Welcome to the RLG EAD Report Card (Desktop Version)—a tool to help the archival community produce excellent EAD 2002 finding aids, by ensuring conformance with RLG's best practice guidelines for Encoded Archival Description.

A few notes before you get started.

The report card expects your files to be in XML and to be encoded in EAD DTD Version 2002.

First use the Choose File button to locate an EAD file on your hard drive, in the "documents" folder included in the EAD Report Card files.

Next, select the report you want to receive: one that checks just for "Mandatory" as well as "Mandatory if applicable" elements and attributes identified in RLG's best practice guidelines, or one that looks at all elements and attributes in the guidelines, including those that are "Recommended" and "Optional."

Then just press the Start button.

When the report on your document is ready it will appear here, with your EAD source file below it. In many cases you can click on the "View Context" link to display the encoded element in question in context.

Larger files may take a long time.

We welcome your feedback on using this tool to help in enhancing EAD finding aids production.