Supporting Databases, Part 1

This sounds like an Oscar category...And the nominees for Best Supporting Database in a Digital Conversion Project are: Accessions. Institutions. People. Places.

The supporting databases in the project allow us to regularize and make a consistent way in which to store and retrieve information. At the present time, there are four supporting databases: Accessions, Institutions, People, Places. There are additional supporting documents that we created and used such the Microfilm Conversion Chart. Fellow Adams Slip File encoder and blogger Susan Martin worked with the Accessions and Institutions databases as well as the Microfilm Conversion Chart and MHS Collection Codes, so she will write on them.

As mentioned in the post on 15 December 2010, at that time the People database contained 19,454 names. This number will fluctuate a bit as digital control file staff and Adams Papers editors identify duplicate entries and/or clarify & identify more fully those records for which staff have more information. Occasionally also we find names skipped during encoding level 2; this generally was the result of the density or complexity of a record.

The Places database was the first to be built and populated during Level 1 Encoding. In Level 2, while not a focus, we took the opporutnity to review attributes and perform basic data clean-up if necessary. The Places database contains 3,090 records: from Abbeville to Zwolle.

The fields we populated in Level 1 in the Places database are location, city, state, country, and notes. The location field is the controlled form of the entry - the attribute. Generally the first time a city appeared it received a one word attribute: "quincy", "tallahassee", and "athol" for example. However, once the country expanded, we were left with the task of differentiating between places with the same name in different states and/or countries. A good example is Burlington. We have eight different records for Burlington: "burlington", "burlington-county", "burlington-ia", "burlington-ma", "burlington-me", "burlington-nj", "burlington-ny", and "burlington-vt". We assigned the fullest known attribute to distinguish one from the other. However, sometimes the address listed simply says Burlington. In these instances it was not always possible to determine if it was the Burlington in Massachusetts or some other state.

This is a long way of saying we did the best we could with the information we had. As with the People database, the Adams Papers editors can use their expertise to help solidly define and identify a place if needed.

Place names and attributes

The element for place includes an attribute for a specific authority-controlled location. Thus, text that appears as "35 Court Street, Philadelphia" should be tagged as

<place location="philadelphia">35 Court Street, Philadelphia</place>

In controlling the attribute names in a separate database, all locations should (when possible) be listed at the city level. The default city is assumed to be in Massachusetts and then the U.S. If there is a duplicate, then you should add a hyphen (with no spaces) and the two-letter state postal code. If it is a duplicate name in a foreign country then you should add a hyphen and the full country name.

For example, London is understood to be "london", but Plymouth when alone is assumed to be Massachusetts, but if it is Plymouth, England then the attribute should read "plymouth-england" or likewise Plymouth, New Hampshire is "plymouth-nh."

Check the place name directory to confirm the authority spelling. When adding a new place name to the directory, use the Getty Thesaurus English spelling.

If only the county name is known, render it with a hyphen, all lower case, i.e. "suffolk-county."

Lastly, sometimes there are several locations listed. The first city name should be in the main location attribute. Subsequent place name attributes can be added as empty tags.

Checklist for Encoding Level 1

We are currently 35% through Encoding Level 1 which involves inputting proofreading corrections, verifying the basic code and creating the first of several authority look-up tables--this one for place names. The work is still broken down by reel. The following is the checklist for each record.

To open a new file for encoding level 1:

--Open new XML file through the Tortoise SVN Directory at C:\Repositories\slipfile\xml\proofread and confirm that the file name ends in “_level1”

--Confirm that FULL_schemaV2_MR.rng is associated through the Tortoise SVN Directory at C:\Repositories\slipfile\xml\schemas (reassociate if the red underlines don’t appear)

--Run the XSL transformation copyformat.xsl; overwrite the new file under same name.

--Commit these changes by right clicking on the slipfile folder on your C:\ drive and selecting "SVN Commit" from the drop down menu. Select the files to commit, click "OK" and then type in your password.

To open a working file for encoding level 1:

--Open XML file through the Tortoise SVN Directory at C:\Repositories\slipfile\xml\level1

--Enter changes and save periodically to the Tortoise SVN Directory at C:\Repositories\slipfile\xml\level1

--When finished with work, commit changes by right clicking on the slipfile folder on your C:\ drive and selecting "SVN Commit" from the drop down menu. Select the files to commit, click "OK" and then type in your password.
For each record:

Input proofreading file changes

--Confirm @color, enter if absent (if you delete the entire @color and hit the space bar, a drop down menu will appear with possible attributes and values). The choices are: 1pink, 2yellow, 3white, 4blue, or 5goldenrod

--Confirm <place>, remove unnecessary information from @location and confirm correct English spelling; confirm place name against Excel spreadsheet list and add new authority names to list i.e. “Philadelphia, 31 South Street” should have a @location value of “Philadelphia”

--Confirm <code>, use drop down prompts to fill in attributes when necessary Codes that are not @type=Accesssion, Letterbook, Miscellany or Diary should be encoded as “General” under the @type, i.e. “TS Wills and Deeds”

--Confirm <length>, enter value in @pages if absent: add multiple page numbers listed, i.e. if there is an enclosure and <length>2 p., 3 p. </length> then the total value for @pages= “5”.

--Confirm <copy>, enter value for @format. The copyformat.xsl should have populated most of these. when there are two values, one for MS and one for XPr (or the like), copy @format should have “Manuscript” as value and the subsequent XPr’s should be encoded as a note

--Confirm <date>, verify that populated dates are correct, confirm all attributes are present as necessary, enter @to for date ranges and any other appropriate @.

Most of the date should be automatically populated, except for date ranges. A date range will have the first date entered as an @when, the encoder must enter the end date in @to as year-month-day. For unknown months or days, enter “99” . For conjectural or corrected dates, encode the corrected date. For questions, check Master Encoding Guide.i.e., "1 January 1799 [i.e. 1800]" should be @when="1800-01-01".

--Add new slips found in paper file, create new ID number at end of reel

--Cross check any changes in the Corrections Binder (may be redundant, but important!)

Master Encoding Guide: Place

Record Content: Place

If a place is included on the slip, it will follow the date on the top line. Place names should be transcribed as they appear, either abbreviated or spelled out, tagged with <place> element. Place names are controlled through two attributes: location and axis.

Required Attributes

@location.
If a place name appears on the slip, it is usually rendered exactly as it appears in the document, therefore "The Hague" might be written in the French, "La Haye," if it appeared that way on the original manuscript. The value of the @location should have the English spelling of the city only. Any other place information, for examle a street address, will be found in the text of the record. If two city locations are included, both cities will be listed as the value of @location, separated with one white space. When there is a question about the proper English spelling of a city, consult the Getty Thesaurus for Geographic Names.

Example: <place location="The Hague">La haye</place>
<place location="Philadelphia">Philadelphia, 32 South Street</place>
<place location="Braintree Quincy">Braintree and Quincy<place>

Most of the city names have been automatically populated using XSL transformation. Encoders need to just check that the values are English city names only.

Optional Attributes

@axis.
There is an optional attribute to include the axis point for a given location. This information is provided in the Getty Thesaurus. The rules for encoding the longitude and latitude axis points will be determined during encoding level 2.

Encoding Guide. Place

Record: PLACE
If a place is included on the record, it will follow the date on the top line. Place names should be recorded as they appear, either abbreviated or spelled out, coded with the <pl> tag.

<pl>Phila.</pl>

<pl>Philadelphia</pl>

<pl>Paris, France</pl>