Add finding aids

Preparing to add finding aids

Before adding finding aids, configure your collection for optimal use by designating a full text search metadata field into which the full text of the finding aid will be copied. Please see Edit field properties for more information.  For granular metadata mapping, map collection fields to Qualified Dublin Core.

After your collection is configured, use the following tips to create a finding aid file that can be processed by CONTENTdm.

• Ensure the EAD is a valid XML document.
• Ensure the EAD is encoded using UTF-8 or ANSI
• Use absolute URLS. If the EAD refers to a file or site on the Web, use the complete URL instead of a relative path.
• Change or delete links to local files. If the EAD refers to a local file, remove the link to the local file or make the file available on a Web server and include the absolute URL.

To understand how the finding aid files are processed, see Processing.

Using the Add Finding Aid wizard

After you have configured your collection and created your finding aid using the tips above, you can use the Add Finding Aid wizard to add the file to your project.

1. From the Add menu, click Finding Aid. The Add Finding Aid wizard displays.
2. Click Browse to select the finding aid file. Click OK.
3. (Optional) Choose the thumbnail to display for the finding aid.
   • Select Use default thumbnail to use the CONTENTdm default finding aid thumbnail.
   • Select Use custom thumbnail for this finding aid to use a customized thumbnail image for this finding aid. Click Browse to select an image file from to use as the thumbnail.
4. Click Next. A progress screen displays while the finding aid is processed by a web service. The Map Metadata Fields screen displays.
5. Map the finding aid tags to collection metadata fields.
   • This mapping applies to the compound object-level metadata only. Page-level metadata is not mapped.
   • On the left of the mapping interface, the wizard displays the tags found in your finding aid, while the right side displays a drop-down list of the collection’s metadata fields. Use the drop-down list to select a collection metadata field for the EAD tags you want mapped in your collection metadata. See Available tags for metadata mapping for a list of the tags that can be mapped.
   • You can map multiple tags to the same field. Data from all the mapped EAD tags is added to the designated field separated by a semicolon.
   • The wizard displays a default mapping the first time you import a finding aid into your project. If you change the default mapping, the wizard will remember your settings for subsequent imports. The default mapping provided is intended only as a guide.
   • If any of the Dublin Core fields used in the default map do not exist in the CONTENTdm collection, the EAD field is mapped to None.
   • The EAD tags are not included in the extracted data added to the metadata record for the finding aid, only the data from within the tags is displayed.

   • Default mapping - Table

     EAD Tag	Dublin Core Field
     EAD.ARCHDESC.DID.CONTROLACCESS.GEOGNAME	Coverage-Spatial
     EAD.ARCHDESC.DID.UNITDATE	Coverage-Temporal
     EAD.ARCHDESC.DID.ORIGINATION.PERSNAME	Creator
     EAD.ARCHDESC.DID.ORIGINATION.FAMNAME	Creator
     EAD.ARCHDESC.DID.ORIGINATION.NAME	Creator
     EAD.FILEDESC.DATE or EAD.FILEDESC.PUBLICATIONSTMT.DATE	Date
     EAD.ARCHDESC.DID.ABSTRACT	Description
     EAD.ARCHDESC.DID.SCOPECONTENT	Description
     EAD.EADHEADER.EADID.URL	Identifier
     EAD.ARCHDESC.DID.LANGMATERIAL	Language
     EAD.FILEDESC.PUBLISHER or EAD.FILEDESC.PUBLICATIONSTMT.PUBLISHER	Publisher
     EAD.ARCHDESC.DID.REPOSITORY	Publisher
     EAD.ARCHDESC.DID.SUBJECT	Subject
     EAD.ARCHDESC.DID.UNITTITLE	Title
     EAD.ARCHDESC.TYPE	Type

6. Click Next. The Formatting screen displays.
7. Choose the page structure for the finding aid when it is converted to and displayed as a compound object.

• Display options are divided between the Description and the Contents List sections of the finding aid. The Description displays the data within andtags. The Contents List displays the data within the tag
• When selecting the page structure for the EAD compound object, you have several options:

Description display options

• Display as a single compound object page (default)

  This option generates a single compound object page using the data contained in the tags listed below:

  Example

  Page #	Page Title	Tags Included
  1	Generated from data within the <archdesc><did><unittitle> tag	<eadheader><filedesc> <eadheader><profiledesc> <archdesc><did> <archdesc><descgrp> <archdesc><abstract> <archdesc><accessrestrict> <archdesc><arrangement> <archdesc><prefercite> <archdesc><scopecontent> <archdesc><bioghist> <archdesc><controlaccess> <archdesc><relatedmaterial> <archdesc><userestrict> <archdesc><separatedmaterial>

  When displayed, an end user will see a compound object that contains descriptive information from the finding aid on a single page:

• Break into sections and display as separate pages
  
  This option generates multiple compound object pages using the data contained in the tags listed below:

  Example

  Page #	Page Title	Tags Included
  1	Collection overview	If <frontmatter> exists, the following tags display: <frontmatter> <archdesc level="collection"> <did><abstract> <archdesc level="collection"> <did><physdesc> <archdesc level=" "> <did><origination> <archdesc level=" "><custodhist> <archdesc level=" "><acqinfo> <archdesc level=" "><processinfo> <archdesc level=" "><altformavail> If <frontmatter> does not exist, the following tags display: <eadheader><filedesc> <titlestmt> <titleproper> <eadheader><filedesc> <titlestmt><author> <eadheader><filedesc><publicationstmt> <archdesc level=" "> <did><physdesc> <archdesc level=" "> <did><abstract> <archdesc level=" "> <did><origination> <archdesc level=" "><custodhist> <archdesc level=" "><acqinfo> <archdesc level="collection"><processinfo> <archdesc level="collection"><altformavail>
  2	Biographical history*	<archdesc>><bioghist>
  3	Scope and content*	<archdesc><scopecontent>
  4	Arrangement*	<archdesc><arrangement>
  5	Using the Collection*	<archdesc><accessrestrict> <archdesc><userestrict> <archdesc><prefercite>
  6	Related materials*	<archdesc><relatedmaterial>
  7	Separated materials*	<archdesc><separatedmaterial>
  10	Subject terms*	<archdesc><controlaccess>
  11	About the finding aid	<eadheader><profiledesc> <archdesc level="collection"><descgrp><processinfo>

  * If a finding aid file includes this tag in a location other than , it will not be processed as a page in the compound object.

  When displayed, an end user will see a compound object that contains descriptive information from the finding aid split into several pages:

Contents list display options

• Display as a single compound object page (default)
  
  This option generates a single compound object page from the Contents List that contains the following data:

  Example

  Page #	Page Title	Tags Included
  1	Contents List	<archdesc><dsc>

  When the contents list is displayed as a single page, an end user will see a compound object that contains the entire contents list on a single page.

• Break into sections and display as separate pages
  
  This option generates multiple compound object pages from the Contents List. One page is created for each level-one tag:

  Example

  Page #	Page Title	Tags Included
  1	Generated from data within the <c01><did><unitttitle> tag	<archdesc><dsc> data coded before the <c01> and all data within first <c01></c01>
  2 and higher	Generated from data within the <c01><did><unitttitle> tag	Beginning with the second instance of <c01></c01>, one page is created per <c01></c01>

  When the contents list is displayed as multiple pages, an end user will see a compound object that contains one page per level-one tag:

8. Click Advanced to select formatting for the full view of the finding aid. The Project Settings Manager displays the Processing Settings page.
9. The default CONTENTdm XSL file is selected by default. You can choose a custom XSL file to customize the display of the full finding aid. Under the Finding Aid section, click Use a Custom XSL File.
10. Browse to select the XSL file that you want to use and click Open.
11. Click OK to continue.
12. Click Next. The Confirm Settings screen displays.
13. Review the settings and then click Finish. A progress screen displays as the finding aid is processed. When complete, a summary screen displays the summary and any errors or warning.
14. Click Close. The finding aid is added to the project spreadsheet.

 Note: You can edit both compound-object and page-level metadata for a finding aid from the project spreadsheet. Pay particular attention to the page-level titles used for the finding aid and the contents list sections. You may prefer to modify the Title field in the metadata for each section so that it displays properly for end users.

Processing

The following processing details provide guidelines for understanding how to work with EAD files in CONTENTdm.

Editing finding aid compound objects

You can edit both compound object and page level metadata for a finding aid. The structure of a finding aid compound object is not editable, but page names can be edited in the Project Client.

For more information about editing finding aids, see Editing compound objects.

Working with stylesheets

In order to process an EAD finding aid, CONTENTdm uses three default stylesheets:

• description_default.xsl: Generates the description section of the finding aid.
• contentslist_default.xsl: Generates the contents list section of the finding aid.
• fullfindingaid_default.xsl: Generates the full finding aid view.

These files are located within the CONTENTdm Project Client\EAD directory.