[Web4lib] EAD creation tools

[Caitlin Nelson]

Hi Matt and everyone,

Thanks for the responses!  Besides Archon, I received some interesting
ideas, including:

LibGuides: http://www.springshare.com/libguides/

ICA-AtoM tool: http://ica-atom.org/

XTF: http://www.cdlib.org/services/publishing/tools/xtf/

Archivists Toolkit: http://www.archiviststoolkit.org/

Ohiolink created EAD (they have an online EAD creation tool for member
institutions, which we would  not be, but we might be able to use or borrow
their tool): http://ead.ohiolink.edu/xtf-ead/
<http://ead.ohiolink.edu/xtf-ead/> <http://ead.ohiolink.edu/xtf-ead/>

I'll be looking into these programs to see if they fit our EAD creation
needs.

Matt - to answer your question, the main concern we have with Archon is the
import/export of EAD xml files.  Obviously EAD is a very flexible format and
the order/nesting of elements will differ between institutions - this
creates difficulties in maintaining one stylesheet or transmformative
process that will transform all the different possible EADs with an
error-free result.  So, we've had problems mostly with elements in our
original EAD xml not showing up in Archon (<abstract> <extref> <unitdate>),
and we've had issues with the EAD code that Archon produces from the export
process as well.

We also have issues with container values and date formatting, and various
display issues - many which could be fixed with some template customization
and re-programming on our end.  The problem there is that the PHP used to
control Archon is relatively complex and any change we make requires
investigation to make sure we're not in fact causing more problems that
not.

I'd like to stress that I really think Archon does very well at a lot of
things, and I admire the work and effort Chris Prom and the Archon team put
into it.  Also, of course, no one program is perfect and will be able to
meet everyone's needs at once.  That said, overall I've been disappointed in
the lack of documentation and activity on the support forum, and in the
bugginess of the latest versions, including the newly released 3.0 (which
was expected to solve, rather than create, many recent problems).

Maybe we're expecting too much from what should be a simple software, but we
can't afford to wait for the merger between Archon and Archivists Toolkit,
so we make the best out of what we have now.  Archon's incredibly easy user
interface makes it an appealing tool for our special collections clients and
we want to see it grow and improve.  We're just trying to balance how much
time and effort we can put into improving it ourselves now, versus waiting
for future releases, versus moving to a different software altogether.

Hope this helps!  Thanks again to all who responded,

Caitlin

-- 

Caitlin Nelson
Digital Initiatives Librarian
Florida Center for Library Automation (FCLA)
5820 NW 39th Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32606
P:  352.392.9020 x298
F:  352.392.9185
E:  cnelson at ufl.edu


On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 2:47 PM, Matt Russell <matt at farrwood.com> wrote:

> Hi Caitlin,
>
> I'm also interested in EAD creation tools and was impressed with Archon,
> and thinking about using it for a project with the Lawrence History Center.
>  Can you tell us what limits to it's functionality you've found?
> Many thanks,
> Matt Russell
>
>

> Caitlin Nelson wrote:
>
>> Hi Everyone,
>>
>> We are looking for more information about any tools people are using for
>> EAD
>> / Finding Aid creation.  Ideally we're looking for a user-friendly
>> interface
>> for inputting collection information which can then export or spit out a
>> proper EAD XML file; in a fantasy world it would also have some kind of
>> "bulk" features.
>>
>> In my experience, the way to get the best EAD file is to have someone
>> familiar with code create it or at least look it over after automatic
>> creation.  However, training time and cost is a factor and something that
>> has more of a drop-down menu or fill-in-the-blank type interface would be
>> easier to hand over to, say, interns or student workers for data entry.
>>
>> Archon can do this, but we've found some limits to its functionality.  At
>> one point in time we had a home-grown template system using NoteTab, but
>> again it had its limits.
>>
>> Any suggestions or ideas are greatly appreciated!  Thanks so much,
>>
>> Caitlin Nelson
>>
>>
>>
>