Society of American Archivists

SAA

The oldest and largest archival professional association in North America, advancing standards for archival practice.

Professional Association Active

The Society of American Archivists (SAA) is the oldest and largest professional association for archivists in North America, serving more than 5,000 individual and institutional members. Established in 1936, SAA provides education, publications, and advocacy for the archival profession. It plays a key role in the development and promotion of archival metadata standards, including Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) and supporting the adoption of Encoded Archival Description (EAD) for archival finding aids.

Standards (3)

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

(DACS)

Content rules for describing archival materials and authority records in the United States.

Element Set / Metadata Schema active Society of American Archivists Updated January 1, 2022

Encoded Archival Context for Corporate Bodies, Persons, and Families

(EAC-CPF)

Encodes archival authority records for the corporate bodies, persons, and families behind collections.

Element Set / Metadata Schema active Society of American Archivists / Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Updated January 30, 2024

Encoded Archival Description

(EAD)

The XML standard for encoding hierarchical archival finding aids and publishing them on the web.

Element Set / Metadata Schema active Society of American Archivists / Library of Congress Est. 1998