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accountable. Thus, the receiving person should issue a disclaimer regarding accuracy of
records using other persons’ data.
The concept of authenticity refers to the fact that a record is what it purports to be and has
not been tampered with or otherwise corrupted. In other words, authenticity is the
|
trustworthiness of a record as a record. An authentic record is as reliable and accurate as it was
when first generated. Authenticity depends upon the record’s transmission and the manner of its
maintenance and custody. Authenticity is maintained and verifiable by maintaining the identity
and integrity of a record. The identity of a record is established and maintained by indicating at a
minimum the names of the persons participating in the creation of the record (e.g., author,
addressee); the action o |
r matter to which the record pertains; the date(s) of compilation, filing or
transmission; the record’s documentary form; the record’s digital presentation (or format); the
relationship of the record to other records through a classification code or a naming convention;
and the existence of attachments. The integrity of a record is established and maintained by
identifying the responsibility for the record through time by naming the handling person or
office(s)13 and the trusted records officer14 or th |
e recordkeeping office,15 identifying access
privileges16 and access restrictions17 and indicating any annotations or any modifications
(technical or otherwise) made to the record by the persons having access to it.
Thus, record reliability is a quality that is established when a record is created and implies
accuracy of the data contained in the record, while record accuracy and authenticity are
qualities that are connected with the transmission and maintenance of the record. The latter are
therefor |
e the responsibility of both the records creator and any legitimate successor.
Authenticity is protected and guaranteed through the adoption of methods that ensure the
record is not manipulated, altered, or otherwise falsified after its creation, either during its
transmission or in the course of its handling and preservation, within the recordkeeping
system.18
(C5) A trusted record-making system should be used to generate records that can
be presumed reliable.19
A trusted record-making system consi |
sts of a set of rules governing the making of records
and a set of tools and mechanisms used to implement these rules. To generate reliable records,
every record-making system should include in its design integrated business and documentary
procedures, record metadata schemes, records forms, record-making access privileges and
record-making technological requirements.
Integrated business and documentary procedures are business procedures linked to
documentation procedures and to the classification sy |
stem (i.e., the file management plan or
taxonomy) established in the organization. This integration reinforces the control over record-
making procedures: it supports the reliability of records by explicitly connecting records to the
13 Handling office (or person) is defined as “The office (or officer) formally competent for carrying out the action to which the record
relates or for the matter to which the record pertains” (InterPARES 2 Terminology Databa |
se, op. cit.).
14 Trusted records officer (also called records keeper or records manager) is defined as “an individual or a unit within the creating
organization who is responsible for keeping and managing the creator’s records, who has no reason to alter the kept records or
allow others to alter them and who is capable of implementing all of the benchmark requirements for authentic records” (Ibid.).
These are listed in The Long-term Preservation of Authentic Electronic Records, cit., “Authenticity Task |
Force Report,” available at
http://www.interpares.org/book/interpares_book_d_part1.pdf and, more specifically, the already cited “Requirements for Assessing
and Maintaining the Authenticity of Electronic Records,” available at http://www.interpares.org/book/interpares_book_k_app02.pdf.”
15 Recordkeeping office is defined as “The office given the formal competence for designing, implementing and maintaining the
creator’s trusted recordkeeping system” (InterPARES 2 Terminology Database, op. cit.).
16 Ac |
cess privileges is defined as “The authority to access a system to compile, classify, register, retrieve, annotate, read, transfer or
destroy records, granted to a person, position or office within an organization or agency” (Ibid.).
17 Access restrictions is defined as “The authority to read a record, granted to a person, position or office within an organization or
agency” (Ibid.).
18 See MacNeil et al., “Authenticity Task Force Report,” op. cit.
19 There is no corresponding Preserver Principle.
Pol |
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activities in which they participate and to the records organization system, thereby standardizing
the procedures for creating and managing those records. The integration of business and
documentary procedures also establishes the basis and central means to demonstrate
ownership of and responsibility for the records. A record-making metadata scheme is a list of all
metadata elements that need to be documented in the course of record- |
making processes for
the purposes of uniquely identifying each record and enabling the maintenance of its integrity
and the presumption of its authenticity. Such a scheme can also be used later to verify
authenticity when questioned. Records forms are specifications of the documentary forms for
the various types of records generated in the record-making system. Access privileges refer to
the authority to compile, edit, annotate, read, retrieve, transfer and/or destroy records in the
record-making syst |
em, granted to officers and employees by the records creator on the basis of
position duties and business needs. Access privileges control access to the record-making
system and are established in the course of integrating business and documentary procedures
through connecting specific classes of records to the office of primary responsibility for a
business function or activity. The establishment and implementation of access privileges is the
most important step towards ensuring that the reliability o |
f records can be presumed. Record-
making technological requirements include the hardware and software specifications for the
record-making system that have a direct impact on the documentary form of records.
(C6) A trusted recordkeeping system should be used to maintain records that can
be presumed accurate and authentic. (P11, P12)
A trusted recordkeeping system consists of a set of rules governing the keeping of records
and a set of tools and mechanisms used to implement these rules. Every recordke |
eping system
should include in its design a recordkeeping metadata scheme, a classification scheme, a
retention schedule, a registration system, a recordkeeping retrieval system, recordkeeping
technological requirements, recordkeeping access privileges and procedures for maintaining
accurate and authentic records.
A recordkeeping metadata scheme is the list of all necessary metadata to be attached to
each record to ensure its continuing identity and integrity in the recordkeeping system. A
classific |
ation scheme is a plan for the systematic identification and arrangement of business
activities and related records into categories according to logically structured conventions,
methods and procedural rules. A retention schedule is a document specifying and authorizing
the disposition of aggregations of records as identified in the classification scheme. A
registration system is a method for assigning a unique identifier to each created record, linked to
its identity and integrity metadata. Recordkeep |
ing access privileges refer to the authority to
classify, annotate, read, retrieve, transfer and/or destroy records in the recordkeeping system,
granted to officers and employees by the records creator based on position duties and business
needs. Typically, access to records for purposes of classification, transfer and destruction is
given only to the trusted records officer of the organization. A recordkeeping retrieval system is
a set of rules governing the searching and finding of records and/or inf |
ormation about records in
a recordkeeping system and the tools and mechanisms used to implement these rules.
Recordkeeping technological requirements include the hardware and software specifications for
the recordkeeping system. The procedures for maintaining accurate and authentic records are
the procedures designed to ensure that the data in the records and the identity and integrity of
the records in the recordkeeping system are protected from accidental or malicious corruption or
loss.
To improve |
efficiency and reduce the potential for human-induced error, the record-making
and recordkeeping systems should be designed to automate, as much as possible, the creation
of the identity and integrity metadata both at the point of records creation or modification (e.g.,
when migrated to a new system or file format), and whenever the aggregations to which the
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records belong are created or modified—every record unit should automatically inherit the
metadata of the higher level in the classification at the point of creation as well as whenever
there are updates to the metadata of the higher level.
A records creator should indicate in its records management policy that it is the trusted
records officer’s responsibility to manage the recordkeeping system. The role of the trusted
records officer is analogous to that of |
a trusted custodian; thus, the trusted records officer
should have the qualifications for a trusted custodian as stated in principle C8.
A recordkeeping system that complies with the above requirements and procedures in its
design and management is capable of ensuring the accuracy and authenticity of records after
their creation, since these requirements and procedures establish the maximum degree of
control with regard to the maintenance and use of the records.
(C7) Preservation considerations sho |
uld be embedded in all activities involved in
record creation and maintenance if a creator wishes to maintain and preserve
accurate and authentic records beyond its operational business needs. (P7)
The concept of the records lifecycle in archival science refers to the theory that records go
through distinct phases, including creation, use and maintenance and disposition (i.e.,
destruction or permanent preservation).
It is essential for records creators dealing with records in digital form to understan |
d that,
differently from what is the case with traditional records, preservation is a continuous process
that begins with the creation of the records. Traditionally, records are appraised for preservation
at the disposition stage, when they are no longer needed for business purposes. With digital
records, decisions regarding preservation must be made as close as possible to the creation
stage because of the ease with which they can be manipulated and deleted or lost to
technological obsolescence.
Th |
e notion that records preservation starts at the creation stage requires that preservation
considerations be incorporated and manifested in the design of record-making and
recordkeeping systems. Each aggregation of records appraised for preservation should be
identified in accordance with the classification scheme and records retention schedule
established by the records creator, and this identification should be indicated among the records
metadata. The aggregations of records so identified should be |
monitored throughout their
lifecycle so that appraisal decisions and preservation considerations can be updated and/or
modified to accommodate any possible change occurring after they are first made. To monitor
and implement appraisal decisions and preservation considerations, the designated preserver
should be given access to the organization’s recordkeeping system. Policies and procedures
should be established to facilitate constant interaction between the records creator and its
designated preserve |
r.
(C8) A trusted custodian should be designated as the preserver of the creator’s
records. (P1)
The designated records preserver is the entity responsible for taking physical and legal
custody of and preserving20 (i.e., protecting and ensuring continuous access to) a creator’s
inactive records.21 Be it an outside organization or an in-house unit, the role of the designated
20 The term “preservation” is defined as “The whole of the principles, policie |
s, and strategies that controls the activities designed to
ensure materials’ (data, documents, or records) physical and technological stabilization and protection of intellectual content”
(InterPARES 2 Terminology Database, op. cit.).
21 An inactive record is defined as “A record that is no longer needed by the creator for day-to-day activity, but that may be
preserved and occasionally used for legal, historical or operational purposes” (Ibid.).
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preserver should be that of a trusted custodian for a creator’s records. To be considered as a
trusted custodian, the preserver must:
•
act as a neutral third party; that is, demonstrate that it has no stake in the content of the
records and no reason to alter records under its custody and that it will not allow
anybody to alter the records either accidentally or on purpose;
•
be equipped with the knowledge and skills neces |
sary to fulfil its responsibilities, which
should be acquired through formal education in records and archives administration; and
•
establish a trusted preservation system that is capable of ensuring that accurate and
authentic copies of the creator’s records are acquired and preserved.
For as long as the records are maintained by the creator in its recordkeeping system, they
are active or semi-active records,22 although under the responsibility of a trusted records officer.
A records custodian tru |
sted by the records creator as its designated preserver should maintain
records that have been removed from the recordkeeping system for long-term or indefinite
preservation. This trusted custodian will establish and maintain a preservation system to receive
and preserve the creator’s digital records. This involves ensuring that the accuracy and
authenticity of the records received from the creator are assessed and maintained. Within the
context of the preservation system, the designated preserver iden |
tifies appropriate preservation
strategies and procedures, drawing on expertise from various disciplines, including archival
science, computer science and law. The preservation procedures are implemented within the
preservation system.
Only preservers that satisfy the requirements for trusted custodian are capable of fulfilling
their duties of preserving authentic records over time and enabling a presumption of authenticity
of the authentic copies they make for preservation purposes.
(C9) All busin |
ess processes that contribute to the creation and/or use of the same
records should be explicitly documented. (P10)
Records created in the course of carrying out one business function or one business
process are often also used in the course of conducting other business functions or processes.
In cases like this, records used in separate activities may be associated only with one activity in
the records creator’s record-making or recordkeeping system, or with none in some central
“information” system |
or application. This practice creates difficulties for the records creator in
identifying aggregations of records for accountability purposes and for its designated preserver
in conducting appraisal and preservation activities.
It is recommended that policies and procedures be established that require detailed
documentation of all business functions and processes contributing to the creation and use of
the same records in any records creator’s application or system and an explicit linkage between
eac |
h record and the related workflow. Procedural manuals with such descriptions are effective
in increasing the awareness of the impact of record-making and recordkeeping on the
management of an organization. A subsequent different use of records after their creation can
be captured by metadata, which are also capable of tracing the contexts in which records are
generated.
22 An active record is defined as “A record needed by the creator for the purpose o |
f carrying out the actions for which it was created
or for frequent reference” (Ibid). A semi-active record is defined as “A record that is no longer needed for the purpose of carrying out
the actions for which it was created, but which is needed by the records creator for infrequent reference” (Ibid.).
Policy Framework, v1.2 (March 2008)
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(C10) Third-party intellectual property rights attached to the creator’s records
should be explicitly identified and managed in t |
he record-making and
recordkeeping systems. (P8)
Every records creator is usually aware that the records that it creates, or which are under its
control or custody, contain information covered by intellectual property legislation. However,
creators should also be aware that in some cases the intellectual property rights linked to a
record may belong to a party other than the author and addressee.
All intellectual property rights attached to a record need to be documented in the metadata
accompanying |
such record at the time that it is made or received and set aside. Intellectual
property issues can significantly influence the reproduction of records, which is central to the
processes of refreshing, converting and migrating records for either continuous use or
preservation purposes. Subject to variations among different legislative environments,
reproductions of records with intellectual property rights held by third parties may violate
legislation that protects such rights. These issues must be id |
entified and addressed at the stage
of designing the record-making and recordkeeping systems. In the case of records identified for
long-term preservation, long-term clearance of such rights should be addressed explicitly in the
creator’s record policy.
(C11) Privacy rights and obligations attached to the creator’s records should be
explicitly identified and protected in the record-making and recordkeeping
systems. (P9)
Privacy legislation protects the rights of individuals with reference to personal |
data that may
be part of any record used and maintained by a records creator with whom they have interacted.
The limits of privacy depend on the legislative framework in which the records creator operates.
The framework may be in conflict with the access policy linked to the mandate of the records
creator and even with the access to information legislation in the same jurisdiction.
The presence of personal information within the records should be identified and
documented within the metadata schema |
linked to the records in the record-making and
recordkeeping systems of the creator. Metadata schemas that note and administer the use of
personal information contained within the records must be embedded in record-making and
recordkeeping systems. This will enable the protection of personal information through the
establishment of system-wide access privileges. In cases where records are to be preserved
indefinitely, privacy issues relating to access to records must be expressly resolved (i.e., explic |
it
permissions must be sought from the individuals concerned), ideally prior to record creation.
This is the best way to ensure that the records are managed in accordance with privacy
legislation and that the preserver will be able to effectively include the privacy issues relevant to
the records in the preservation feasibility study during appraisal. The designated preserver for
each records creator should, as a trusted custodian, be granted access to records containing
personal information to perfor |
m preservation activities. Processing of personal information for
maintenance or preservation purposes is different from the use of it for research or business
purposes. Regardless of the legislative framework, the records creator should be able to
demonstrate that processing of records containing personal information does not put such
information at risk of unauthorized access.
Responsibility for processing records containing personal data for maintenance and
preservation purposes must reside with th |
e records creator and its legitimate successors.
Although the practice of outsourcing these functions to specialized commercial operators is
authorized and regulated under most existing privacy legislation, the practice should still be
avoided whenever possible to minimize the number of individuals authorized to access and/or
process the records, thus reducing the risk of unauthorized disclosure of personal information in
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the records and of jeopardizing the ability to obtain permission to process personal information
for maintenance or preservation purposes.
In the case of records that are not yet designated for permanent preservation, appraisal
decisions should be taken before the initial mandate for processing personal information has
expired to ensure that the legal basis for retaining such records is still in force.
(C12) Procedures for sharing records across diff |
erent jurisdictions should be
established on the basis of the legal requirements under which the records are
created. (P13)
Records creators with branches in geographically separate areas (i.e., areas that are
covered by different legislation), must be aware that different access, privacy and intellectual
property laws may have an impact on their records-sharing activities. Such sharing activities
encompass records exchange within the records creator or with outside organizations, such as
governments |
or business partners. This includes providing records to a trusted preserver, where
the latter operates in a legal environment different from that of the records creator.
The fact that records are freely accessible in one jurisdiction does not imply that they can be
accessed in the same way in other jurisdictions. Records creators must investigate such issues
and address them in their policies.
(C13) Reproductions of a record made by the creator in its usual and ordinary
course of business and for i |
ts purposes and use, as part of its recordkeeping
activities, have the same effects as the first manifestation, and each is to be
considered at any given time the record of the creator. (P3)
In the digital environment, the first manifestation of a record, be it a draft, an original or a
copy, only exists when first composed in the creator’s record-making system, if it is an internal
record, or when first received in the creator’s recordkeeping system, if it is transmitted from the
outside. When the re |
cord is closed and saved into the record-making or recordkeeping system,
its first manifestation technically disappears, as the saving action decomposes it into its digital
components. Any later manifestation of the digital record is a reproduction resulting from an
assembly of its digital components. Conceptually, however, records creators can use any
reproduction of a record’s first manifestation as if it were the record’s first manifestation, as long
as the reproduction is made in the usual and ordi |
nary course of carrying out business activities
and used for such activities. This means that each reproduction in sequence should have the
same admissibility in court as the record’s first manifestation and be given the same weight.
To establish that a record is reproduced in the usual and ordinary course of business, it is
necessary to set out routine procedures in writing. In effect, if reliable records have been
generated in a trusted record-making system and their accuracy and authenticity have be |
en
maintained together with that of the received records in the creator’s recordkeeping system,
then all records should have the same authority and effects as their first manifestation.
Although, according to the theory of the record (i.e., diplomatics), an “original” record in a
digital system is the first manifestation of a received record and, if after closing such
manifestation the original no longer exists, it might be useful to look at three examples of
statutory laws pertaining to the meaning o |
f “original.” Common to all three variations is the
principle that it is the relationship of a record to the business of the creator that determines
whether the record in question has the authority and effects of an original.
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Example 1: The U.S. Federal Rules of Evidence distinguishes between originals and
duplic |
ates, with greater value as evidence given to originals. For digital records, it is
noteworthy that if “data are stored in a computer or similar device, any printout or
other output readable by sight, shown to reflect the data accurately, is an ‘original.’”23
Example 2: The quality of being original is acknowledged in Italian legislation in
terms of adding weight or greater trustworthiness to records. Italian legislation
emphasizes the difference between digital data (original) and any kind of output |
of
those data (copy), by establishing that “any data or document electronically created
by any public administration represents a primary and original source of information
that may be used to make copies on any kind of medium for all legal purposes.”24
Example 3: The Electronic Signatures Law of the People’s Republic of China regards
a digital record as an original if it meets the two following qualifications: it must be 1)
capable of presenting the content effectively and of being retrieved and con |
sulted at
any moment, and 2) capable of unfailingly showing the integrity of the content from
the moment of its completion. However, annotations made to a data electronic
document [digital record] and changes of presentation occurring in the process of
data exchanging, storing and displaying are not considered to affect its integrity.25
Principles for Records Preservers
(P1) A designated records preserver fulfils the role of trusted custodian. (C8)
The designated records preserver is the entity respo |
nsible for taking physical and legal
custody of and preserving (i.e., protecting and ensuring continuous access to) a creator’s
inactive records. Be it an outside organization or an in-house unit, the role of the designated
preserver should be that of a trusted custodian for a creator’s records. To be considered as a
trusted custodian, the preserver must:
•
act as a neutral third party; that is, demonstrate that it has no stake in the content of the records
and no reason to alter records under its cu |
stody and that it will not allow anybody to alter the
records either accidentally or on purpose;
•
be equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to fulfil its responsibilities, which should be
acquired through formal education in records and archives administration; and
•
establish a trusted preservation system that is capable of ensuring that accurate and authentic
copies of the creator’s records are acquired and preserved.
The acquisition of a creator’s records is undertaken by the preserv |
er, who, after having
assessed the accuracy and authenticity of the records, produces an authentic copy of them from
the creator’s recordkeeping system. Records that are acquired this way are authentic copies of
the records of the creator identified for long-term preservation, because they are made by the
designated preserver in its role of trusted custodian.
The authentic copies of the creator’s records are then kept by the trusted custodian in a
trusted preservation system, which should include in |
its design a description and a retrieval
system. This trusted preservation system must also have in place rules and procedures for the
23 United States House of Representatives, Federal Rules of Evidence, Article X. Contents of Writings, Recordings, and
Photographs: Rule 1001. Definitions, Committee on the Judiciary, Committee Print No. 8 (December 31, 2004). Available at
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/printers/108th/evid2004.pdf. The same rule ge |
neralizes that “any counterpart” to the writing or
recording “intended to have the same effect by a person executing or issuing it” is an original.
24 Italy, DPR 445/2000, art. 9, par. 1. Available at http://www.parlamento.it/parlam/leggi/deleghe/00443dla.htm.
25 China. Electronic Signatures Law of the People’s Republic of China, art. 5. Translated by Sherry Xie. See also Sherry Xie (2005).
“InterPARES 2 Project – Policy Cross-domain: Supplements to the Study of Archival Legislation in China (Report I), |
” 3. Available at
http://www.interpares.org/display_file.cfm?doc=ip2(policy)archival_legislation_CHINA_SUPPLEMENT.pdf.
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ongoing production of authentic copies as the existing system becomes obsolete and the
technology is upgraded. This requirement is consistent with the final recommendations of
InterPARES 1, which developed the Baseline Requirements Supporting the Producti |
on of
Authentic Copies of Electronic Records,26 a set of requirements to be implemented by the
preserver. It should be noted that the simple fact of reproducing records in the preserver’s
preservation system does not make the results authentic copies; such designation must be
provided by the preserver’s authority.
A sustainable preservation strategy requires close collaboration between a records creator
and its designated preserver as trusted custodian. It is the preserver’s responsibility to take the |
initiative in collaborating with the creator to establish acquisition and preservation procedures
and in advising the creator in any records management activities essential to the preserver’s
acquisition and preservation activities.
(P2) Records preservation policies, strategies and standards should address the
issues of record accuracy and authenticity expressly and separately. (C4)
An accurate record is one that contains correct, precise and exact data. The accuracy of a
record is assumed when the |
record is created and used in the course of business processes to
carry out business functions, based on the assumption that inaccurate records harm business
interests. However, when records are transmitted across systems, refreshed, converted or
migrated for preservation purposes, or the technology in which the record resides is upgraded,
the data contained in the record must be verified to ensure their accuracy was not harmed by
technical or human errors occurring in the transmission or transformati |
on processes. This
verification of accuracy is the responsibility of the preserver who carries out the transmission or
transformation process; however, such person is not responsible for the correctness of the data
value, for which the creator remains accountable, just as is the case for the reliability of the
records containing the data.
The concept of authenticity refers to the fact that a record is what it purports to be and has
not been tampered with or otherwise corrupted. In other words, authen |
ticity is the
trustworthiness of a record as a record. A record is authentic if it can be demonstrated that it is
as it was when created. An authentic record is as reliable and accurate as it was when first
generated. Authenticity depends upon the record transmission and the manner of its
preservation and custody. Thus, it is a responsibility of both the records creator and its
legitimate successor (i.e., either the person or organization acquiring the function(s) from which
the records in question re |
sult and the records themselves, or a designated records preserver).
Authenticity is protected and is verifiable by ensuring that the identity and the integrity of a
record are maintained. The identity of a record is what distinguishes it from all other records. It
is declared at the moment of creation by indicating at a minimum the following attributes: the
names of the persons participating in the creation of the record (e.g., author, addressee); the
action or matter to which the record pertains; the |
date(s) of compilation, filing or transmission;
the record’s documentary form; the record’s digital presentation (or format); the relationship of
the record to other records through a classification code or a naming convention; and the
existence of attachments. The record identity so declared must be maintained intact through
time first by the creator and its trusted records officer while the record is in active or semi-active
use, and subsequently by the designated records preserver when the record i |
s designated as
inactive. The integrity of a record is its wholeness and soundness and can only be inferred from
circumstantial evidence related to the person who held responsibility for the record through time,
from access privileges and access restrictions and from the indication of any annotation or
modification (technical or otherwise) that such person(s) with access to record might have made
26 See MacNeil et al., “Authenticity Task Force Report,” |
op. cit., and, more specifically, Authenticity Task Force, “Appendix 2.”
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to it. Thus, the establishment and maintenance of record integrity are supported by declaring the
following record attributes: the names of the handling office(s), the office of primary
responsibility27 for the record over time and/or the recordkeeping office and the designated
preserver; the access |
privileges code28 and the access restriction code;29 and the list of
annotations30 and of format changes.31
Authenticity is not a quality that can be bestowed on records after their creation and
maintenance by any preservation process. A preserver can only protect and maintain what was
transferred under its responsibility. Authenticity is protected and maintained through the
adoption of methods that ensure that the record is not manipulated, altered, or otherwise
falsified after its transfer. It is t |
he preserver’s responsibility to assess the authenticity of records
considered for acquisition into a preservation system and to ensure that it remains intact after
the transfer to such system by respecting within the preserving unit or organization the same
Benchmark Requirements that bind the creator (e.g., access privileges, measure against
corruption or loss) and the Baseline Requirements for preservers.
(P3) Reproductions of a creator’s records made for purposes of preservation by
their trusted |
custodian are to be considered authentic copies of the creator’s
records. (C13)
Reproductions of digital records in the creator’s record-making and recordkeeping systems
made in the usual and ordinary course of activity for either action or reference purposes can be
considered to have the same authority and effects as the first manifestation of the same
records. Reproductions of a creator’s records for preservation purposes rather than in response
to a creator’s business need are considered authentic |
copies of the records of the creator,
because they are never used in their present manifestation for action or reference by the creator
itself. The creator’s records and their authentic preservation copies are the same records but at
different phases in their lifecycle and thus at a different status of transmission.32 The former are
used by their creator to achieve business goals, while the latter are made by the preservers for
preservation purposes.
Copies of records in the preserver’s preservation |
system may not be designated authentic if
the preserver has made them for purposes other than preservation; for example, a copy from
which personal identifiers are removed may be made for access purposes. Ultimately, only the
preserver has the authority to designate a copy as authentic.
(P4) Records preservation procedures should ensure that the digital components
of records can be separately preserved and reassembled over time. (C2)
Every digital record is composed of one or more digital components. |
A digital component is
a digital object that is part of one or more digital records, including any metadata necessary to
order, structure or manifest content and that requires a given preservation action. For example,
an e-mail that includes a picture and a digital signature will have at least four digital components
27 Office of primary responsibility is defined as “The office given the formal competence for maintaining the authoritative version or
cop |
y of records belonging to a given class within a classification scheme” (InterPARES 2 Terminology Database, op. cit.).
28 Access privileges code is defined as “The indication of the person, position or office authorized to annotate a record, delete it, or
remove it from the system” (Ibid.).
29 Access restriction code is defined as “The indication of the person, position or office authorized to read a record” (Ibid.).
30 List of annotations is defined as “Recorded information about additions made to a re |
cord after it has been created” (Ibid.).
31 List of format changes is defined as “Recorded Information about modifications to a record’s documentary form or digital format
after it has been created” (Ibid.).
32 In diplomatics, the status of transmission is the degree of perfection of record. There are three possible statuses of transmission:
draft, original and copy. Copies are than further categorized according to their authority, and the most authoritative among the
copies is the authentic copy; that |
is, a reproduction that is declared conforming to the reproduced entity by an officer having the
authority to do so. Professional archivists are among such officers.
Policy Framework, v1.2 (March 2008)
L. Duranti, J. Suderman and M. Todd
InterPARES 2 Project, Policy Cross-domain
Page 16 of 16
(the header, the text, the picture and the digital signature). Reports with attachments in different
formats will consist of more than one digital component, whereas a report with its attachments
saved in on |
e PDF file will consist of only one digital component. Although digital components
are each stored separately, each digital component exists in a specific relationship to the other
digital components that make up the record.
Preservation of digital records requires that all the digital components of a record be
consistently identified, linked and stored in a way that they can be retrieved and reconstituted
into a record having the same presentation it manifested when last closed. Each digital
componen |
t requires one or more specific methods for decoding the bitstream and for presenting
it for use over time. The bitstream can be altered, as a result of conversion, for example, as long
as it continues to be able to fulfil its original role in the reproduction of the record. All digital
components must be able to work together after they are altered; therefore, all changes need to
be assessed by the preserver for the effects they may have on the record.
The preserver must be prepared to advise the cre |
ator, directly or through development of
recommended standards, on the types of digital components that the preserver’s system is able
to sustain. Where standards governing the types and formats of digital components are
common to both the record-making and recordkeeping systems and the record preservation
system, the preserver can directly influence the creator towards those standards that will
facilitate meeting the preservation requirements. Where no common standards exist or can
reasonably be adop |
ted, the preserver must understand the degree of interoperability of certain
types and formats of digital components. This understanding will provide a basis for the
preserver to assess the capability of the preservation system to preserve the digital components
and their relationships as they emerge from the creator’s record-making and recordkeeping
systems.
Highly interoperable formats—that is, formats that are not tied to specific applications or
versions of applications—are generally seen to prov |
ide a better basis for preservation work. It is
important, however, not to focus exclusively on the interoperability of formats at the expense of
the relationships between them that also must be preserved. For example, an HTML-based
Web page may be comprised of digital components that are highly interoperable, but the version
of HTML coding used to structure the components may be an old version with many deprecated
terms (i.e., terms that are not recognized by current software browsers that may be used |
to
reproduce the Web page).
(P5) Authentic copies should be made for preservation purposes only from the
creator’s records; that is, from digital objects that have a stable content and a
fixed documentary form. (C1)
A record is defined by InterPARES, following the traditional archival definition, as “a
document made or received in the course of a practical activity as an instrument or a by-product
of such activity and set aside for action or reference.”33 This definition implies that, to be
consid |
ered as a record, a digital object generated by the creator must first be a document; that
is, must have stable content and fixed documentary form. Only digital objects possessing both
are capable of serving the record’s memorial function.
The concept of stable content is self-explanatory, as it simply refers to the fact that the data
and the information in the record (i.e., the message the record is intended to convey) are
unchanged and unchangeable. This implies that data or information cannot be ov |
erwritten,
altered, deleted or added to. Thus, if one has a system that contains fluid, ever-changing data or
information, one has no records in such a system until one decides to make one and to save it
with its unalterable content.
33 See the InterPARES 2 Terminology Database, op. cit.
Policy Framework, v1.2 (March 2008)
L. Duranti, J. Suderman and M. Todd
InterPARES 2 Project, Policy Cross-domain
Page 17 of 17
The concept of fixed form is mor |
e complex. A digital object has a fixed form when its binary
content is stored so that the message it conveys can be rendered with the same documentary
presentation it had on the screen when first saved. Because the same documentary
presentation of a record can be produced by a variety of digital presentations, fixed form does
not imply that the bitstreams must remain intact over time. It is possible to change the way a
record is contained in a computer file without changing the record; for example, if |
a digital object
generated in ‘.doc’ format is later saved in ‘.pdf’ format, the way it manifests itself on the
screen—its documentary presentation, or “documentary form”—has not changed, so one can
say that the object has a fixed form.
One can also produce digital information that can take several different documentary forms.
This means that the same content can be presented on the screen in several different ways, the
various types of graphs available in spreadsheet software being one example. In |
this case, each
presentation of such a digital object in the limited series of possibilities allowed by the system is
to be considered as a different view of the same record having stable content and fixed form.
In addition, one has to consider the concept of “bounded variability,”34 which refers to
changes to the form and/or content of a digital record that are limited and controlled by fixed
rules, so that the same query, request or interaction always generates the same result. In such
cases, variat |
ions in the record’s form and content are either caused by technology, such as
different operating systems or applications used to access the document, or by the intention of
the author or writer of the document. Where content is concerned, while, as mentioned, the
same query will always return the same subset, its presentation might vary within an allowed
range, such as image magnification. In consideration of the fact that what causes these
variations also limits them, they are not considered to be v |
iolations of the requirements of stable
content and fixed form.
Based on this understanding, any preservation policy should clearly state that reproductions
of authentic copies for preservation purposes can only be made from the creator’s records, as
identified by the creator.35
The preserver should know (or help establish) the creator’s criteria for identifying the digital
objects that are maintained as records and the methods employed to stabilize their content and
fix their form. This is consiste |
nt with the preserver’s responsibility to advise the creator on its
record creation processes and technologies. This advising activity will also provide the
preserver with the critical information needed to understand the business activities and
processes that caused the records to come into being and with the ability to assess their
continuing identity and integrity.
(P6) Preservation requirements should be articulated in terms of the purpose or
desired outcome of preservation, rather than in terms |
of the specific technologies
available. (C3)
Digital records rely, by definition, on computer technology, and any instance of a record
exists within a specific technological environment. For this reason, it may seem useful to
establish record preservation requirements in terms of the technological characteristics of the
records or the technological applications in which the records may reside. However, not only do
technologies change, sometimes very frequently, but they also are governed by proprietar |
y
considerations established and modified at will by their developers. Both these factors can
significantly affect the continued accessibility of digital records over time. For these reasons,
references to specific technologies should not be included in preservation policies and
standards. Only the requirements and obligations that the records are designed to support
34 See Duranti and Thibodeau, “The Concept of Record,” op. cit.
35 See principle C1 in |
the Principles for Creators regarding the identification of records.
Policy Framework, v1.2 (March 2008)
L. Duranti, J. Suderman and M. Todd
should be explicit within record preservation policies and standards. It is only at the level of
implementation that specific technologies should, indeed must, be named.
Technological solutions to record preservation issues are dynamic, meaning that they will
evolve as the technology evolves. This affects record preservation in two ways. First, it makes it
pos |
sible to adopt new strategies to meet preservation needs, as happened with the use of XML
to support the long-term preservation of structured records. Second, it creates opportunities for
drawing on expertise from a number of disciplines. These two issues are interconnected. Thus,
for example, while utilization of XML is, by itself, only one activity for preservation, it might be
matched with using data grid technology as a stable and enduring platform to support XML-
based records. By experimenting wit |
h these combinations, new archival knowledge will continue
to be both acquired and required.
Technological solutions also need to be specific to be effective. Although the general theory
and methodology of digital preservation applies to all digital records, the preservation solutions
for different types of records require different methods. These should be based on the specific
context in which the records are created and maintained, the functions and activities to which
the records are linked and t |
he technologies employed for record-making and recordkeeping to
ensure the best solutions are designed for preserving each type of record.
Preservation policies that are expressed in terms of record requirements rather than
technologies will be more stable, needing updates only if the record requirements change,
rather than as the technology changes. Preservation action plans will likely need to be updated
more frequently to identify appropriate technological solutions for the digital preservation of |
specific aggregations of records. The identified solutions must be monitored with regard to the
possible need for modifying and updating.
(P7) Preservation considerations should be embedded in all activities involved in
each phase of the records lifecycle if their continuing authentic existence over
the long term is to be ensured. (C7)
The concept of the records lifecycle in archival science refers to the theory that records go
through distinct phases, including creation, use and maintenance and dis |
position (destruction or
permanent preservation).
It is essential for preservers who acquire digital records to understand that, differently from
what is the case with traditional records, preservation is a continuous process that begins with
the creation of the records. Analogue records are appraised for preservation at the disposition
stage, when they are no longer needed by the creator for business purposes. With digital
records, decisions relevant to preservation must be made as close as possible |
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