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=LBSC 670 Group Project--Organization of Information in Archives=

Overview of encoded archival description standards and its use with organizing information in archival repositories

Case Study of Vatican Archives Project

International impact of encoded archival description standards

LBSC 670 Group Project/Paper Proposal

Group Members: Charlotte Sturm, Chris Thompson, Lisa Norton

Our group project will explore how archival repositories organize information about their collections using encoding standards for online presentation and discovery, primarily through databases. We will use a case study of the Vatican Archives Project conducted by the University of Michigan, a project that sought to standardize and organize the information collected by the Vatican Archives through an electronic database, to illustrate the methods and complexities of archival organization of information. Using the case study as a point of departure, we will conduct a literature review to explore various sub-components of the topic. These include:  Our goal will be to decipher some best practices in the encoding of archival collection data and in the creation of online databases for cataloguing archival collections in order to facilitate researchers’ use of collections worldwide. We will search for literature through the bibliography of our class textbook and //Vatican Archives, An Inventory and Guide to Historical Documents of the Holy See//. We will also use journal searches through the databases offered by the UMD Libraries to identify relevant literature. Our Project Timeline October 12--Meeting at McKeldin Library to review Vatican Archives Project guide and divide sections for writing paper. October 31--Identify and finalize all sources regarding archival organization of information and encoding standards, Vatican Archives Project, and international impact of standardization of archival description. November 9th--Group meeting to review rough start to divided sections November 16th--Complete rough 1st draft of paper and begin discussing presentation November 23rd--Review revisions to 1st draft and group meeting to begin 2nd draft and prepare for presentation December 7th--Review revisions to 2nd draft and group meeting to finalize paper December 9th--Submit paper
 * A comparative discussion on the varying encoding standards available for archival repositories, including MARC, EAD and any other standards utilized worldwide;
 * An analysis of the outcomes for making information of archival collections available in an online environment (such as utility to researchers); and
 * An in-depth discussion on the international impact of standardizing archival repositories’ holdings, including the advantages and disadvantages, compatibility of standards, level of collaboration among repositories on an international level, etc.