Polish Road to EADor

2004.08.25. Vienna

Story told by:

Hubert Wajs Ph. D. hubert.w@wp.pl

Structure

• Thanks

• The Problem: – Retrospective conversion of finding aids

• Project:– What?, Who?, How?

• Presentation

Finding Aids

15%

85%

ANALOGDIGITAL

History• Metadata – new term for archivists• Meetings, Seminaries etc.

– Polish Archivists seminary on metadata (22 05 2001)– EAD - MAGIC WORD OR TERROR by prof. PETER

HORSMAN; Amsterdam, Archiefschool (11 05 2002)– [4 days in June 2002 in Archiefschool Amsterdam (HWs)]– Web page (end 2002)– „DELOS” x 2 (spring 2003)

• Polish seminary on EAD (23.01.2003 and 07.03.2003)• International seminary on EAD (24-25.04.2003)

– Publication of papers along with RLG Best Practice Guidelines for EAD (fall 2003)

– [E-mailing prof. Daniel Pitti (HWs 2002-2004)]

Introduction of ISAD(G)

• ISAD(G)– Translation, version I (1995)– Translation, version II (2004)

• www.archiwa.gov.pl/agad/

– RLG Best Practice Guidelines for EAD

Crown Chancery Public Register – Metrica Regni

• The most important records of kings’ administration – kings’ chancellery – form the middle of the 15th till the end of the 18th century

• 790 chancellery books with records of permanent legal value. From the first half of the 16th century 30 thousands records in 90 books.

Project

• Phases:– Database (for archival inventories: files and items)

– Introductions in electronic formats

– Combining *.dbf + *.doc. into *.xml

• People:– Students from Warsaw and Kraków (input)

– Cooperation with „labour offices” (input)

– Archivists (control)

Project• Further:

– Collaboration with Jagiellonian University in Cracow• Abstracts of records from the 17th century books in Polish

– Sumariusz Metryki Koronnej. Seria Nowa

– Two parts around 750 records (abstracts).

– 16th century data (input)• Matricularum Regni Poloniae Summaria (1907-1999)

– In all six parts edited so far are more than 41 thousands records (abstracts) in Latin.

– What about the images?

Technology

• What one could find on LOC:http://www.loc.gov/ead/ead.html– EAD DTD (version 2002)– EAD Tag Library (version 2002)– Examples (version 2002)– XSL (for the 1st version, 1998) – Michael J. Fox, ”The EAD Cookbook” (for the

1st version)

Technology

• My Tool – „Pajączek” – „little spider”– Polish HTML editor

THE ROAD - cobblestones• From database (ISAD) export do XML <c01>• Corrections and adjustment to EAD structure

– structure of the fonds (an example): • <c> or <c01 level = "series"> • <c02 level = "file"> • <c03 level = "item">

• General descriptive information in electronic format from introduction to <archdes>– (what to do if they are missing?)

• Validation and corrections (in loop)– xmlvalid by Elcel Technology Ltd (Free ware)

• Adding *.xsl www

HOW?

<archdes>

<c>

EAD(in XML)

INTRODUCTION(*.TXT; *. DOC)

DESCRIPTION OF EACH ITEM

(*.DBF)

INVENTORY

Are we (in Poland) ready for EAD ?

• Intellectually: In general

In particular • ”Human factor”

• Technically:Software

Polish web site with EAD

presentation

http://www.archiwa.gov.pl/agad/pomoce/MKInw.xml