UCI Special Collections & Archives ISAAR (CPF) / EAC-CPF Record Creation
Guidelines (Draft)
These guidelines specify both the content of ISAAR (CPF) records created using Word templates, as well
as data entry practices for xEAC. They will be refined as testing of EAC-CPF records both in an XML
editor and the SNAC interface occurs.
The structure of this document is based on the four information areas defined in the ISAAR (CPF)
content standard: Identity, Description, Relationships, and Control. Each descriptive element along
with its ISAAR (CPF) element number and EAC-CPF tag is listed in table form. Notes regarding ISAAR
(CPF) record content and xEAC data entry are given in adjacent columns.
5.1 Identity Area <cpfDescription>
<identity>
Element/Tag Name
5.1.1 Type of entity
<entityType>
ISAAR (CPF)
“person” or “corporateBody” only.
xEAC (Identity tab)
Select Entity Type from drop-down menu if
creating new record from database homepage or
within <cpfRelation> for another entity.
5.1.2 Authorized form of
name
<nameEntry>
Use LCNAF name if available. If not, create a
heading using DACS.
Click “+Import VIAF Data” option at top of screen
if authorized name available. Select authorized
name in VIAF; opt to import Names, Other Record
Ids, and Exist Dates. This should be done whether
creating a new record from the database
homepage, or going into a new record created
through <cpfRelation>. All entity records should
have imported VIAF data when available.
5.1.3 Parallel forms of
name
<nameEntryParallel>
If the entity does not have an authorized heading,
enter the devised name in the Part field. Enter
exist dates in Description tab (see 5.2.1 Dates of
existence below).
Automatically populated when data imported
from VIAF.
N/A
5.2 Description Area <cpfDescription>
<description>
Element/Tag Name
ISAAR (CPF)
xEAC (Description tab)
5.2.1 Dates of existence
<existDates>
If exist dates are not part of the LCNAF
authorized heading, record birth and death
dates in YYYY-MM-DD format.
Dates automatically populated when data
imported from VIAF.
If the name entry is devised, click “+Dates of
Existence” and “+Date Range.” Enter the FromStandard and To-Standard dates in YYYY-MM-DD
format.
Language(s) used
<languageUsed> ; multiple
languages wrapped in
<languagesUsed>
Added value element afforded by EAC-CPF.
List the language(s) in which the creator did
his/her work. Can add a brief 1-2 sentence
descriptive note explaining language usage.
5.2.2 History
<biogHist>
Biography; can copy directly from finding aid
if available.
Enter multiple language entries in wrapper
<languagesUsed>.
Use <descriptiveNote> if including 1-2 sentence
description. Do not need a <descriptiveNote> for
each language; one can be encoded within
<languagesUsed>.
Enter each paragraph of the bio separately within
a <p> tag.
If sources used to create original bio in
finding aid are listed, include as citations in
<citation xlink:href=anyURI> tags linking to
surrogate records for those sources.
5.2.3 Places
<place>; multiple places
wrapped in <places>
If creating new bio, include sources used in
<sources> element.
Include place of birth, death, residences,
important places in career, etc. Limit to most
prominent 5.
Select broadest applicable geographic
location (i.e., city proper rather than specific
suburb or neighborhood), if the more specific
location does not have an authorized
heading. Can provide specific location name
in a <descriptiveNote> tag.
Use LCNAF for authorized geographic name;
search here for linked data record:
http://id.loc.gov/. Enclose search term in
quotation marks to retrieve most relevant
result. May want to use exact term as listed
in LC Authorities: http://authorities.loc.gov/.
This is generally easier to use.
If geographic name is not in LCNAF, search
Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN) at
Enter multiple place entries in wrapper <places>.
Use <descriptiveNote> tag to provide more
specific description about a place.
*Latest implementation of xEAC should support
LCNAF geographic names. Need to test this
feature once local instance is operational.
http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocab
ularies/tgn/index.html.
5.2.5 Functions,
occupations and activities
<occupation>
<function>
*Document the URI for each place name.
Each personal entity will have 2 occupations
lists.
List One: Identify up to 5 broad occupation
terms associated with entity. Include a
descriptive note regarding relevance of
selected terms and which ones are described
in more detail (i.e. positions held).
List Two: Record most important 5 job titles
held (official title and institution where
employed) and associated place, dates, and
occupation term (e.g. Directors
(administrators)) for each one. Group job
titles associated with the same occupation
term together.
Use Getty AAT for occupation terms. Click on
“Semantic View” to get linked open data
view. Source URI is listed at top of record.
*Document the URI for each occupation term
used.
5.2.8 General context
<generalContext>
Use to document schools of thought the
entity belonged to. No limit on the number
of schools included. Use for personal entities
only.
Use LCSH for authorized topical headings;
search here for linked data record:
http://id.loc.gov/. Enclose search term in
quotation marks to retrieve most relevant
result. May want to use exact term as listed
in LC Authorities: http://authorities.loc.gov/.
This is generally easier to use.
Use <occupation> for persons and <function> for
corporate bodies. Enter multiple occupation
entries in wrapper <occupations>; multiple
function entries in wrapper <functions>.
To encode data in the first list, click
“+Occupations”. Enter each broad term in its own
<occupation> tag by clicking “+Occupation.” Make
sure Interface Type is set to Getty AAT and search
for term. Automatically populates AAT terms
when searched and exports associated URIs.
Encode descriptive note by clicking “+Descriptive
Note” and “+Paragraph.”
*xEAC occasionally will not be able to retrieve the
appropriate term. When this occurs, a term will
need to be added by hand in the XML file, hence
documentation of URIs in the ISAAR (CPF) record.
To encode data in the second list, click
“+Occupations.” Encode each job title associated
with the same broad AAT term AND the same
place in one <occupation> tag by clicking on
“+Occupation.” In order to capture the granularity
needed, click on “+Descriptive Note” and enter
each job title in its own <p> tag by clicking
“+Paragraph.” Click “+Place Entry” to enter the
place of the jobs listed. Repeat <occupation> tag
steps for each occupation/place combination.
Click “+Date Range” or “+Date Set” and enter the
range of years covered by the jobs listed.
Not currently supported in xEAC. Will need to be
added by hand in XML file.
Each school of thought must have its own
<generalContext> tag. Use attribute @localType to
include LCSH URI (i.e. <generalContext localType=
“[value]”>). Wrap term in <p> tag within
<generalContext>.
Insert between <biogHist> and <occupations>.
*Document the URI for each topical heading
used. Use the top one listed in the LC
authority record on id.loc.gov.
5.3 Relationships Area <cpfDescription>
<relations>
Element/Tag Name
ISAAR (CPF)
5.3.1 Name of related
entity (authorized form of
name)
<cpfRelation>;
<relationEntry>
Use LCNAF name if available. If not, create a
heading using DACS.
xEAC (Relations tab)
Click on “+CPF Relation.”
If adding a new entry to the database, enter the
name in the Relation Entry field. You will then
have the option to create a new EAC-CPF record
for that entity. After clicking “Create Record,”
generate a Record ID and select the Xlink Arcrole
(“associatedWith”) and Xlink Role (“Person” or
“Corporate Body”) from the available drop-down
menus.
If adding an entry that already exists in the
database, click the “@” symbol above the Relation
Entry field. Interface Type is Internal Link. Click on
the “Search” button to display all existing entries.
After selecting the appropriate one, select the
Xlink Arcrole (“associatedWith”) and Xlink Role
(“Person” or “Corporate Body”) from the dropdown menus.
Populated when Xlink Arcrole (“associatedWith”)
is selected.
5.3.2 Category of
relationship
<cpfRelation
cpfRelationType="[value]">
; we are using
<resourceRelation
xlink:arcrole=“[value]”>
5.3.3 Description of
relationship
<descriptiveNote>
“associative” only. May opt for another
category later.
Brief description of how the entities are
related. No more than 1-2 sentences, unless
content is highly important and not covered
in other areas of the record.
Use one <p> tag within <descriptiveNote>. If more
than 1-2 sentences, use multiple <p> tags.
5.3.4 Dates of the
relationship
<cpfRelation>/<date> or
<dateRange> or <dateSet>
YYYY, or YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD format.
If a single date range, use <dateRange>. Enter the
From-Standard and To-Standard dates in YYYY,
YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD format.
If multiple dates or date ranges with gaps in years,
use <dateSet>. Click “+Date” to enter a single date
and “+Date Range” to enter a range within
<dateSet>. Enter all dates in in YYYY, YYYY-MM, or
YYYY-MM-DD format.
5.4 Control Area <control>
Element/Tag Name
ISAAR (CPF)
xEAC (Control tab)
5.4.1 Authority record
identifier
<recordId>
N/A
5.4.2 Institution identifiers
<agencyName>
N/A
5.4.3 Rules and/or
conventions
<conventionDeclaration>
N/A
Automatically populated when data is imported
from a controlled vocabulary.
5.4.4 Status
<maintenanceStatus>
N/A
Automatically updated, but can be changed via
drop-down menu of options.
5.4.5 Level of detail
<localControl>
N/A
N/A
5.4.6 Dates of creation,
revision, or deletion
<maintenanceEvent>/
<eventDateTime>
N/A
5.4.7 Language and script
<languageDeclaration>
N/A
Automatically generates maintenance Event Type,
Event Date/Time, and Agent Type. If the Agent
Type is set to “human”, then you need to enter
your name in the Agent field in order to save
changes made in any part of the record.
Maintenance events are created any time a record
is altered.
N/A
5.4.8 Sources
<source>; multiple sources
wrapped in <sources>
List all sources consulted in preparing the
ISAAR (CPF) record content. Format as
bibliographic citations.
Not currently supported by xEAC; Control tab has
a heading for “Sources” but no means of entering
data. Will need to be added by hand in XML file.
Cite finding aid (if the biography was taken
directly from it).
Within <source>, wrap individual bibliographic
citation in <sourceEntry>. No formatting within
<sourceEntry>; text only. Enter multiple source
entries in wrapper <sources>.
N/A
N/A. May opt to use later.
5.4.9 Maintenance notes
<maintenanceEvent>/
<maintenanceDescription>
An automatic ID can be generated for new records
created through <cpfRelation>. Records created
through database homepage need IDs to be
manually entered.
To be programmed in database.
Publication Status
<publicationStatus>
N/A
Added-value EAC-CPF tag. Default setting should
be “inProcess”. All should be set to “inProcess”
until ready to export. Can then change to
“approved”.
Relating Corporate Bodies, Persons, and Families to Archival Materials and Other
Resources <cpfDescription>
<relations>
Element/Tag Name
6.1 Identifier and title of
related resource
<resourceRelation>;
<relationEntry>
ISAAR (CPF)
Title proper of the resource. Include a URI to
the resource itself or its surrogate record.
Include all related CTA archival collections;
use finding aid URIs.
Include up to 5 publications from the CTA
book collection; use ANTPAC record URIs.
6.2 Type of related
resource
<resourceRelation
xlink:role="[value]">
6.3 Nature of relationship
<resourceRelation
resourceRelationType="[val
ue]">; we are using
<resourceRelation
xlink:arcrole=“[value]”>
6.4 Dates of related
resources and/or
relationships
<resourceRelation>/<date>
or <dateRange> or
<dateSet>
Identify type of resource using an AAT term.
When the appropriate term is located using
http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocab
ularies/aat/, look it up using the SPARQL
endpoint: http://vocab.getty.edu/.
*Document the URI.
“creatorOf” or “subjectOf” are noted in the
EAC-CPF tag library. We are adding
“editorOf”.
xEAC (Relations tab)
Click on “+ Resource Relation.”
Enter the title proper of the resource in the
Relation Entry field and click on the “@” symbol.
This opens a dialog box labeled “Establish
Relationship”. Enter the resource or surrogate
record URI in the Xlink Href field.
*Note: We will not be using the import from
DBpedia option at this time, as resources included
are beyond the scope of the pilot project.
In the “Establish Relationship” dialog box, enter
the URI for the resource type in the Xlink Role
field.
In the “Establish Relationship” dialog box, select
the Xlink Arcrole from the drop-down menu.
*Default value is “creatorOf”. Need to add
“subjectOf” and “editorOf” to xEAC settings.
Date(s) of related resource only. Use YYYY, or If a single date range, use <dateRange>. Enter the
YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD format.
From-Standard and To-Standard dates in YYYY,
YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD format.
If multiple dates or date ranges with gaps in years,
use <dateSet>. Click “+Date” to enter a single date
and “+Date Range” to enter a range within
<dateSet>. Enter all dates in in YYYY, YYYY-MM, or
YYYY-MM-DD format.