once a finding aid is successfully processed for publication by the deadline, it takes approximately one to two weeks to appear in the OAC.
  • voroEAD validates every finding aid for conformance to the EAD DTD and to the OAC BPG EAD. After submitting a file for procesing, voroEAD will send an email to your e-mail account with the subject line "voroEAD: File Processed". The body of the email will contain a URL for accessing a detailed view of the processing results log. The log will contain a list of critical errors, warnings, and recommendations for correcting encoding. Each log entry is linked to a specific line in the EAD file which users can click on and view. All finding aids should be valid EAD instances, and conform to the EAD DTD, at minimum. Finding aids rejected by voroEAD due to errors should be corrected and resubmitted. We strongly encourage you to correct warnings and recommendations; a finding aid will not be rejected due to warnings and recommendations, however.
  • Preview files successfully processed via the voroEAD Production Interface in your institution's subdirectory at voroEAD Preview.

Accessing Your Submitted Finding Aid Files

Access raw EAD Version 2002 files submitted to the voroEAD Production Interface in your institution's subdirectory at voroEAD Submission/Source Files. To view or save raw EAD files:

  • Right click on the file and select "Save Target as..." or "Save Link Target as...".
  • Save the file to your local workstation.

Removing Finding Aids from Publication

To remove a finding aid from the publication queue once successfully submitted, contact the CDL and supply the file name for the finding aid. The file will be placed on an indefinite voroEAD Hold List maintained by the CDL to prevent it from entering the publication queue. If at any point you would like to publish the file, resubmit the file (if you have made any edits or changes to the original version) and notify the CDL to release the file from the hold list.

A request to place a finding aid on the hold list received before the weekly deadline will prevent that finding aid from being published the following week.

Editing, Replacing, and Renaming Finding Aids

Finding aids should always be edited via a replacement process, using the same procedures for submitting new finding aids. Editing includes changes or amplifications to finding aid text, or changing the format from SGML to XML or vice versa.

To replace a finding aid, ensure that the file name for the new finding aid matches the file name for the finding aid to be replaced. Your finding aid file name serves as a unique identifier in the voroEAD system: do not rename finding aids when resubmitting files.

Note that it is not necessary to match the file name extensions such as "sgm" or "xml" if replacing a SGML finding aid with an XML finding aid. The superseded SGML or XML finding aid can be deleted from your voroEAD directory via your WebDAV connection once replaced.

Correct:

  • msr04.sgm -> msr04.sgm (Older version of SGML file replaced by newer version; same file name)
  • arequipa.sgm -> arequipa.xml (Older version of SGML file replaced by newer XML version; same file name, different extension)
Incorrect:
  • musubi.sgm -> musubi2.sgm (Older version of SGML file replaced by newer version; file name changed)
  • arequipa.sgm -> arequipa_revised.xml (Older version of SGML file replaced by newer XML version; file name changed, different extension)

If you would like to change the file name for a finding aid, please contact the OAC.

File Naming Conventions

File names should be formulated according to the following instructions. Your finding aid file name serves as a unique identifier in the voroEAD system: please do not rename finding aids when resubmitting files. If you would like to rename a finding aid once successfully submitted via voroEAD, contact the CDL.

voroEAD Accounts

Contact the CDL to request a voroEAD account. Accounts are provided to all OAC contributing institutions. OAC contributing institutions must request accounts on behalf of vendors providing finding aid encoding and uploading services. Supply the following information in your request:

  • Name of each individual requesting the account
  • Complete contact information (phone, e-mail, etc.)
  • Institution name

voroEAD Setup Procedures

  1. You will need your voroEAD account information to follow these procedures. Your account information includes the following: a voroEAD Production and Testing Directory URLs, a user name, and a password.
  2. Establish a WebDAV connection to your voroEAD Production Directory using the following methods:

    Windows 98
    1. Open My Computer on your desktop.
    2. Double-click the Web Folders icon, then double-click "Add Web Folder".
    3. Enter your complete (i.e., include "http") voroEAD Production Directory URL in the Network Place location and click "Next".
    4. Enter your voroEAD user name and password for authentication and click "OK".
    5. In the Network Place text box, enter a descriptive for your Web folder shortcut (e.g., "OAC-DAV").
    6. Double-click your Web folder shortcut to establish a WebDAV connection.
    -or-
    1. Launch Internet Explorer.
    2. From the "File" menu, select "Open".
    3. Enter your complete (i.e., include "http") voroEAD Production Directory URL.
    4. Click on the "Open as Web Folder" checkbox.
    5. Enter your voroEAD user name and password for authentication, and click "OK" to establish a WebDAV connection.

    Windows 2000/ME
    1. Open My Computer on your desktop.
    2. From the "Tools" menu, select "Map Network Drive".
    3. Click on the link "Create a shortcut to a Web folder or FTP site".
    4. Enter your complete (i.e., include "http") voroEAD Production Directory URL in the Network Place location and click "Next".
    5. Enter your voroEAD user name and password for authentication and click "OK".
    6. Double-click your Web folder shortcut to establish a WebDAV connection.
    -or-
    1. Launch Internet Explorer.
    2. From the "File" menu, select "Open".
    3. Enter your complete (i.e., include "http") voroEAD Production Directory URL.
    4. Click on the "Open as Web Folder" checkbox.
    5. Enter your voroEAD user name and password for authentication, and click "OK" to establish a WebDAV connection.

    Windows XP
    1. From the "Start" menu, launch My Network Places.
    2. Select "Add a Network Place". When prompted, "Where do you want to create this Network Place?", choose "Choose Another Network Location" and click on "Next".
    3. Enter your complete (i.e., include "http") voroEAD Production Directory URL in the Network Place location and click "Next".
    4. Enter your voroEAD user name and password for authentication and click "OK".
    5. Enter a descriptive name for your Web folder shortcut (e.g., "OAC-DAV"). An icon will appear in My Network Places; double-click on the icon to establish your WebDAV connection.
    -or-
    1. Launch Internet Explorer.
    2. From the "File" menu, select "Open".
    3. Enter your complete (i.e., include "http") voroEAD Production Directory URL.
    4. Click on the "Open as Web Folder" checkbox.
    5. Enter your voroEAD user name and password for authentication, and click "OK" to establish a WebDAV connection.

    Windows Vista
    1. Open My Computer on your desktop.
    2. Click "Map Network Drive".
    3. Click "Connect to a Web site" and click on "Next".
    4. Click "Choose a custom network location" and click on "Next".
    5. Enter your complete (i.e., include "http") voroEAD Production Directory URL in the Internet or Network Address field and click "Next".
    6. Enter your voroEAD user name and password for authentication and click "OK".

    Mac OS X
    1. Launch Finder.
    2. From the "Go" menu, select "Connect to server...".
    3. Enter your complete (i.e., include "http") voroEAD Production Directory URL.
    4. Enter your voroEAD user name and password for authentication and click "OK".

    Mac OS 9
    1. Download and install Goliath for "Classic Mac OS 9."
    2. When you have installed Goliath, start the application by double clicking on the Goliath icon.
    3. From the "File" menu, select "New Connection".
    4. Enter your complete (i.e., include "http") voroEAD Production Directory URL.
    5. Enter your voroEAD user name and password for authentication and click "OK".
    6. From the "File" menu, choose "Save Connection". Enter a descriptive name for your Web folder shortcut (e.g., "OAC-DAV") and click "Save". An icon will appear; double-click on the icon to establish your WebDAV connection.
  3. Establish a separate and different WebDAV connection to your voroEAD Testing Directory using the steps outlined above. Note: your voroEAD Production Directory URL must be changed slightly when setting up your connection: replace "oac-dav" with "test-oac" when typing in the URL.
  4. Once connected to your voroEAD directories via a WebDAV connection, you can simply drag-and-drop new or updated EAD files into these directories, or remove old files that have been replaced.
  5. Validate and preview in-process finding aids using the voroEAD Testing Interface [password-protected]. Validate and publish completed finding aids using the voroEAD Production Interface [password-protected]. Use your voroEAD user name and password to access both directories. A finding aid must be present in these directories in order to be processed.
    • Select an EAD file you wish to process by clicking on the radio button. Only one EAD file can be submitted at a time.
    • Click the "Process" button.
    • Each finding aid will be validated for conformance to the EAD DTD and to the OAC BPG EAD. voroEAD will produce a log of critical errors, warnings, and recommendations for correcting encoding.
      • Finding aids accepted by voroEAD can be previewed via a simple OAC style sheet.
      • Finding aids rejected by voroEAD due to critical errors should be corrected and resubmitted.

voroEAD Troubleshooting

  1. Verify that your complete (i.e., include "http") OAC assigned voroEAD Production or Testing Directory URLs, user name, and password are entered when establishing your WebDAV connection.
  2. Try utilizing a current and complete version of Internet Explorer to establish a WebDAV connection. To ensure your version is complete, download the free service packs for Internet Explorer versions 6.0, 5.5, and 5.01 from Microsoft.
  3. Download a WebDAV client application. The CDL does not in any way endorse products or vendors listed here; the list will be updated as additional tools are identified for the OAC community.
    • DAV Explorer is a freely-available client for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP and Mac OS 9 made available by the University of California, Irvine School of Information & Computer Science. To download and install DAV Explorer, do the following:
      • Go to the Download section of DAV Explorer. Select a "DAV Explorer for Windows" or "DAV Explorer for Solaris and Linux" Zip file under "Binaries", based on your operating system.
      • Go to the Installation section of Dav Explorer and follow the installation procedures. Please note the following:
        • You may need to install a Zip software, such as WinZip, if you are unable to unzip the file. A free evaluation version of WinZip is available on their Website.
        • In order to run DAV Explorer, you will need to install Sun's free Java Development Kit version 1.3.
      • Review the DAV Explorer User Manual sections on "Connecting to a WebDAV server" and "Upload/Download with DAV Explorer". Note that you will need to enter your OAC assigned WebDAV URL and account information each time you connect.
    • WebDrive is a resource for Windows NT/2000/XP that can be purchased via the South River Technologies Website.
  4. (voroEAD Testing only): The "Entire finding aid" view is the default preview display. Finding aids will not display in the "Standard" view unless an ID attribute with a unique data value is assigned to all tags nested at the first level within <archdesc>. Note that this is not an encoding requirement. (The CDL automatically assigns ID attributes to finding aids at the point they are successfully submitted via the voroEAD Production Interface).
  5. (voroEAD Testing only): The DOCTYPE declaration must explicity invoke and resolve to a valid form of the EAD DTD file, or must be removed altogether for preview purposes.

    If referring to the EAD DTD file using an absolute URL for the EAD DTD, you may refer to a copy of the EAD DTD file hosted at the CDL ("http://oac.cdlib.org/ents/ead.dtd"). Alternatively, refer to a copy of the EAD DTD file on your local webserver.

    6. Example:
    <!DOCTYPE ead PUBLIC "+//ISBN 1-931666-00-8//DTD ead.dtd (Encoded Archival Description (EAD)
    Version 2002)//EN" "http://oac.cdlib.org/ents/ead.dtd">

    If referring to the EAD DTD file using a relative URI (e.g., "ead.dtd") you must place a copy of the EAD DTD file in your voroEAD Testing directory. The official version of the EAD DTD Version 2002 file can be downloaded directly from the EAD Website:

    Example:
    <!DOCTYPE ead PUBLIC "+//ISBN 1-931666-00-8//DTD ead.dtd (Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002)//EN" "ead.dtd">

voroEAD Error, Warning, and Recommendation Messages

Finding aids must meet a set of minimum requirements in order to be successfully uploaded. Finding aids which do not meet these requirements are rejected during the ingest process and an error message is recorded in the daily log. Finding aids must:

  1. Successfully parse. Any XML editor will do parsing, in addition to voroEAD and/or the OAC BPG Validator.
  2. Have a valid filename.
  3. Contain a second <titleproper> with a type attribute set to "filing".
  4. Contain valid attribute values in <eadheader> and <eadid>.
  5. Contain ISO compliant scriptcode and langcode attributes in <language>.
  6. Contain only one <unittitle> in the top-level <did>.
  7. Have a valid attribute value in <archdesc>.
  8. Have the top-level <unitdate>, within <did>, encoded outside of <unittitle>.
  9. Contain valid repositorycode and countrycode attributes in the top-level <unitid>, within <did>.
  10. If using the normal attributes in <data> or <unitdate>, they must be ISO 8601-compliant.
  11. Not contain unnumbered (recursive) <c> in the <dsc>.
  12. Not contain tabular markup (<drow>/<dentry>) in the <dsc>.

In addition to error messages generated by voroEAD when a finding aid is rejected, a finding aid may be accepted by the CDL but will have generated a number of warnings and recommendations. These typically stem from a failure to comply with the OAC BPG EAD. OAC contributing members are strongly encouraged to correct these warnings wherever possible and resubmit, in order to promote a consistent pool of data.


Document Owner: OAC Operations Group

Last reviewed: January 21, 2008

URL: http:// www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/oac/ingest/index.html

Related Information

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OAC Contributing Members: Questions? Comments?

Copyright © 2008 The Regents of the University of California