Digital Tools
The original database for the AAAS Archives website, launched in November 2001, used MySQL and PHP to create a relational structure. In August 2003, we began revising the database to comply with emerging digital metadata standards using Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS) and Metadata Authority Description Schema (MADS), expressed in XML, promulgated by the U.S. Library of Congress. MODS and MADS largely use the same data content guidelines for describing cultural heritage materials as used in the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (AACR2), but provide flexibility to work outside of this standard if necessary. MODS and MADS are also alternatives to the Machine Readable Catalog (MARC) format. Below are templates illustrating how our XML files for publications, people, award, group and meeting information are structured.
MODS template for publications
MADS template for people
MADS template for award
MADS template for group
MADS template for meeting
Finding aids for materials in our repository's collections are written in Encoded Archival Description, also based on XML. Titles with asteriks in the "Collections" section have EAD finding aids. The first page under each of these titles permits a user to view the finding aid in either easily readable HTML or in open code XML.
For further information on MODS, MADS and EAD see: http://www.loc.gov/standards/
More to come....
A. Crumpton, AAAS Archivist
29 March 2006
|
