EAD Technical Group

Draft 3, April 25, 2002

LC EAD ID INFORMATION

PURPOSES OF THE LC EAD ID

•	Provides an "eye-readable" identifier for EAD retrieval:

•	EAD ID is used on USMARC collection level records to construct the 856 field, subfield u (this subfield contains the URL of LC's handle server and EAD ID)

•	EAD ID can be used to access the EAD directly using the LC's handle server

•	Assists LC divisions in the internal management of their EADs

•	Provides a standard "work" identifier for citation of the EAD in other documents

LC EAD MANAGEMENT

•	The master copy of LC EADs will be maintained on an LC UNIX server

•	Each change updating an LC EAD will replace the earlier version; retention of historical copies is a local decision in each division

•	Copies of LC EADs are available to users outside LC (through FTP, cooperative agreements, etc.)

ASSUMPTIONS FOR CREATING LC's EAD IDs

•	The EAD ID identifies the "work" (i.e., the intellectual content), whether fixed or dynamic in nature. Finding aids are by nature dynamic works; they can reflect additions to collections they describe, increased granularity of descriptions (especially with digital collections), and for EADs, increased levels of tagging.

•	new EAD IDs are assigned only when you have a new work, not simply when the EAD is updated

•	the EAD ID is a published number; it is not functionally similar to a PIN

•	If a finding aid initially describes only part of a collection, the LC EAD Technical Group recommends that the EAD reflect the complete collection (in the header, scope and contents, etc.). The EAD's content should skeletally describe the complete collection and more completely describe the part of the collection being worked on. This should allow the EAD to be expanded without requiring the EAD ID to change.

•	unique EAD IDs will not be assigned to finding aids divided into physical parts (this whole/part information will be incorporated into "structural metadata" associated with EADs stored in a repository)

•	EADs describe both tangible and online digital objects.

•	The EAD revision date element will identify the latest version of the work.

•	The EAD ID is unique within LC (the identifier references both LC and the maintaining division)

•	The EAD ID is an arbitrary name. It will not be semantic (e.g., not identify the finding aid's content) and will not contain an LCCN.

•	The EAD ID will be structured consistently between LC divisions.

•	The EAD ID is not repeatable. If an EAD is changed substantially and a new EAD ID is therefore assigned, the EAD ID element does not cite EAD IDs assigned to previous versions of the EAD.

•	LC will require EAD IDs on its EADs.

•	The EAD ID naming scheme covers only EADs, not all finding aids created by a division.

LC EAD ID STRUCTURE

•	LC's EAD ID contains 2 parts: the naming authority and the ID number. The structure follows both URN naming principles and the structure used for handles adopted by LC.

•	Naming authority information

•	reflects the division maintaining, not creating, the EAD (the creator can be found elsewhere in the EAD header if this information is important)

•	reflects the naming authority at the time the EAD is created. The EAD ID will not change if the LC maintaining division changes its name.

•	the naming authority is unique within LC and is used for all handles issued by that naming authority (not just handles for finding aids)

EXAMPLES: loc.pnp or loc.mss

This naming authority will be registered with LC's handle server by ITS.

•	ID number information

•	contains two parts: the "aggregate" and the "item identifier"

•	the "aggregate" begins with "ead" followed by the maintaining division

EXAMPLES: eadpnp or eadmss

•	the "item identifier" is assigned as a 1-up number by the maintaining division

•	at this time, the item identifier is 8 characters long; all alpha characters should be lower case

•	the 8 characters in the item identifier are structured as follows:

•	characters 1-2 identify the division

•	characters 3-5 identify the year of EAD creation

•	characters 6-8 identify the 1-up finding aid ID number (this number restarts at "001" each year

EXAMPLES: pp996001 ms996099

Each division will be assigned unique characters 1-2, as needed.

•	Complete EAD ID as represented in the eadid element

•	the EAD ID is represented as a URL in the eadid element. The two-part ID -- loc.mss/eadmss.ms996099 -- contains the EAD ID data and the address of LC's handle server:

EXAMPLE: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms996099

•	LC will not use the "authority" attribute of the EAD ID since both LC and the maintaining division are part of the identifier

EXAMPLE: <eadid encodinganalog=856u>

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms996001</eadid>

NOTE: forward slashes may be used in the EAD ID and DAO when the content is declared as "c data" as long as the slashes are not followed by the greater than sign (/>)

LC EAD SERVER CONFIGURATION

•	Create and/or use a secure UNIX directory for each division creating finding aids. UNIX security enables each division to limit the modification of EADs to its own staff.

•	Set up at least two unique EAD aggregates for each division creating finding aids and register these aggregates with ITS. Current aggregate names are structured as: eadpnp and eadpnptest, eadmss and eadmsstest, etc.

Each completed finding aid is stored under the division's EAD aggregate in a directory with the same name as the EAD "ID number". This directory should contain the catalog file and the entityrc file, in addition to the SGML files for the finding aid. "In process" finding aids should be stored in the "xxxtest" directory.

•	An ITS-controlled UNIX directory (currently rs6/itssgml) stores files shared by finding aid files created by several divisions. These files include the DTD, most .ent files, style sheets, navigators, GIF files for the LC seal, etc.