DFAS: The Distributed Finding Aid Search System
D-Lib magazine
[January 2000]
Smith, MacKenzie
.
Copyright (c) 2000 Corporation for National Research Initiatives
Abstract: EAD-encoded finding aids are proving to be a significant part of the metadata strategy of the emerging digital library. During 1998-99, the Digital Library Federation underwrote a project proposed by the University of Michigan and Harvard University to develop an automated system for distributed online searching of EAD-encoded finding aids. The participating institutions were, in addition to Michigan and Harvard, Columbia University, Indiana University, and Oxford University. The project, known as the Distributed Finding Aid Server (DFAS), was completed in July of 1999 with the publication of a final report. This article summarizes the project and discusses some of the major issues that were identified by it.