[Eac-l] proposed changes to %a.ea

[Stephen Yearl]

All:

Currently the EAC DTD has the following defined parameter entity:

<!ENTITY % a.ea
   'ea                   NMTOKEN                                 #IMPLIED'>

Which I would like you to consider rewritten as:

<!ENTITY % a.ea
'ea                   CDATA               #IMPLIED
easys             NMTOKEN       #IMPLIED'>

There are two changes here:

1. ea is now CDATA instead of NMTOKEN.

This would allows the specification of an xpath-- or other-- expressions 
for those descriptive resources that do not have unambiguous identifiers. 
It would also permit the common | delimiter between a MARC field and its 
subfield.

2. a (new) attribute easys (abbreviated from encoding analog system) may 
now appear in all locations that @ea can appear.

Currently the only location where one may specify an encoding analog system 
is using @encodinganalogsystem on <eacheader>. I venture that in a complex 
EAC instance resources and information from many different systems and 
vocabularies can be employed, each one mapping to a different 
encodinganalog. The new attribute locally qualifies and allows for cleaner 
interpretation of @ea's value. In <resourcerels>, for instance, one will 
switch in and out of various encoding analog systems when describing 
resources: MARC data in <bibunit>, EAD data in <archunit>, and so forth.

Here is a fragmentary example to better illustrate the proposed change:

<!--BIBLIOGRAPHIC-->
<resourcerel reltype="origination" easys="MARC21" ea="035|a" type="monograph"
                 system="yul.orbis" syskey="(CStRLIN)CTYG0658040-B">
                 <bibunit>
                     <title ea="245"> Television and antisocial behavior: 
field experiments [by]
                         Stanley Milgram [and] R. Lance Shotland.</title>
                     <imprint>
                         <publisher ea="260|b"> Academic Press.</publisher>
                         <place ea="260|a">New York, NY</place>
                         <date ea="260|c">1973</date>
                     </imprint>
                 </bibunit>
             </resourcerel>
             <!--ARCHIVAL-->
             <resourcerel reltype="origination" easys="EAD2002" 
ea="ead/archdesc/did" type="manuscript collection"
                 system="mssa.locDB" syskey="num=1406&amp;typ=ms">
                 <archunit>
                     <origination>
                         <persname>Stanley Milgram</persname>
                     </origination>
                     <unittitle> Stanley Milgram papers,<unitdate
                         type="inclusive">1927-1993</unitdate> (inclusive). 
</unittitle>
                     <physdesc>
                         <extent>90.25 linear ft. (156 boxes)</extent>
                     </physdesc>
                     <repository>Yale University Library, Manuscripts and 
Archives</repository>
                     <abstract> The papers consist of correspondence, 
research and data files,
                         writings, and course material, which document 
Stanley Milgram's work as an
                         innovative researcher and teacher in the field of 
social psychology. The
                         papers highlight Milgram's work on obedience to 
authority, television
                     violence, urban psychology, and communication patterns 
within society.</abstract>
                 </archunit>
             </resourcerel>

To parallel easys, I'd also suggest that <eacheader'>s 
@encodinganalogsystem also be shortened to this abbreviated form.

regards,

St.