I agree with your assessment that boxes do not necessarily have a place in =
the intellectual hierarchy.=20
Boxes are containers and are encoded as such. In our implementation we =
also treat folders as containers; a file is an intellectual component =
(with a <c0> tag).=20
Ordinarily a file is found in a single folder, but its possible to think =
of a many-part file, one which spans multiple folders. In that case a the =
container would be folders 5-9, for example (<c02 level=3D"File"><did><cont=
ainer type=3D"box">11</container><container type=3D"folder">5-9</container>=
). Similarily, a file could occupy a single box. It's still a file, but it =
is housed in container box 3, say (<c02 level=3D"File"><did><container =
type=3D"box">12</container><container type=3D"folder"></container>). Or a =
series could occupy a single box. If the description ends at the series =
level, then the two would be the same, but they are still separate =
attributes (<c02 level=3D"Series"><did><container type=3D"box">13</containe=
r><container type=3D"folder"></container>).=20
I hope this will be helpful.
>>> Chris Prom <[log in to unmask]> 10/13/99 3:31:41 PM >>>
I am new to EAD, trying to design a tagging scheme, and could use a little
advice.
My problem is this: when working down the hierarchy of levels, how does
one best deal with boxes? From an strictly organizational point of view,
the boxes signify nothing about the relationship of the folder or
itme to other parts of the record series, and thus are not, strictly
speaking, components of the more meaningful hierarchy usually represented
on paper finding aids by indentations. Boxes are simply a storage
medium.
For instance, if a finding aid is divided into several categories
(Correspondence, publications, photographs, etc), these categories are
likely to overlap from one box to another. By the same token, boxes may
contain 2, 3, or even four categories. In other words, neither the
category or the box is necessarily subordinate to the other.
So I am somewhat confused as to how one can keep track of box information,
so that box the categories and the boxes will display properly, and allow
for highlevel searching, _and the automatatic generation of paper-finding
aids when we develop that functionality. I would like to make the best
decision now, before I find out later that mistakes were made that impair
our functionality. Any advice list members could give would be greatly
appreciated.
Chris Prom
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Visiting Assistant Archivist, University Archives
217-333-0798 (afternoons)
[log in to unmask]
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