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Online Archive of California

Online Archive
of California

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

News and Features: OAC 3.0

See sections below:

The Migration to EAD Version 2002 and a New XTF Platform

The OAC will deliver EAD Version 2002 finding aids using a new software platform developed by the CDL, the eXtensible Text Framework (XTF). This upgrade -- OAC 3.0 -- is scheduled to launch in January 2005.

Please stay tuned to this page for new information. Updates will also be sent to contributing members via the OAC-L listserv and CDLINFO newsletter. For more information, please contact the OAC.

EAD Version 2002

EAD Version 2002 is currently the official EAD Document Type Definition (DTD) maintained by the Network Development and MARC Standards Office of the Library of Congress in partnership with the Society of American Archivists (SAA).

The OAC has been updating a suite of tools, services, and best practice guidelines to support EAD Version 2002. The OAC Best Practice Guidelines for EAD, Version 2.0, effective beginning in January 2005, are now available online. For a list of tools and services, see the EAD Toolkit.

The release of these tools has been timed with the implementation of the new XTF platform at the end of 2004.

XTF

Since the OAC's beginnings as the Berkeley Finding Aid Project (BFAP) and later as the UC-EAD project, the Electronic Book Technologies' Dynaweb software (a SGML-based publishing system) has provided the infrastructure to support OAC finding aids. The Dynaweb software was selected for the BFAP as the best available software for online presentation of SGML-based documents in the mid 1990s. When in 1998 the project served as the basis for the OAC, managed by the CDL, Dynaweb was inherited as the delivery platform for OAC 1.0. In subsequent years, Dynaweb's long-term sustainability as a commercially available product was unclear. Within this context, the CDL began to pursue a program where software selected to support structured text and encoded finding aids is integrated and sustainable within CDL systems. The OAC 2.0, using the DLXS software platform, was a step towards those meeting these programmatic goals.

Developed and maintained by the CDL using open source software, the XTF platform underlying OAC 3.0 provides for even greater long-term functionality and flexibility for the search and delivery of a wide range of document types, including EAD finding aids and TEI texts.

New Features and Enhancements

OAC 3.0 will allow for a number of upgrades, including:
  • Search, browse, and delivery of EAD Version 2002 finding aids.
  • Modified and revised OAC style sheets for EAD finding aids, incorporating feedback received from OAC contributing members.
  • Ability for contributing members to develop customized displays of their EAD finding aids and associated digital content submitted to the OAC, using the CDL Interface Customization Tools. This includes the creation of customized portals to virtual collections, such as MOAC, California Heritage, and JARDA.

The OAC Operations Group hopes to implement the following additional features in subsequent iterations of the OAC site:

  • Ability to search across multiple formats (such as finding aids, online texts, online images, online multimedia) at once.
  • Refined and more granular search mechanisms, and improved access via controlled indexing terms (i.e., subject headings).

Submitting EAD Version 2002 Finding Aids

Beginning in August 2004, the OAC will begin to release updated versions of best practice guidelines, tools, and services that will comply with EAD Version 2002. Contributing members can begin to work with these tools, although EAD Version 2002 finding aids will not be accepted by the OAC during this period.

Also during this time, the OAC will batch upgrade all finding aids from EAD Version 1.0 to Version 2002 as a test, using XSL conversion style sheets provided by the SAA. This includes batch upgrading all finding aids from SGML to XML. Contributing members will be able to download the updated versions of their EAD Version 2002 finding aids maintained by the OAC for review.

The OAC will additionally provide a tool that will allow contributing members to readily use SAA's conversion style sheets locally, if desired. OAC contributing members can also upgrade finding aids from SGML to XML locally, using Jim Clark's free SX script (this can be used in conjunction with instructions in the EAD Cookbook, Section 5).

In December 2004, the voroEAD system will be frozen in order to allow the OAC to run a final batch upgrade of all finding aids from EAD Version 1.0 to Version 2002. Version 1.0 finding aids will no longer be accepted. Contributing members will be able to download the final updated versions of their finding aids maintained by the OAC.

In January 2005, the voroEAD system will be resumed for ingesting Version 2002 finding aids only.

Timeline

  • August-September 2004: OAC Best Practice Guidelines for EAD, Version 2.0 released, providing specifications for encoding EAD Version 2002 finding aids for submission to the OAC. Guidelines will be effective beginning in January 2005.
  • September-December 2004:
    • The OAC will batch upgrade all finding aids from EAD Version 1.0 to Version 2002 as a test. Contributing members will be able to download the updated versions of their EAD Version 2002 finding aids maintained by the OAC for review. The OAC will also provide a tool that will allow contributing members to readily use SAA's style sheets.
    • A beta version of voroEAD for ingesting EAD Version 2002 finding aids will be available for use by contributing members. The final version will be released in early January 2005.
    • OAC authoring and validating tools for creating EAD Version 2002 finding aids (EAD Web Templates, BPG Validator, and Finding Aid Conversion Service Support) will be available for use by contributing members.
    • Iterative testing and development of OAC style sheets for EAD finding aids, incorporating feedback received from the OAC community.
  • December 10, 2004: voroEAD will be frozen to allow the OAC to run a final batch upgrade of all finding aids from EAD Version 1.0 to Version 2002. These will serve as the official versions of finding aids in the OAC. Version 1.0 finding aids will no longer be accepted.
  • January 2005 (specific dates to be announced):
    • Final versions of batch upgraded EAD Version 2002 finding aids will be made available.
    • voroEAD will be resumed for ingesting EAD Version 2002 finding aids only.
    • Final versions of the updated style sheets for displaying EAD Version 2002 finding aids will be implemented; OAC 3.0 live release.

Document Owner: Robin Chandler

Last reviewed: August 11, 2005

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

OAC Contributing Members: Questions? Comments?

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