On 2/3/2013 11:48 AM, Custer, Mark wrote:
> "are there any reasons for avoiding this type of usage?"  Not from my perspective.

IMO the best argument against it is that it's likely to be less efficient in 
terms of servicing researcher requests.  Your original example was this:

<c02 id="123" level="file">
    <did>
       <unittitle>TITLE</unittitle>
       <container id="cid997" type="Text" label="Box">1</container>
       <container parent="cid997" type="Folder">A-B</container>
       <container id="cid998" type="Text" label="Box">1</container>
       <container parent="cid998" type="Folder">C-D</container>
       <container id="cid999" type="Maps" label="Box">2</container>
       <container parent="cid999" type="Folder">A-B</container>
    </did>
</c02>

In this case, the researcher has to request two boxes (if the repository 
retrieves by box) or six folders (if the repository retrieves by folder), 
because they can't tell which one actually has relevant material.  It would be 
preferable to break out the separate containers into separate <c0#> and add some 
level of granularity (date range, alpha range, abstract, whatever) to the 
description to show more precisely what's in each container, so the researcher 
can ask for exactly what they want.  This improves service for both the 
researcher and public services staff.

Partly for this reason, at SU our practice is to have no more than two container 
elements -- usually that means box and folder -- for a given c0#.  We do allow 
folder ranges (Box 2, Folders 5-10).  More often, though, we simply don't 
include a folder-level container element.  Since we retrieve at the box level we 
haven't found it to be necessary, except in a few cases where we have a specific 
reason for including it.

On the other question, as to whether EAD3.0 will allow something like your 
example, I expect it will but as Mark said it will also enable a single c0# to 
contain multiple formsAvailable, with different containers associated with the 
different forms.  So you could have a single c0# that contains, say, letters 
from John Doe; within that c0# the paper form could be in Box 1 folder 2, the 
microfilm form could be in Box 21, and the digital form could be at a particular 
URL.

Michele
-- 
"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief
requirements of life, when all that we need to make
us happy is something to be enthusiastic about."
      -- Einstein