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Keywords
Control, Archives
Abstract
Biographical data, including authorized name information, adds depth, richness and retrievability to bibliographic records and archival finding aids. The use of encoded archival description (EAD) has enabled the description of archival collections in fine detail. EAD allows for biographical information to be coded directly into finding aids in several ways. However the process is time consuming and may result in duplication of effort and inconsistency. This article presents the Nomen XML DTD for biographical data, and puts forth the idea that its use could simplify and enhance the encoding of biographical data in EAD. The Nomen DTD provides a record structure for encoding the authorized name, variant names and biographical details of a person or a group being associated with informational items as subjects or creators. The structure of the Nomen DTD is described in relation to the MARC21 name authority format followed by a discussion of how it may be used as a means to create an authority file for EAD biographical data encoding and linking.
Introduction
The description of persons and groups has traditionally been an important part of the method by which librarians and archivists provide access to information. After all, it is difficult to think of a single informational item, collection of recorded knowledge, or any sort of expression that is not somehow associated with an individual or group- whether subjects or creators. Attention to the forms and variations of names helps facilitate discovery and retrieval for searchers. Biographical detail assists catalogers in the identification of agents (persons or groups capable of functioning as subjects or creators of informational items) related to items being described and can provide researchers with basic biographical information. Thus, the domain of names and accompanying biographical data is worthy of scrutiny as we progress toward new, digital descriptions of the body of recorded knowledge and experience.
While traditional bibliographic cataloging practices established the value of maintaining separate files for name authority and sharing them electronically, the archival community has, in recent years, led the implementation of logical markup languages which allow information to be structured and shared over computer networks. The development of Encoded Archival Description (EAD) signaled the potential of logical markup languages to enhance access to...