<daofind>
Digitized Archives in Online Finding Aids / Digitalisiertes Archivgut in Online-Findbüchern
With friendly support of The Andrew W. Mellon-Foundation, New York
With the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New York, the first Bundesarchiv <daofind> Project developed a new and innovative prototype software for web presentations of textual archives. The project showed the feasability of the idea how to group images of archival units into digital objects and how to link these digital objects to descriptive information contained in online finding aids.
The grant proposal of the <daofind> Project ->
The final report of the <daofind> Project ->
Based on the prototype developed in the first <daofind> Project, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has accorded a second grant in order to support the development of standard tools for typical working szenarios at archives. This tool set is currently being realized in the <daofind+> Project. The tools are based on the international standards EAD, EAC and METS. They will allow archivists describing different kinds of archival material with online finding aids and presenting images of archival fonds or units grouped into digital objects. The digital objects can be linked to descriptive information contained in online finding aids.
The tool set is called MEX (Midosa Editor for XML-Standards). There are six different standard tools to be developed for:
- online archival holdings guides
- online finding aids for subject files - basic version
- online finding aids for subject files - extended version
- online finding aids for personal papers
- online finding aids for personal or person-related files
- a viewer of images from archival material integrated in online finding aids.
The five online finding aid editors, however, will also allow to produce finding aids in print.
The grant proposal of the <daofind+> Project ->
Press release on the occasion of the start of the <daofind +> Project ->
Presentations and Examples of the Project Work
First results of the new <daofind +> Project work have been presented at the 3rd European Conference on the Use of EAD, EAC and METS held in Berlin, April 24-26th 2007. A CD-ROM containing a first version of the MEX tools has been distributed to the participants together with a software documentation and short application guides.
The full content of the CD-ROM (software tools and application guides) can now be downloaded here ->
Conference Report: ->
Presentations and Papers given to the conference: ->
Previous Presentations
There have been several presentations on the work of the first <daofind> Project:
Slide show on the technical background and the functions of the prototype software developed by the first <daofind> Project ->
Presentation of the project launched to the International Archival Gateways Meeting of the Research Libraries Group (RLG) in London on May 23rd 2005 ->
Report and papers of an international workshop on the use of EAD, EAC and METS organised by the <daofind> project team in Berlin from May 24-26th 2005 ->
Report on the workshop in the Bulletin sur la DTD EAD no 20, juin 2005 ->
Examples of online finding aids with integrated images created with the help of the <daofind> prototype:
- DY 30 Sekretariat Helmut Lehmann ->
- DY 30 ZPKK ->
- DY 30 Sekretariat Paul Merker ->
These sample online finding aids contain links to files with images of the described archival units. They can be opened by activating the link “Akte einsehen” (= “View file content”) placed below the title of a unit of description.
Background Information
Digitization Strategy of the Bundesarchiv ->
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation ->
