The contents of this post relate to EAD 2002.
Thanks to generous and quick responses by Syracuse University Libraries Special Collections, University of Connecticut’s Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, and the Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, EADiva now has a selection of “live” EAD samples, actual files being used by actual repositories.
Some students reading EADiva have asked for these and I think they’re a great resource for anyone who wants to see how the elements function in the real world. I’m hoping that even more repositories decide to participate, but these five finding aids are a great start.
What can you do with these? Well, you can view them on the site, download the XML file, and look at how the repository’s catalog displays the finding aid to the public. If you download them, please make private use only, of course.
If you have Archivists’ Toolkit installed locally you can import the EAD files and examine the resources created by each.
You may try your hand at creating XSL Transformations for the files. Besides using the W3 Schools, try this XSLT tutorial in the basics. Taking some time to learn about XPATH will make XSL much easier.
