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https://github.com/daniel-km/ead2dcterms

A standalone tool that converts XML metadata of a finding aid in Encoded Archival Description (EAD 2002) to a list of records in Dublin Core terms.
https://github.com/daniel-km/ead2dcterms

ead finding-aids oai-pmh-repository omeka-s omeka-s-module

Last synced: 4 months ago
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A standalone tool that converts XML metadata of a finding aid in Encoded Archival Description (EAD 2002) to a list of records in Dublin Core terms.

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README 

          
EAD to Dublin Core Metadata Terms

=================================



[ead2dcterms] is a standalone tool to convert XML metadata of a finding aid in

[EAD] to a list of records in [Dublin Core] terms.



[EAD] is an xml format designed to describe collections of archives in a

structural way: the collection, the boxes, the folders, the pieces, the papers,

the pages, etc., so the user can find easily what he/she wants. It can be filled

only by a specialist with a special application. The format contains not only

metadata, but semantic and textual content, so it can be printed or displayed in

a browser directly with a simple stylesheet.



[Dublin Core] and its revision "DCMI Metadata Terms" is a format designed to

describe any document, any object, and anything else. This is a simple and flat

format, so anybody can use and read it. It manages metadata firstly, not textual

content.



If an [official mapping] was established for EAD 1.0 and Dublin Core, none has

been approved for EAD 2002 and Dublin Core Metadata Terms. So, this app is not

only a tool to convert metadata, but a mapping table too.



This tool is integrated in [Omeka Classic] and [Omeka S], an open source

platform for publishing collections online, via the plugins [Ead] and

[Archive Folder] and the [module EAD].



Xslt mapper

-----------



The conversion uses a simple [XSLT] stylesheet either in version 1 or version 2

(recommended, because it's simpler and about ten to twenty faster). XSLT is the

functional language designed to process XML files, and is managed by the [W3C].



The mapper is built around a dynamic xpath evaluator, so the conversion process

is  completely separated from the mapping itself. By this way, the mapping is a

simple xml file that anybody can modify quickly and easily, without change in

the engine.



The engine has been checked against the two official examples of the EAD model

and some other ones, but because interpretations of the format may differ

between people, in particular between archivists and librarians, it should be

adapted if the configuration is not enough.



Important: The xslt 1 version works only with some extensions, not with a parser

that follows strictly the standard. The extension should add the possibility to

interpret a tree fragment as a node set.



Mapping table

-------------



The mapping is done between the EAD 2002 and the full list of Dublin Core

(formerly "qualified", "extended" or "refined"). It can be downgraded to the 15

basic terms with the provided stylesheet. For EAD metadata formatted with a

previous standard, an upgrade to EAD 2002 should be done before with the

official stylesheets.



Globally, an EAD finding aid is converted into multiple Dublin Core records:

- one, two (default) or three records for main informations of the finding aid

  (header, front matter and archival description);

- possible records for the main description of Subordinate Components), mainly

  to simplify grouping;

- records for each component (level) and item;

- related records for each digital archival object (dao, daoloc, pointers...).



Records are linked to other ones with the terms that define a relation.



Generally, textual contents are mapped with the term "description" and other

data are mapped with the matching Dublin Core term.



The output format is a simple and flat xml file that can be used by any other

process.



The mapping takes some ideas from other open source converters built by:



- Scholars' Lab at the University of Virginia Library, for the [Ead Importer],

  designed to import finding aids in [Omeka], an open source digital library;

- [Anaphore], for another tool used by the open source digital library [Pleade].



These tools work fine. The main issues of them are that they are designed for

the integration with another tool, the lack of documentation about the mapping,

the partial coverage and the non-reversibility of the elements, and the mixture

of the code and the mapping, making them heavy to maintain and hard to adapt to

multiple interpretations of the EAD format.



Configuration

-------------



Because the two formats are very different (document vs data oriented), because

there is no more official mapping between them, and because there are lot of

interpretation of the EAD format, two xml files are used to parameter the

conversion and to adapt it to needs.



The main one is [ead2dcterms_mappings.xml]. It describes each couple of

metadata, for example that the EAD element "unittitle" is mapped to the

Dublin Core  term "title". Multiple mappings are prepared for some elements,

mostly identifiers and relations, because there are a lot of possibilities.



The second one, [ead2dcterms_config.xml], describes how the mappings are mixed

together to build each record.



This couple of xml files allows to manage any interpretation or use of EAD by a

simple change. Anyway, any conversion should be checked.



See them for further details and current limits. They can be displayed as xml

with any text editor, or as a table via a browser (simply download the tool and

open the same files with your prefered browser).



Any xslt parser can be used. If you haven't one, you can use the open source

[jEdit] with the plugins "Xslt", "Saxon", "Xml" and "XQuery". It is available on

any operating system (Linux, Mac or Windows). When installed, select "Plugins" >

"plugins options" > "Xslt" and set "Saxon 9" as xslt processor and xpath engine.

To process an xml file, select "Plugins" > "Xslt" > "Activate 3-Way Mode", then

select the xml file as source, the file "ead2dcterms.xsl" as stylesheet, and a

new untitled buffer as result. Finally, click the button "Transform Xml".



Notes

-----



* Use of official examples



Official examples of EAD 2002 are provided for tests, but they may not be xml

compliant with current parsers. So they are provided without the doctype and the

entities and with the namespace too.



* Integration in Omeka



In [Omeka], the items are the base records and an item can contain multiple

files. In EAD, the file is a true object and the base record, and can contain

multiple items. The plugin [Ead4Omeka] takes care of this point.



* XSLT 1 version



The xslt 1 version works only with some extensions, not with a parser that

follows strictly the standard. The parser should be able to interpret a tree

fragment as a node set.



Warning

-------



Use it at your own risk.



It’s always recommended to backup your files and your databases and to check

your archives regularly so you can roll back if needed.



Troubleshooting

---------------



See online issues on the [page of issues] on GitHub.



License

-------



This module is published under the [CeCILL v2.1] licence, compatible with

[GNU/GPL] and approved by [FSF] and [OSI].



This software is governed by the CeCILL license under French law and abiding by

the rules of distribution of free software. You can use, modify and/ or

redistribute the software under the terms of the CeCILL license as circulated by

CEA, CNRS and INRIA at the following URL "http://www.cecill.info".



As a counterpart to the access to the source code and rights to copy, modify and

redistribute granted by the license, users are provided only with a limited

warranty and the software’s author, the holder of the economic rights, and the

successive licensors have only limited liability.



In this respect, the user’s attention is drawn to the risks associated with

loading, using, modifying and/or developing or reproducing the software by the

user in light of its specific status of free software, that may mean that it is

complicated to manipulate, and that also therefore means that it is reserved for

developers and experienced professionals having in-depth computer knowledge.

Users are therefore encouraged to load and test the software’s suitability as

regards their requirements in conditions enabling the security of their systems

and/or data to be ensured and, more generally, to use and operate it in the same

conditions as regards security.



The fact that you are presently reading this means that you have had knowledge

of the CeCILL license and that you accept its terms.



Copyright

---------



* Copyright Daniel Berthereau, 2015-2020 (see [Daniel-KM] on GitHub)



[Ead2DCterms]: https://github.com/Daniel-KM/Ead2DCterms

[EAD]: https://loc.gov/ead

[Dublin Core]: http://dublincore.org

[Omeka Classic]: https://omeka.org/classic

[Omeka S]: https://omeka.org/s

[Ead]: https://github.com/Daniel-KM/Omeka-plugin-Ead

[Archive Folder]: https://github.com/Daniel-KM/Omeka-plugin-ArchiveFolder

[module EAD]: https://github.com/Daniel-KM/Omeka-S-module-Ead

[XSLT]: https://www.w3.org/standards/xml/transformation

[W3C]: https://www.w3.org/

[official mapping]: http://www.loc.gov/ead/ag/agappb.html#sec3

[Anaphore]: https://github.com/Anaphore/joai_xsl

[Pleade]: http://www.pleade.com

[Ead Importer]: https://github.com/scholarslab/EadImporter

[ead2dcterms_config.xml]: https://github.com/Daniel-KM/Ead2DCterms_config.xml

[ead2dcterms_mappings.xml]: https://github.com/Daniel-KM/Ead2DCterms_mappings.xml

[jEdit]: http://www.jedit.org

[page of issues]: https://github.com/Daniel-KM/Ead2DCterms/issues

[CeCILL v2.1]: https://www.cecill.info/licences/Licence_CeCILL_V2.1-en.html

[GNU/GPL]: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html

[FSF]: https://www.fsf.org

[OSI]: http://opensource.org

[Daniel-KM]: https://github.com/Daniel-KM "Daniel Berthereau"