Another reason to use <scopecontent>:  When we get to the era when we can
do tag-based searching, a search on <scopecontent> would collect these
summaries as well as the more general ones. If the summaries are indeed
mini-scope-and-content notes, that seems an advantage.

If you have transcriptions and other non-scope-and-content data, another
tag seems a better choice.

My point is this:  in the perfect world, the tagging reflects the
role/meaning of the information it surrounds, not the position the
information occupies in the document.

   Elizabeth H. Dow



Mark,

I avoid using <note> because it is so vague and there is almost always
something more specific.  I've used <odd> before, primarily for strange
appendices, but I've never used it at the <c##> level.  Nothing wrong in
terms of the EAD structure, but again, I think in most cases there is a
more specific tag available.

Have you considered using <scopecontent>?  If you were to catalog the items
you are describing in your <dsc>, you'd put the summary description of them
in a 520 field, which is the MARC analog of <scopecontent>.  I see no
reason why <scmpecontent> isn't an appropriate place for transcriptions,
and there's no clear home for them in EAD.  If you wanted to systematically
treat transcriptions in a particular way - say with certain margins and/or
font - you might want to encode them with <odd type="transcription"> so
that your stylesheet could treat them appropriately, but by looking at your
file it doesn't seem like this would be necessary.

Best of luck,

Mike Rush

At 12:01 PM 1/3/2006, you wrote:
Hi everyone and happy new year.  We have a finding aid with item-level
description with a summary description/transcription underneath (see link
below).  Initially we put the information in a note element, but have also
considered putting in the other descriptive data element.  Are there any
advantages or disadvantages to either element?  Any suggestions welcome and
thanks, Mark

____________________________________
Michael Rush  |  [log in to unmask]
Processing Archivist / EAD Coordinator
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Yale University
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven, CT 06520-8240
Tel: (203) 432-8123  Fax: (203) 432-4047