Amy,
  My understanding is that <editionstmt> pertains to changes in the
intellectual content of the finding aid, which may never have been
encoded before and may occur in multiple "editions" before 
being converted to EAD. <revisiondesc> pertains to changes to the
*encoded* finding aid, whether or not they are content or encoding
changes. Because few finding aids have undergone print publication in
multiple editions, <editionstmt> is rarely used for a statement such as
"2nd ed., revised and expanded". Granted, there is nothing to prevent
such a use, and it may be useful to record on your title page
display. However, whenever the encoded finding aid has been altered I
think you need a <revisiondesc>, whether or not you have a
<editionstmt>.
My 2 cents ...
Mary

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005, Amy McCrory wrote:

> I have a question about the appropriate use of two elements whose 
> function I'm having trouble distinguishing.
> 
> If substantial new content has been added to a finding aid, should 
> this be recorded in <editionstmt>, <revisiondesc>, or both?  Reading 
> the Tag Library examples leads me to think that <revisiondesc> should 
> be used only for changes to the method of encoding, not for additions 
> to the finding aid--but I'm not sure.  Can anyone shed some light on this?
> 
> Thanks,
> Amy
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Amy McCrory
> Digital Imaging Specialist, Preservation Department
> 228 Thompson Library, 1858 Neil Avenue
> The Ohio State University Libraries
> Columbus, OH 43210
> (614) 292-8647
> 

Mary Lacy
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
(202)707-8799 fax (202)707-6336
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