LIFECYCLE METADATA FOR DIGITAL OBJECTS

Danielle Cunniff PlumerSchool of InformationThe University of Texas at AustinSummer 2014

Metadata in Digital Objects• Authenticity• Significant properties• Example digital objects

• Web pages• TIFF files• PDF• Microsoft Word

Authenticityn. ~ 1. The quality of being genuine, not a counterfeit, and free from tampering, and is typically inferred from internal and external evidence, including its physical characteristics, structure, content, and context.

authentic, adj. ~ 2. Perceived of as genuine, rather than as counterfeit or specious; bona fide.

http://www2.archivists.org/glossary/terms/a/authenticity

Authenticity (notes)Authenticity is closely associated with the creator (or creators) of a record. First and foremost, an authentic record must have been created by the individual represented as the creator. The presence of a signature serves as a fundamental test for authenticity; the signature identifies the creator and establishes the relationship between the creator and the record.

Authenticity can be verified by testing physical and formal characteristics of a record. The ink used to write a document must be contemporaneous with the document's purported date. The style and language of the document must be consistent with other, related documents that are accepted as authentic.

Authenticity alone does not automatically imply that the content of a record is reliable.

http://www2.archivists.org/glossary/terms/a/authenticity

Authenticity of digital objects• “A large component of archival and museum metadata

creation activities has traditionally been focused on context. Elucidating and preserving context is what assists with identifying and preserving the evidential value of records and artifacts in and over time; it is what facilitates the authentication of those objects, and it is what assists researchers with their analysis and interpretation.”• Gilliland, A. 2008. Setting the stage. In Introduction to Metadata

(Online Edition, Version 3.0). Los Angeles: Getty Publications.

Categorizing Metadata

Metadata uses• Increased accessibility• Retention of context• Expanding use• Learning metadata• System development and enhancement• Multiversioning• Legal issues• Preservation and persistence• System improvement and economics

• Gilliland, A. 2008. Setting the stage. In Introduction to Metadata (Online Edition, Version 3.0). Los Angeles: Getty Publications.

Lifecycle

Significant Properties• Hedstrom, M., and Lee, C.A. (2002). “Significant

properties of digital objects: definitions, applications, implications. In Proceedings of the DLM-Forum 2002, Barcelona, 6-8 May 2002, 218-227. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2002.

• “Significant properties are those properties of digital objects that affect their quality, usability, rendering, and behaviour”

Representation information• Structure: Underlying Abstract Form

• Basic data unit• Byte-level encoding• Data typing• Logical structure

• Semantic: language, syntax, ontology

Format• Abrams, S. L. (2004). The role of format in digital

preservation. VINE 34(2): 49-55.

Digital Formats• Sustainability of Digital Formats:

Planning for Library of Congress Collections • http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/index.shtml

• Unified Digital Format Registry (UDFR) • http://udfr.org/

• PRONOM• http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/PRONOM/Default.aspx

• Global Digital Format Registry (GDFR)• http://hul.harvard.edu/gdfr/documents.html

Format Identification• JSTOR/Harvard Object Validation Environment

• http://jhove.sourceforge.net/• JHOVE2

• https://bitbucket.org/jhove2/main/wiki/Home • DROID

• http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/projects-and-work/droid.htm

JHOVE