EAD Tagging Guide
Encoded Archival Description Reference & Generator
| Tag | Full Name | Description & Usage |
|---|
Collection Identity (DID)
Abstract & Scope
<!-- XML will appear here -->
*This generates a standard <archdesc> <did> wrapper suitable for insertion into an EAD template.
EAD Structure Map
<ead> The Root Element
<eadheader> Metadata about the finding aid itself (not the collection).
<eadid>
<filedesc>
<titlestmt>
<archdesc> Description of the archival materials (Level="collection").
<did> Descriptive Identification (Core Info).
<unittitle>
<unitid>
<unitdate>
<physdesc>
<scopecontent> Scope and Content Note.
<bioghist> Biography or History.
<dsc> Description of Subordinate Components (The Container List).
<c> Component (Series, File, Item). Attributes: level="series".
<did>
<container>
<unittitle>
EAD Tagging Cheat Sheet
A quick reference for the most common tags in Encoded Archival Description.
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| <ead> | Root element of the document. |
| <archdesc> | Wrapper for the collection description. Requires 'level' attribute. |
| <did> | Descriptive Identification. Contains core identity fields. |
| <unittitle> | Title of the unit (collection, series, file). |
| <unitdate> | Creation dates. Use 'normal' attr for ISO 8601 (YYYY/YYYY). |
| <dsc> | Description of Subordinate Components (Inventory list). |
| <c> | Component. A nested level (Series, File, Item). |
| <container> | Physical location (Box 1, Folder 5). |