For the past few months, Archives & Special Collections at the University of
Connecticut has been working on a project using the new JPEG2000 image
standard.  One of the many interesting features of this new standard is the
ability to embed XML boxes within the image file.  We have successfully
embedded in a single (albeit rich) file the following elements: a lossless
compressed image (no loss of data from TIFF to JPEG2000 but greatly reduced
in size, with the ability to display low to high resolutions without
creating additional image files); automatically derived technical metadata
in XML; descriptive metadata in XML; PDF files; and entire EAD finding aids.
While we are just beginning to explore the potential uses for this
capability, we are excited that, for digitized individual items from a
collection, we are able to embed within these digital objects their contexts
in the form of EAD finding aids.  So, no matter where we use, move, or
combine these individual digital objects, their contextual metadata (EAD
finding aids, full or brief versions) move with them.  The project (Charles
Olson's Melville Project) will be online soon as part of a larger thematic
collection, The Charles Olson Research Collection. We are working closely
with Aware, Inc. and their software for serving and transcoding JPEG2000
images.  And, as with so many EAD-related projects, we are indebted to the
Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation for support of our work.  For further
information, contact Rutherford Witthus at any of the addresses below.