AT Issues: Box Ranges

The most recent issue we've encountered that I'm sure others out there have already concerns box ranges. When EAD is imported into the AT with a range in the <container type="Box"> tag (e.g. <container type="Box">1-2</container> or <container type="Box">3, 256</container>), the AT creates a single instance for that component (e.g. Box 1-2 or Box 3, 256), rather than separate instances for each. The problem is that each instance is likely to have a separate barcode, box type and perhaps even location. When you click on Manage Locations, for example, you are presented with a single instance to which multiple, separate values need to be assigned. There are a few options at this point to address the issue.

First, and perhaps least desirous, is to fix your EAD to eliminate box ranges. Aside from the considerable labor/programming involved, your only option is to create separate components (i.e. clones) for each instance rather than one component with multiple instances. This is because although AT (1.5.9) allows you to create and export components with multiple instances (i.e. <c0x> with multiple <container type="Box"> tags, it does not allow you to import such in the same fashion. Instead, each (and only up to 3) is imported as a separate container type into a single instance. All subquent instances tied to a component are lost. Fortunately, I am told that version 2.0 will support import of multiple instances if parent/id attributes are used for each container tag.

Second, you can fix (i.e. break apart) the ranges in the AT. You can do this in two different ways depending on how you want to characterize each instance. One, you can create separate components (i.e. clones) for each instance. Two, you can create multiple instances within a single component. The problem with the first option is that your resource/finding aid loses scanability, includes somewhat redundant info, and may grow quite large if you have several sizable ranges. The problem with the second approach is that you will need a style sheet to customize display of instances, perhaps turning back into a range if you so choose.

We've decided to address the box range issue in a combination approach, fixing some instances in EAD, addressing most programmatically in the AT with code we're developing to clone components part of ranges. Hopefully this code can be added to one of our existing plug ins that assigns other instance info, allowing others the option of creating clones for components part of a range. More to come on that soon.