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I happen to have prepared some comments about Internet Archivist for some colleagues, so I thought I'd pass them on to the list. I should= preface this by saying that these were written in the context of trying to fi= nd a system which wouldn't require everyone to have a working knowledge of EAD. Tim Hutchinson =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D These comments are based on use of the demonstration version, availab= le from http://www.interface.com/ead/. According to the company=92s web site= , =93The demo version is fully functional except for the <c> and <c0x> elements.= =94 User-friendliness In some of its publicity, Interface Electronics claims that =93All en= coding is performed in plain English, thus the archivist needs no knowledge of = the SGML language.=94 It is true that EAD tags (whose meaning is not always c= lear to novice users) are translated into English =96 for example, <PHYSDESC>= is translated as Physical Description. However, this is not enough to r= equire =93no knowledge of the SGML language,=94 because an understanding of the st= ructure of EAD is required =96 the hierarchy of the tags, and the use of attribu= tes. An archivist using this software package still needs to know, for exampl= e, that the extent statement must appear within physical description, which in turn is within descriptive ID, etc. For data entry, only one tag is displayed at a time. This makes it d= ifficult to have an overall view of what tags need to be filled in. An interface= that looks more like a traditional worksheet (for catalogue records, accession r= ecords, etc.) would probably be more suitable, particularly if the individual= doing data entry has no knowledge of EAD. On the other hand, for those users familiar with the EAD, the softwar= e may be an improvement over some other SGML editors =96 the structure of the tag= s seems to be clearer. Templates may also be created (although not with the interf= ace you might expect; see previous paragraph), and there is a =93learned tags= =94 functionality (which I have not investigated). Output Three file types may currently be generated: SGML, HTML, and ASCII te= xt. There seems to be very little flexibility in formatting the documents, howe= ver. There are options offered for HTML output which relate to frames, backgroun= d colours, etc. However, while <HEAD> tags are used, LABEL=3D attributes seem t= o be ignored =96 meaning that labels for parts of the finding aid are generally no= t editable. There also seem to be unpredictable results when tags are empty (with= out generating a warning message that certain required elements are missi= ng). At least, when <EADID> was empty, the EAD output generated was completel= y invalid, with the <EADID> tag not being closed until after the <EAD> tag was c= losed. Other issues While this software package may be a slight improvement over some oth= er SGML editors, it is limited to a single DTD. When new versions of the EAD= are released, it remains to be seen how quickly the company will be able = to release new versions of Internet Archivist. Similarly, institutions using lo= cal tags would not be able to use Internet Archivist for those tags. (On the = other hand, generic SGML editors allow the use of any valid DTD.) Conclusion Every since my first introduction to EAD, I have been convinced that = systems should be developed to allow archivists, technicians and others to create findi= ng aids without needing a working knowledge of EAD or SGML. From my perspect= ive, Internet Archivist is definitely not that system. While it may have = some advantages for individuals who wish to learn EAD, the software packag= e should be examined closely to ensure that its current apparent limitations (out= put functionality, etc.) do not outweigh these advantages. -- Tim Hutchinson University of Saskatchewan Archives 301 Main Library, 3 Campus Drive Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A4 tel: (306) 966-6028 fax: (306) 966-6040 e-mail: [log in to unmask]