EAD Tag Usage: Community Analysis of the Use of Encoded Archival Description Elements

Encoded Archival Description has been actively implemented for more than 15 years. Research around EAD has focused on implementation and user interaction. Encoding behavior, through the analysis of a sample of finding aids, is presented here to describe the general use of elements and attributes across the EAD structure. In total, 108 repositories submitted up to 15 finding aids for the analysis; 1,136 finding aids comprise the entire sample. Descriptive statistics on element and attribute usage are presented as well as commentary on the overall picture of EAD encoding evident in the sample.