[Archivesspace_Users_Group] Agents with topical (or other) subdivisions in ASpace

Wed Aug 12 13:01:27 EDT 2015

Thanks for the tip, Mark! With 1200+ EADs that have this issue, I think
it's safe to say that we subdivide agents frequently. We'll have to watch
out for this!

Max

On Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 12:39 PM, Custer, Mark <mark.custer at yale.edu> wrote:

> Yep, that’s the way the way to do it.  But there may be yet another
> surprise in order – at least, there was one for me.
>
>
>
> As it turns out, those terms and subdivisions that you add to agent and
> subject records are not linked to subject records.  Instead, they’re added
> to the term table.  Also, there’s no typeahead feature when adding those
> terms, as you’ll notice, but the application will link up  to pre-existing
> term values….  as long as you spell everything the same and the type that’s
> selected is the same as the pre-existing value.  If someone accidentally
> chooses temporal instead of topical, for instance, you could wind up with
> two “Advertising” terms in your term table, for example, that you’ll want
> to clean up later on.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* archivesspace_users_group-bounces at lyralists.lyrasis.org [mailto:
> archivesspace_users_group-bounces at lyralists.lyrasis.org] *On Behalf Of *Max
> Eckard
> *Sent:* Wednesday, August 12, 2015 11:18 AM
>
> *To:* Archivesspace Users Group
> *Subject:* Re: [Archivesspace_Users_Group] Agents with topical (or other)
> subdivisions in ASpace
>
>
>
> Hello everyone,
>
>
>
> First things first... thank you for your replies!
>
>
>
> Second, I have to admit that when we first sent the email, we didn't
> actually realize that there is indeed a way to add terms and subdivisions
> to agents with the role of subject in resources in ASpace (that's a
> mouthful!), because we had only been looking at agents. Reading your
> replies, though, it became apparent that we were missing something, and
> when we checked, we were pleasantly surprised to find this:
>
>
>
> [image: Inline image 1]
>
>
>
> That doesn't actually help with importing these types of agents into
> ASpace, but we think we have an idea. We're hoping to be able to import the
> agent (before the first subdivision) ahead of time, associate the resulting
> ASpace ref with it in our EAD, split out the rest of the terms in a
> meaningful way (we've done that in the past by comparing those subdivisions
> to subdivisions with type subfields in our MARC records), and then, upon
> import of the resource, add the subdivisions in ASpace.
>
>
>
> That being said, here are some more specific replies:
>
>
>
> Mathew: No, we're not an Archon user. We've been using a homegrown system
> to create and manage our EADs, and for about the past six months or so
> we've been prepping these EADs for import into ASpace. If you or anyone
> else is interested, here's a shameless plug for our blog's entries on our
> ASpace adventures
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__archival-2Dintegration.blogspot.com_search_label_ArchivesSpace&d=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=s7ciGQfUJeaV_ryx908hbeXDoU9aqDwDN0Z0VbfsJ3Y&m=RE3N8tkNqXetDN1hc5EJt_JrGH1JVyb2uxXR9LkVwkg&s=PycTi2PaorERDLNDxQ0FGVIhytvHWJgPgUIg2BiykSY&e=>
> .
>
>
>
> Maura: I think we'll try to figure out a way to implement the solution we
> described above, and if that doesn't work, your suggestion seems like a
> reasonable and researcher-friendly alternative.
>
>
>
> Kevin: We appreciated hearing about your experience and the reasoning
> behind it. We won't be using the public display, but it's interesting to
> note that this is an issue with the public interface. It's also nice to
> know that agents-as-subjects-with-subdivisions export to MARC properly.
>
>
>
> Thanks again for your replies!
>
>
>
> Max
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 11, 2015 at 4:54 PM, Kevin Clair <Kevin.Clair at du.edu> wrote:
>
> 1.       We were able to migrate our agents-as-creators and
> agents-as-subjects separately and have them display as such in the staff
> frontend, which we managed because they were stored in separate fields in
> our last collection management system. The public site won’t display
> “Creator” or “Subject” the same way the frontend does; it will only display
> more specific relator terms. Example:
> http://duarchives.coalliance.org/repositories/2/resources/496
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__duarchives.coalliance.org_repositories_2_resources_496&d=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=s7ciGQfUJeaV_ryx908hbeXDoU9aqDwDN0Z0VbfsJ3Y&m=RE3N8tkNqXetDN1hc5EJt_JrGH1JVyb2uxXR9LkVwkg&s=Ixzq3lIv0vSQszsHnuI2fqG0TOYNEVgy_LQjlEheDEc&e=>
>
>
>
> 2.       We went with option #2 when we migrated, because it was easier
> and because at the time I didn’t know how the “Terms and Subdivisions” in
> the Agent Links form worked. Ideally I would like to switch over to option
> #1, but it’s been a low priority, and there are some issues with how the
> public site displays agent links with terms and subdivisions in that make
> me not want to devote time to it.
>
>
>
> An example of this on our site is here:
> http://duarchives.coalliance.org/repositories/2/resources/725
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__duarchives.coalliance.org_repositories_2_resources_725&d=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=s7ciGQfUJeaV_ryx908hbeXDoU9aqDwDN0Z0VbfsJ3Y&m=RE3N8tkNqXetDN1hc5EJt_JrGH1JVyb2uxXR9LkVwkg&s=nQn-5BlUexeie7cfOyajaDlwBud7DrYldzVHr5QXz3g&e=>.
> The “University of Denver” agent link there is actually “University of
> Denver – Libraries”, and it does correctly exports “Libraries” as a 610$x
> in the MARC export, but you wouldn’t know it from the public display.  -k
>
>
>
> *From:* archivesspace_users_group-bounces at lyralists.lyrasis.org [mailto:
> archivesspace_users_group-bounces at lyralists.lyrasis.org] *On Behalf Of *Maura
> Carbone
> *Sent:* Tuesday, August 11, 2015 2:31 PM
> *To:* Archivesspace Users Group
> *Subject:* Re: [Archivesspace_Users_Group] Agents with topical (or other)
> subdivisions in ASpace
>
>
>
> Hi Matthew,
>
> I'm not entirely sure what you mean by no distinction between creator and
> subject with regards to agents. Do you mean that you have two agents, one
> with the role of 'creator' and one with the role of 'subject'? Or do you
> mean it is bringing in things that should be classified as subjects as
> agents? Subjects are separate from Agents in ASpace (see an example from
> one of our collections here:
> http://findingaids.brandeis.edu/repositories/2/resources/20
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__findingaids.brandeis.edu_repositories_2_resources_20&d=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=s7ciGQfUJeaV_ryx908hbeXDoU9aqDwDN0Z0VbfsJ3Y&m=RE3N8tkNqXetDN1hc5EJt_JrGH1JVyb2uxXR9LkVwkg&s=xH1484xwjtYaopVRyE_gN8mEC6RDhc1Mz3z7OnpqY0Q&e=>),
> but it is possible that the Archon import tool is only interpreting these
> as agents and not subjects.
>
>
>
> Max -- I'm not a cataloger or a metadata expert so just personal opinion,
> but #2 sounds the most feasible given how ASpace displays agents and
> subjects. Either that somewhat of a middle ground: in that example agents
> would be UMich and American Brass Company, and Subjects would be the whole
> term (University of Michigan--Students--Political activity.) That might
> be a bit more clear for users.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> -Maura
>
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 11, 2015 at 4:20 PM, Matthew J Gorzalski <
> mGorzalski at lib.siu.edu> wrote:
>
> Are you an Archon user?  We have related agent problems coming from Archon
> to ASpace.  Our test migrations show that any collection that has a
> corporate/personal name as both the creator and as a subject will migrate
> BOTH into ASpace under the agent field with NO distinction between creator
> and subject.  Our example is an artificial collection called Morris Library
> Photograph Collection where Morris Library is both creator and subject.  In
> Archon you can clearly distinguish between these two roles because Creators
> and Subjects are separate sections.  But in ArchivesSpace they are both
> lumped into Agents and given that generic non-descript person icon.  So it
> is confusing for researchers to see two Morris Library entries under Agents
> because their roles are not distinguished.  This same public interface
> design flaw works the same for any collection using a name as subject and
> creator.
>
>
>
> Mat Gorzalski
>
> SIU Carbondale
>
>
>
> *From:* archivesspace_users_group-bounces at lyralists.lyrasis.org [mailto:
> archivesspace_users_group-bounces at lyralists.lyrasis.org] *On Behalf Of *Max
> Eckard
> *Sent:* Tuesday, August 11, 2015 2:45 PM
> *To:* Archivesspace Users Group <
> archivesspace_users_group at lyralists.lyrasis.org>
> *Subject:* [Archivesspace_Users_Group] Agents with topical (or other)
> subdivisions in ASpace
>
>
>
> Hello ASpacers!
>
>
>
> We've been working on importing agents into ArchivesSpace, but have run
> into an issue. As an example, we have a number of <corpname> elements that
> are subdivided with topical subjects, like so:
>
>    - University of Michigan--Students--Political activity.
>    - University of Michigan--Faculty.
>    - American Brass Company--Strikes.
>
> The issue we've encountered is that there is no space in ASpace for agents
> that are subdivided in this way. Note: we are not talking about agents with
> primary and subordinate names (with periods in between them)--ASpace
> handles these just fine! We've been thinking about a number of ways to
> handle this:
>
>    1. We could divide up these terms so that the first term gets imported
>    as an agent (in the examples above, corporate entity) and the rest of the
>    term gets imported as a subject (or a subdivided subject). We've
>    experimented a little with this here
>    <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__github.com_bentley-2Dhistorical-2Dlibrary_vandura_compare_master...eckardm-3Amaster&d=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=s7ciGQfUJeaV_ryx908hbeXDoU9aqDwDN0Z0VbfsJ3Y&m=RE3N8tkNqXetDN1hc5EJt_JrGH1JVyb2uxXR9LkVwkg&s=Qzr6hSgdFbcoPFz63l8nklKnVfyhfsSLJV2JHIwPac0&e=>.
>    The problem with this approach is that subdividing names/agents is a
>    longstanding practice here (and totally acceptable in MARC), and making a
>    change like this would require making an even (arguably) bigger change to
>    descriptive practices here and cause issues with exporting MARC records
>    from ASpace.
>    2. We could just leave the whole string, dash dashes and all, as the
>    primary form of name. This could work, but it seems inelegant, since each
>    variation would be imported as a new agent, even though we're only
>    referring to one.
>    3. We could change these to subjects, but that doesn't seem quite
>    right either, since agents can have the role of subject.
>
> We've been trying to consider all angles, including what affect a change
> like this could have on researcher searching and browsing. Now we're
> wondering what you all do. Do you have subdivided agents (<corpname>s,
> <famname>s and <persname>s)? If so, how have you imported these into ASpace?
>
>
>
> Thank you for your time!
>
>
>
> Max
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> *Max Eckard*
> *Assistant Archivist for Digital Curation*
>
>
>
> [image: https://webapps.lsa.umich.edu/dean/lsa_emails/bentley-sig-em.png]
>
> Bentley Historical Library
>
> 1150 Beal Ave.
> Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2113
> 734/763-7518 <734.763.7518>
>
> http://bentley.umich.edu/
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bentley.umich.edu_&d=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=s7ciGQfUJeaV_ryx908hbeXDoU9aqDwDN0Z0VbfsJ3Y&m=RE3N8tkNqXetDN1hc5EJt_JrGH1JVyb2uxXR9LkVwkg&s=Hic1lQ4rdpj7dyfe7hmbO0soMK5v2ihjJx-V8Z1GUI8&e=>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Archivesspace_Users_Group mailing list
> Archivesspace_Users_Group at lyralists.lyrasis.org
> http://lyralists.lyrasis.org/mailman/listinfo/archivesspace_users_group
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lyralists.lyrasis.org_mailman_listinfo_archivesspace-5Fusers-5Fgroup&d=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=s7ciGQfUJeaV_ryx908hbeXDoU9aqDwDN0Z0VbfsJ3Y&m=RE3N8tkNqXetDN1hc5EJt_JrGH1JVyb2uxXR9LkVwkg&s=IO_6_zp42NhAnqbK4CwGyZrnIggGq_zhqGRd20jtdi4&e=>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Maura Carbone
>
> Digital Initiatives Librarian
> Brandeis University
> Library and Technology Services
> (781) 736-4659
> 415 South Street, (MS 017/P.O. Box 549110)
> Waltham, MA 02454-9110
> email: mauraa at brandeis.edu
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Archivesspace_Users_Group mailing list
> Archivesspace_Users_Group at lyralists.lyrasis.org
> http://lyralists.lyrasis.org/mailman/listinfo/archivesspace_users_group
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lyralists.lyrasis.org_mailman_listinfo_archivesspace-5Fusers-5Fgroup&d=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=s7ciGQfUJeaV_ryx908hbeXDoU9aqDwDN0Z0VbfsJ3Y&m=RE3N8tkNqXetDN1hc5EJt_JrGH1JVyb2uxXR9LkVwkg&s=IO_6_zp42NhAnqbK4CwGyZrnIggGq_zhqGRd20jtdi4&e=>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> *Max Eckard*
> *Assistant Archivist for Digital Curation*
>
>
>
> [image: https://webapps.lsa.umich.edu/dean/lsa_emails/bentley-sig-em.png]
>
> Bentley Historical Library
>
> 1150 Beal Ave.
> Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2113
> 734/763-7518 <734.763.7518>
>
> http://bentley.umich.edu/
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bentley.umich.edu_&d=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=s7ciGQfUJeaV_ryx908hbeXDoU9aqDwDN0Z0VbfsJ3Y&m=RE3N8tkNqXetDN1hc5EJt_JrGH1JVyb2uxXR9LkVwkg&s=Hic1lQ4rdpj7dyfe7hmbO0soMK5v2ihjJx-V8Z1GUI8&e=>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Archivesspace_Users_Group mailing list
> Archivesspace_Users_Group at lyralists.lyrasis.org
> http://lyralists.lyrasis.org/mailman/listinfo/archivesspace_users_group
>
>

-- 
*Max Eckard*
*Assistant Archivist for Digital Curation*

Bentley Historical Library
1150 Beal Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2113
734/763-7518 <734.763.7518>
http://bentley.umich.edu/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lyralists.lyrasis.org/pipermail/archivesspace_users_group/attachments/20150812/16d9133c/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 45480 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lyralists.lyrasis.org/pipermail/archivesspace_users_group/attachments/20150812/16d9133c/attachment.png>