dEAD Reckoning #2: Mixing/Matching With Namespaces and Application Profiles

So, it's time for another rant about my issues with EAD. This one is a pretty straightforward and short one, and comes down to the issue that I should essentially be able to mix and match metadata schemas. This is not a new idea, and I'm tired of the archives community treating it like it is one. Application profiles, as they are called, allow us to define a structured way to combine elements from different schemas, prevent addition of new and arbitrary elements, and tighten existing standards for particular use cases.

However, to a certain extent, the EAD community has accepted the concept of combining XML namespaces but on a very limited level. The creation of the EAD 2002 Schema allows EAD data to be embedded into other XML documents, such as METS. However, I can't do it the other way around; for example, I can't work a MODS or MARCXML record into a finding aid. Why not? As I said in my last dEAD Reckoning rant as well as during my talk at EAD@10, the use of encoding analog attributes is misguided, confusing, and just plain annoying. Let's move on — give me a schema I can stick things into and pull stuff out of!