Transforming oral history content for the web using XML and XSL

Abstract

From 2013 to 2017, the Special Collections and Archives Research Center at the Oregon State University Libraries and Press collected more than 400 hours of fully transcribed and contextualised oral history interview content for presentation on a dedicated web portal. The project included interview sessions — most of them video recorded — with more than 250 alumni, faculty, staff, supporters and current students. This paper focuses on several technical components of the project, with primary emphasis placed upon the marriage of XML and XSL that was deployed to create the website on which this large volume of content is presented. The roots of this workflow date back many years, and much of the code needed for the oral history project was recycled. In addition to further background on the oral history project, readers will receive an introduction to three XML schema — METS, MODS and TEI — as well as an overview of the XSL tools and processes used to transform and present the XML-encoded data that are central to the project portal. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the Oregon State University workflow, including its potential for adoption by other archival or cultural heritage organisations.