“Encoded Archival Description: Are Finding Aids Boundary Spanners or Barriers for Users?” Review

• Yakel, Elizabeth. "Encoded Archival Description: Are Finding Aids Boundary Spanners or Barriers for Users?" Journal of Archival Organization 2 (2004): 63-77.

This article addresses the usability of the Encoded Archival Description (EAD) standard for archival finding aids. Yakel points out that most of the attention on EAD has been on its development as a standard. While EAD is a good format for storing information about collections, Yakel asks whether it makes collections somewhat transparent to users. More specifically, she asks if EAD acts as a barrier or boundary spanner for patrons using archival collections. To determine the usability of EAD for patrons, Yakel set up a usability test using six subjects who were asked to find certain types of information within the finding aids of the Historic Pittsburgh Finding Aids at the University of Pittsburgh. The subjects used in this test were graduate students in information science, although not in archival science, so they would probably be more informed about the general concepts of information retrieval than average patrons.

In essence, the results of the findability test were not good. The subjects tested had several problems in using EAD finding aids to find specific information. Many of the tasks that the subjects found difficult would probably have been less difficult had the site used some commonly accepted principles of web usability. Unfamiliar archival terms and unsophisticated search habits also complicated finding the required information. However, the subjects were able to find some of the information they needed. Ultimately, Yakel found that EAD finding aids ultimately act as both barriers and boundary spanners.