SAAEAC-CPF is the primary XML standard for encoding archival authority records that describe the corporate bodies, persons, and families responsible for creating and managing archival collections. Widely adopted by archives, libraries, and cultural heritage institutions worldwide, EAC-CPF provides a structured, machine-readable format for exchanging and linking identity information about the agents behind archival materials.
Background
The development of EAC-CPF emerged from the archival community's need for a standardized encoding format to complement the International Council on Archives' (ICA) International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons, and Families — ISAAR(CPF), first published in 1996 and revised in 2003. While ISAAR(CPF) defined the intellectual content and structure of authority records, there was no corresponding encoding standard to facilitate digital exchange.
Work on an XML encoding began in the early 2000s, led by an international working group. The first official version of EAC-CPF was published in 2004 as a beta schema, followed by a stable release in 2010. In 2011, the Society of American Archivists (SAA) formally adopted EAC-CPF as an SAA standard and established a Technical Subcommittee (TS-EAC-CPF) for its maintenance. In 2015, the Technical Subcommittees on EAD and EAC-CPF merged to form the Technical Subcommittee on Encoded Archival Standards (TS-EAS), which oversees both EAD and EAC-CPF.
A major revision began in 2017, culminating in EAC-CPF 2.0, approved and released in 2022. A minor update, version 2.0.1, followed in January 2024.
Purpose and Scope
EAC-CPF encodes authority records for three types of archival agents:
- Corporate bodies — organizations, institutions, government agencies, and other groups
- Persons — individuals who created, accumulated, or are associated with archival materials
- Families — family units relevant to archival collections
The standard captures identity information, biographical and historical context, relationships between entities, and links to related resources and archival descriptions. It is designed for use alongside Encoded Archival Description (EAD), which encodes the finding aids that describe the archival collections themselves. Together, EAD and EAC-CPF form the core of the encoded archival standards ecosystem.
Key Elements
EAC-CPF 2.0 organizes its elements into several major areas:
| Area | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Identity | Names, identifiers, and entity type (corporateBody, person, family) |
| Description | Biographical or historical narrative, dates of existence, places, functions, occupations |
| Relations | Links to other EAC-CPF records, archival resources, and external entities |
| Control | Record metadata including maintenance history, sources, and conventions used |
Serializations and Technical Formats
EAC-CPF is defined as an XML schema (XSD). The schema files and the accompanying Tag Library (element-by-element documentation) are maintained on the official website hosted by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. EAC-CPF 2.0 was designed for compatibility with EAD3 and shares several structural patterns and common elements with that standard.
Governance and Maintenance
EAC-CPF is jointly maintained by the Society of American Archivists and the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. The SAA's Technical Subcommittee on Encoded Archival Standards (TS-EAS) is the primary body responsible for revisions, with international participation from archivists and developers across Europe, North America, and beyond. The official homepage and schema hosting are provided by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.
Notable Implementations
EAC-CPF is used in many significant archival systems and aggregation projects:
- Social Networks and Archival Context (SNAC) — a major cooperative project linking archival authority records across institutions using EAC-CPF
- Archives Portal Europe — uses EAC-CPF for cross-border authority record exchange
- ArchivesSpace — open-source archival management system with EAC-CPF import/export support
- National Archives in multiple countries use EAC-CPF for authority record management
Related Standards
- Encoded Archival Description (EAD) — the companion standard for encoding archival finding aids
- ISAAR(CPF) — the ICA content standard that EAC-CPF implements in XML
- ISAD(G) — the ICA general standard for archival description, encoded by EAD
- Records in Contexts (RiC) — the ICA's next-generation conceptual model for archival description, which may influence future EAC-CPF development