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The EEBD makes use of common XML protocols to create a resource that is both platform independent and easily exchanged between database software packages.[1] As discussed in the Project Description, the database will consist of two distinct classes: existing ESTC information revised and compiled for quantitative analysis; and new information derived from a fresh examination of the STC-period books. While the EEBD and ESTC describe artefacts in two quite different ways, they both deal with the same set of books, and the points of connection between them are the STC and the ESTC numbers. Thus each EEBD record contains these two standard references. For example, at its simplest, the core record (less the XML technical tagging) describing Francis Godwin's De Præsulibus Angliæ Commentarius looks like this:
<eebdRecord ID="nnnnnn">
<estcRecord ID="ESTCS122562"/>
<stcRecord ID="11941"/>
</eebdRecord>
The EEBD is designed as a collaborative augmentation to the ESTC, one that will support the transparent use of two resources as one. Thus information such as the original author, title, and basic imprint data can be extracted from the ESTC rather than reduntantly included in the EEBD (standardized forms of this information is discussed below).
The next components of an EEBD record include data not part of the original ESTC record, i.e. edition sheet totals, typography, composition totals, subject classification, text format, and paratextual information, or in other words, information related to the physical structures of the book:
<physical>
<textFormat rt="yes" box="no"/>
<editionSheet>107.5</editionSheet>
Since the body sizes employed by early modern printers varied according to how the mould was set when the sort was cast, the "size" attribuye indicates the measure in millimeters of 20 lines of type, while the value of the "body" element is the common name used by English printers.[2] Composition totals are expressed in thousands of ens, or kilo-ens (k/e):
<typography>
<body size="112">great primer</body>
<face>roman</face>
<composition>7.4 k/e</composition>
</typography>
<typography>
<body size="94">english</body>
<face>roman</face>
<composition>2.7 k/e</composition>
</typography>
<typography>
<body size="84>pica</body>
<face>roman</face>
<composition>1203.8 k/e</composition>
</typography>
</physical>
The section contains information about the text:
<content>
<classification type="primary">History</classification>
<classification type="secondary">Religion</classification>
<paratext>
<dedication type="epistle">
<dedicatee>
<name ID="xxx">James I</name>
</dedicatee>
<dedicator>
<name ID="xxx">Fr. Landau</name>
</dedicator>
</dedication>
<dedication type="poem">
<dedicatee>
<name ID="xxx">Francis Godwin</name>
</dedicatee>
<dedicator>
<name ID="xxx">Edward Mahonides</name>
</dedicator>
</dedication>
</paratext>
</content>
</eebdRecord>
The "ID" attributes for the <name> elements in the above sample will point to an authority table containing descriptions with standardized spelling, biographical and location information.
The final components will contain data extracted from the original STC/ESTC and reworked to serve the analytical needs of the EEBD: edition-issue-variant-state, multiple editions, shared printing responsibility, and format-collation. To begin, Godwin's De Præsulibus Angliæ Commentarius appeared in two issues, 1616 and 1621(?). As a result that the editors of the first edition of the STC gave it two distinct STC numbers and the ESTC editors followed suit. The EBD record must therefore combine the two lisitings:
<eebdRecord ID="nnnnnn">
<estcRecord ID="ESTCS122562"/>
<estcRecord ID="ESTCS103175"/>
<stcRecord ID="11941"/>
<stcRecord ID="11942"/>
Only one edition of De Præsulibus Angliæ Commentarius is known in the STC period, so linking multiple editions is not necessary in this case. If it were, the addition of the "multiple-edition" attribute where the value corresponds to an authority table of multiple editions would serve to link them together. Dealing with the format and collation information is more straightforward:
<physical>
<format type="quarto in eights"/>
<collation>
The EEBD stylesheet will take the "rend" attribute value and create the superscript figure indicating how many sheets per gathering. The stylesheet will also use the "n" value when "n" is greater than one for inserting leading superscript figures to separate repeated signing systems:
<collationUnit rend="8" n="1">A-2T</collationUnit>
<collationUnit rend="4" n="1">2V</collationUnit>
<collationUnit rend="8" n="2">A-L</collationUnit>
<collationUnit rend="2" n="2">M</collationUnit>
</collation>
<!-- .... -->
</physical>
The next task is to insert information concerning the publication of the title in questions. At least two printers produced Godwin's volume—William Stansby, and the consortium operating a press in Eliot's Court—as well as at least two publishers—John Bill and his oft-time collaborator, the Officina Nortoniana partnership. Bibliographical research has indicated that Stansby was responsible for the first section part of the book, collating A-2T8 2V4, and the Eliot's Court Press the second section collating 2A-L8 M2, or 85 and 22.5 edition sheets respectively. Since multiple printers affect the distribution of output numbers in any analysis, all of the fields dealing with quantities will require modification. Edition sheets are fairly simple:
<editionSheet resp="xxxx">85</editionSheet>
<editionSheet resp="yyyy">22.5</editionSheet>
where "xxxx" and "yyyy" refer to the entries for Stansby and Eliot's Court Press in the authority table. The same can be down for compotion totals:
<typography resp="xxxx">
<body size="112">great primer</body>
<face>roman</face>
<composition>7.4 k/e</composition>
</typography>
<typography resp="xxxx">
<body size="94">english</body>
<face>roman</face>
<composition>2.7 k/e</composition>
</typography>
<typography resp="xxxx">
<body size="82.5">pica</body>
<face>roman</face>
<composition>954.1 k/e</composition>
</typography>
<typography resp="yyyy">
<body size="84">pica</body>
<face>roman</face>
<composition>249.8 k/e</composition>
</typography>
</physical>
Dealing with multiple publishers is much less straightforward. Unlike printers, physical evidence will rarely provide clues as to the relative contributions among publishers. Rather than risk giving the false impression of certainty by assigning specific numeric values to individual publishers, we've chosen to include a multiple publisher flag as an attribute to the root EEBD record tag.
Finally, the ESTC records author, title and imprint information as close to their original spelling as possible, which has certain implications for machine searching. The EEBD includes a standardized information section with authority table links and standard title/place/date renderings (per Worldcat) for each record:
<standard>
<author ID="xxxx"/>
<printer ID="xxxx"/>
<publisher ID="xxxx"/>
<imprintPlace>London</imprintPlace>
<imprintDate>1616</imprintDate>
<title>De Præsulibus Angliæ Commentarius Omnium Episcoporum, Nencon et
Cardinalium Eiusdem Gentis, Nomina, Tempora, Serie, Atque Actiones
Maximé Laudavensem.</title>
</standard>
Put it all together, and you get the EEBD XML record template
.[MARC and Schema details forthcoming].