Hi,

Since EAD is a standard for encoding *descriptions* of archival
collections you won't get as much help as you might want on image
formats and the like on this list. Some of the readers of this  are only
doing finding aids - while others are doing finding aids that point to
digital objects and others still are using METS or some other metadata
scheme to describe objects at the object level and only using EAD to
describe collections at the collection level. This list is really about
dealing with the challenges of encoding the description - whether it
points to digital objects or not.

If what you are seeking is information on digitization of collections
you might want to check out the diglib listserv -
http://www.ifla.org/II/lists/diglib.htm . Look back in their archives to
see if they address some of your questions.

But a really good first stop, if what you are interested in is
digitization. is the "Handbook for Digital Projects" prepared by NEDCC.
(http://www.nedcc.org)

Anne Kenney and company at Cornell has really done a lot on determine
best practices for imaging. She has a on line imaging tutorial available at
http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/tutorial/


And the Colorado Digitization Project also has a great set of resources.
http://coloradodigital.coalliance.org/contents.html

For a number of workshops I have done, I have prepared a bibliography
available at:

http://www.azizatech.com/bibliography.html.

It is a little out of date at the moment but it will improve by October
when I present at Educause in Atlanta.

Liz Shaw
Aziza Technology Associates

(formerly of University of Pittsburgh, and crank who whines about
encoding consistency on this list on a regular basis)

Earl J. Moniz wrote:
> Hello everyone...
>
> I posed this question once before...
> I don't know whether I'm being ignored, the message never went through,
> or whether the thing just vaporized...  8-)
>
> There is much discussion about the creation of finding aids.  Are we
> considering digitizing two dimensional documents, photographs, and
> originally digital items for placement online as well?
>
> Finding aids are a serious consideration, no doubt; but if we're only
> doing it to make the finding  of physical items easier, it appears to me
> we're not making much headway. . .
>
> I'm new to this approach and need some enlightenment - are we not
> speaking of eventually having completely digital archives available for
> visitors and (perhaps) subscribers?
> I'm considering going to the EAD workshop in North Carolina this month -
> having second thoughts about it now IF we're only going to stick with
> physical collections in the long run. . .
>
> Is anyone involved with converting physical collections to digital form
> for viewing and availability online?  I'm beginning to work on the
> SWCS/ASOC archive collections and would like to discuss that sort of
> thing with someone who is doing it, or has done it...
> I went to the digital workshop in MA "Off the wall and Online" ... and
> didn't get much help or information there... not in any real hands-on or
> nitty-gritty way... the one person who was beginning to explain it all
> was cut short because he ran too long... <go figure>. . .  I'll never go
> to another one of their gatherings again. . .
>
> In any event. . . if you can help with digital collections - image
> formats and resolution (tif vs that); document presentation formats (pdf
> vs doc); and other such items. . . to include digital delivery for
> researchers across the country (zip disks, CDs, emails). . . just
> remember Ross Perot - I'm all ears!  8-)
>
> *Aloha y'all ... Earl J.
> USA JFK Special Warfare Center and Schools
> Marquat Memorial Library
> History and Archives
> Fort Bragg, North Carolina
> "Just an old Maui boy with a poor sense of direction...
> working his way home - one state at a time -
> currently working in the State of Confusion!"*
>