EA-PDF LWG

Background

The EA-PDF (Email Archiving in PDF) LWG supports the development and implementation of the EA-PDF specification.

It was launched in 2022 as part of a project led by the University of Illinois to create a specification for archiving email using PDF technology. The LWG’s current work builds on two prior funding phases:

A planning project supported by the Mellon Foundation: A Specification for Using PDF to Package and Represent Email
A 2021 National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which funded a partnership between the PDF Association and the University of Illinois. This partnership developed a detailed technical specification defining the interoperable use of PDF (ISO 32000) as an archival medium for email. In a separate effort, the University funded development of an open-source proof-of-concept implementation of the specification.

As of late 2026, the PDF Association was reestablished as a contractor to the University of Illinois to support the EA-PDF Liaison Working Group (LWG). The LWG will update the specification as part of a broader effort to implement the specification under the terms of a second IMLS grant to the University of Illinois: EA-PDF, From Prototype to Implementation. The LWG is the forum for focusing industry engagement on the specification in partnership with experts from archives and libraries who are interested in contributing to the development and implementation of the EA-PDF specification.

Objective

The Working Group is currently accepting feedback from implementers and stakeholders.

Status

The LWG is currently planning to restart meetings in January 2027. Meanwhile, suggestions regarding the EA-PDF specification can be filed in the public Report-an-Issue GitHub repository.

How to participate in the Working Group

The EA-PDF LWG is open to all PDF Association Individual, Division, Full, Partner, Institutional and Liaison members. Non-member experts who wish to participate as either Invited or Liaison experts subject to their agreement with the PDF Association’s IPR Policy and Code of Conduct. Contact the community-manager@pdfa.org for more information.