Several comments.

<archref> is indeed the element designated to create a link between
descriptions.  Its use, in itself, is not a "workaround".   cf. the EAD Tag
Library.

The element name, incidentally, would be parsed as arch ref, not arc href.

The <archref> element provides two mechanisms for pointing to the name of
the target for the link, either an entityref using the entity declaration
method common in SGML or the more direct path name method found in the HREF
attribute.  Of course, the HREF could point to a relative urn as in a purl
or other externally resolvable name as well as to a full path name to the
file.  The latter is, of course, most commonly the case in the web.

I don't understand the sense in which "this isn't really what href is
supposed to be used for."  In HTML HREF is the attribute in an anchor <a>
element that performs the same function- points to the destination of the
link.   EAD is merely mimicking that syntax.

Assuming that you are transforming your EAD into HTML for web publishing,
you will have to transform the <archref> and its attributes into an HTML <a
href-"..."> sequence in any event.

Michael

Michael J. Fox
Assistant Director for Library and Archives
Minnesota Historical Society
345 Kellogg Blvd West
St. Paul, MN 55102-2409
651-296-2150  (phone)
651-296-9961  (fax)
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-----Original Message-----
From: Rachel Perkins [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2001 9:56 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: linking EAD records


Hi,
We're in the process of uploading EAD files into Cheshire for display
purposes and have some questions, one of which we decided to seek advice
upon.

I would like to create links between records. Has anybody had any
experience in creating such links and if so, how did you do it?!

Rob Sanderson, Cheshire technician, at the University of Liverpool created
a work-around using href in <archref>. We know this isn't really what href
is supposed to be used for, but it's the easiest way round things that we
can see for now.

If anyone can offer guidance on creating links between files we would
appreciate it.

Thank you in advance,
Rachel

****************************************************************************
********************************

Rachel Perkins
Collection Level Description Officer
Department of Library and Information Services
The Natural History Museum
Cromwell Road, London, UK
SW7 5BD

020 7942 5646
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