Webinar Series: Controlled Vocabularies

SAA’s Description Section and the Technical Subcommittee on Encoded Archival Standards invite you to a three-part webinar series on controlled vocabularies. This series will review the purpose of data value standards, how to approach their usage, and the current encoding options in Encoded Archival Description (EAD) and Encoded Archival Context (EAC-CPF). Along with other technical aspects of their implementation, the sessions will provide examples of the practical application of controlled vocabularies in the context of reparative description projects and similar activities. 

You can attend all three webinars as a series, but it will also be possible to participate in each of them independently. While the sessions will relate to the same overall topic, they do not require you to have attended the previous session to follow along. 

The series will be run in two sets to accommodate a global audience and community, with Set 1 happening at a time workable for colleagues in Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania and Set 2 running at a time workable for anyone in the Americas. A separate registration form for each set is available below.

Set 1 (Central European time zone schedule; registration for all three sessions at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUud-CqrzgsG9GoLUlkJhGybWqrCQcqUxHJ)

Session 1: Overview of controlled vocabulary use

This webinar will provide an overview of the use of controlled access generally in the description of archival materials, with a focus on the types of access terms, tips and tricks for selecting them, and how to search a few vocabularies commonly used, such as LCSH, VIAF, GeoNames, the Getty AAT, and Wikidata next to national vocabularies.

15 March, 9am CET (8am UTC)

Speakers will include: Kerstin Arnold (Archives Portal Europe), ​​Manonmani Restif and Louis Vignaud (Ministry of Culture, France), Santiago Muriel and Javier Requejo (Ministry of Culture and Sport, Subdirection of State Archives, Spain)

Session 2: Encoding controlled terms in archival descriptions

This session will review available practices for encoding controlled vocabulary terms in archival encoding standards, with a focus on Encoded Archival Description (EAD) and the element <controlaccess> with its child elements, but also looking at the new version of Encoded Archival Context (EAC-CPF). Furthermore, this session will look at the connection of these practices to authority files creation and maintenance.

29 March, 9am CET (8am UTC)

Speakers will include: Kerstin Arnold (Archives Portal Europe), Gerhard Müller (Berlin State Library – Prussian Cultural Heritage)

Session 3: Controlled vocabularies in practice

This session will present use cases for the application of controlled vocabularies in practice, with examples ranging from reparative description projects, focusing on options for selecting and revising controlled vocabulary terms in archival descriptions, to projects related to current events such as documenting the COVID pandemic and its impact on a close community.
12 April, 9am CEST (7am UTC)

Speakers will include: Kirsten Wright (University of Melbourne), Yanlin Li (Fudan University Libraries)

Set 2 (U.S. Eastern time zone schedule; registration for all three sessions at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIvceGsqz8jHdSZneNTILOctm08D6m5onW1)

Session 1: Overview of controlled vocabulary use

This webinar will provide an overview of the use of controlled access generally in the description of archival materials, with a focus on the types of access terms, tips and tricks for selecting them, and how to search a few vocabularies commonly used in the U.S., including LCSH and the Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus.

22 March, 12pm EDT (4pm UTC)

Speakers will include: Michele Combs (Syracuse University Special Collections Research Center), Anna McCormick (New York University Libraries)

Session 2: Encoding controlled terms in archival descriptions

This session will review available practices for encoding controlled vocabulary terms in archival encoding standards, with a focus on Encoded Archival Description (EAD) and the element <controlaccess>, but also looking at the new version of Encoded Archival Context (EAC-CPF). Furthermore, this session will look at their implementation and use in ArchivesSpace.

29 March, 12pm EDT (4pm UTC)

Speakers will include: Alexander Duryee (New York Public Library), Regine Heberlein (Princeton University Library)

Session 3: Controlled vocabularies in practice

This session will present use cases for the application of controlled vocabularies in practice, with examples from reparative description projects focusing on options for selecting and revising controlled vocabulary terms in archival descriptions.
12 April, 12pm EDT (4pm UTC)

Speakers will include: Ashley Gosselar (Moderator, University of Chicago Library), Michelle Cronquist (University of North Carolina Libraries), Rachel Searcy (New York University), and John DeSantis (Dartmouth College.