On Fri, 2006-05-05 at 09:11 -0400, Michele Rothenberger wrote:
> Hi John --
>
> Since your job is making EAD finding aids searchable and deliverable,
> I'd like to pick your brain briefly :) We're in the process of
> converting our finding aids and are (or will be soon) looking for ways
> to do just that. What are you using for the search and rendering to
> HTML?
Firstly, sorry for a blatant plug of our own software on the mailing
list, but it was requested ;)
The underlying search engine is Cheshire3 ( http://www.cheshire3.org/ )
I've produced a set of EAD specific configurations for this system to
support searching and delivery of the finding aids by z39.50 and SRU,
allowing repositories to host their own data while still being part of a
national search network.
The software includes a web-interface for searching and displaying
finding aids. Search options include: Full text, Name (geographical,
personal or corporate), Subject, Title of collection, and Reference
Number. These option return a merged list of item and collection
descriptions in order of descending relevance, however the search can be
limited to just collections by the use of a simple check-box.
You can also browse through various indexes (title, reference number,
subject) alphabetically, as well as use our innovative subject finder.
This provides a means of resolving free text queries to the controlled
vocabulary subject terms used within the records.
The HTML and plain-text (for emails) rendering aspects of the web
interface are based on XSL Transformations, and CSS for layout and
style. These combine to make the interface fairly customisable. There
is also an authenticated online administration interface for uploading,
and deleting EAD files, and managing other aspects of the finding aid
database.
Over the next couple of years we also intend to add a multi-level data
editing interface.
Best of all, this software is open source and free for use in academic
institutions. However it should be noted that we cannot provide
unlimited free support for the software. Potential commercial or non-HE
users should contact us regarding licencing terms (I can pass any
enquiries on to the relevant people here).
Further details, including download and installation instructions can be
found at:
http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/arch/spokes.shtml
--
John Harrison
Special Collections and Archives
University of Liverpool Library
Chatham Street, PO Box 123, Liverpool, L693DA
e: [log in to unmask]
w: sca.lib.liv.ac.uk
t: 0151 7943142
f: 0151 7942681
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