Category Archives: TARO News

Introduction to TARO: Encoding and Submitting Finding Aids Workshops funded by THRAB

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The Texas Historical Records Advisory Board (THRAB) has announced free spring training opportunities on encoding finding aids to enhance the collection access efforts of historical and genealogical societies, archives, museums, libraries, colleges, local governments and other institutions who hold Texas’ archival collections.

Introduction to TARO: Encoding and Submitting Finding Aids is a workshop designed to serve anyone learning how to encode archival finding aids using the Encoded Archival Description (EAD) standard in XML, but focuses on the local guidelines and participation logistics for the state consortium for finding aids, Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO).

Through these workshops, archivists will learn the hands-on basic skills needed to participate in the TARO finding aid platform, www.txarchives.org. Trainers will offer day-long workshops in Beaumont and Tyler. Registration is free but limited to 15 participants at each site.

Locations and dates:

  • February 26, 2024 | Lamar University, Beaumont | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
  • March 4, 2024  | UT Tyler, Tyler | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

For contact information and to register visit: bit.ly/TAROworkshops24.

Morning sessions will provide basic information on EAD and the standards used with it, as well as background on TARO. Afternoon sessions will include hands-on time using an XML editor (or alternatively, using ArchivesSpace) to build a valid EAD XML finding aid file and uploading it to TARO.

In 2020-2021, TARO underwent significant changes and upgrades, which this workshop will address, so it will be useful even to those who are familiar with the previous version of TARO. This includes required tags and attributes, suggested subject browsing terms and a new way of uploading and managing files. Participants will learn how XML tags work, what the EAD tags are, how to validate an XML file, how to use the TARO Best Practices Guidelines and how to upload files to TARO. Detailed handouts and sample files will allow participants to continue their practice after the workshop. Trainers Robert Weaver, Amy Bowman and Amanda Focke will lead these hands-on workshops.

THRAB programming is made possible by funds from the National Historical Records and Publications Commission (NHPRC).

TARO January 2024 News and Notes

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Happy 2024, TARO Community!

The new year brings new members to the TARO Steering Committee. Congratulations and thanks to Katelin Dixon, Susannah Broyles, and Laney Chavez as they join TARO’s leadership team! Thanks also to Kristi Nedderman and Kathryn Slover as they rotate off Steering, and to Maristella Feustle, Rachael Zipperer, Molly Tepera, and Aaron Choate for their continued service. Finally, thanks to the other folks who threw their hats in the ring for the election, and to all the TARO community members who took time to vote.

2024 Steering Committee members:

The TARO Steering Committee is currently reviewing the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan and will soon be sharing specific charges with the TARO Sub-Committees (Standards, WebTech, Education and Outreach, etc.). Stay tuned for details on upcoming initiatives to make TARO better for repositories and users alike!

We’re also working to make sure TARO has an up-to-date list of Repository Representatives and contact information for each participating repository. TARO representatives should expect an email soon confirming their information.

The annual TARO Brown Bag will be held during the Society of Southwest Archivists’ Annual Meeting, May 1-3, 2024. This virtual event will offer updates on TARO initiatives as well as an opportunity to give feedback and ask questions.

Continuing on the Outreach and Education front, two separate full-day, in-person TARO Workshops are being planned. The workshops will be in Northeast and Southeast Texas, though exact locations have not been finalized yet.

A few TARO ArchivesSpace users have been in contact with Lyrasis about developing a TARO Plug-in for ArchivesSpace. This should make it easier to get EAD exported from ArchivesSpace ready for import into TARO. More news coming soon.

Finally, you may have heard talk of a new version of the Encoded Archival Description standard, EAD 4.0 from the Society of American Archivists (SAA)’s Technical Subcommittee for Encoded Archival Standards (TS-EAS). An initial request for comment went out to “archival aggregators as well as software providers and developers,” and several members of TARO’s leadership team contributed comments. If/when a further call for public comment is opened, TARO will publicize this call and encourage more members to comment.

https://www2.archivists.org/groups/technical-subcommittee-on-encoded-archival-standards-ts-eas/major-revision-of-ead-call-to-act 

I think that’s more than enough for now. I’m looking forward to the year ahead and encourage anyone to reach out with questions, ideas, or offers to join Sub-Committees!

-Matt

December 2022 TARO News and Notes

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Good morning all,

And just like that, we’ve reached the end of another year! It has been my absolute pleasure to serve as this year’s TARO steering committee chair and help wrap up all of the NEH (and ARPA) grant funded projects. I would like to thank my fellow steering committee members for their hard work this year as we encountered new obstacles and challenges. I would also like to thank all of you, our repositories, our volunteers, and stakeholders. TARO is a collaborative effort and has continued to be a success thanks to the dedication of our members. Without further ado, here are some updates, news, and announcements:

TARO 2.0 ARPA

Work continues on the TARO 2.0 project. Stay turned to the list for ongoing updates from the dev team. Many thanks to all of our developers and members of the Valkyrie squad down in Austin for their work this year on TARO!

New Steering Committee Members

Congratulations to our incoming steering committee members: The 2023 TARO Steering Committee will include:

Chair: Maristella Feustle

Vice Chair/Chair-Elect: Matt Richardson

Secretary: Rachael Zipperer

At-Large Members: Kristi Nedderman, Kathryn Slover, Molly Tepera

Congratulations to the winners! Thank you for running, and thank you to everyone who voted!

Wanted Volunteers for the Outreach and Education Committee (ASAP)

Looking for (2) volunteers to join the outreach and education subcommittee, no experience or expertise needed. Members of this subcommittee will be focusing on: Updating the TARO Today website and documentation, create training resources (documentation, videos, etc.) based on TARO members’ needs, and disseminating information through the various TARO channels and outreach events. If you have a passion for TARO (don’t we all?), and an interest in education and outreach, please contact Robert Weaver (robert.g.weaver@ttu.edu) to join this outstanding subcommittee!

Wanted: Volunteers for the Website & Technology Subcommittee (ASAP)

Looking for (2) volunteers to join the Website & Technology Subcommittee (WebTech). Do you process collections and write finding aids? Do you work with patrons and search for collections? Or perhaps you get to do a variety of tasks and have TARO bookmarked as one of your frequently used resources. Oxygen, ArchivesSpace or none of the above? Do not feel intimidated. Testing different kinds of searches, or submitting finding aids, or surveying our users, there is something to do for everyone. Whatever your expertise level, WebTech wants you! Please contact Maristella Feustle: Maristella.Feustle@unt.edu to join our friendly subcommittee!

Monthly Analytics and Statistics

November, and December usage statistics are now available and can be viewed/downloaded from our Wiki page.

Wishing everyone the happiest of holidays. Best wishes for a restful and joyous break, and a fantastic new year.

Cheers~