The PREMIS Working Group: Preservation Metadata for Digital Repositories

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The PREMIS Working GroupPreservation
Metadatafor Digital Repositories

• DLF Fall Forum
• October 26, 2004
• Rebecca Guenther
• LC/NDMSO
• rgue_at_loc.gov

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Preservation Metadata Functions

• Information that supports and documents the
  digital preservation process
• Establish provenance track chain of custody and
  alterations over time
• Details authenticity
• Documents technical processes object has
  undergone
• Describes technical details of object
• Describes the environment from which it
  originated
• Specify rights management information

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Preservation Metadata Functions (cont.)

• Provide information to maintain resources over
  the long term
• viability objects bitstream is intact
• renderability object can be translated to a form
  that can be viewed or used
• understandability rendered content can be
  interpreted and understood

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Background

• March 2000 OCLC and RLG jointly sponsor
  international working group on preservation
  metadata
• Identify key issues/challenges
• Seek consensus on recommendations and best
  practice
• White paper (January 2001)
• Defined preservation metadata role in
  preservation process
• Reviewed/synthesized existing preservation
  metadata schemes
• Preservation metadata framework (June 2002)
• Comprehensive description of types of information
  constituting preservation metadata
• Based on OAIS information model
• Set of prototype preservation metadata elements

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Aftermath

• Framework
• Consolidated expertise
• Provided foundation for developing formal
  preservation metadata specifications
• Common departure point for different schema
  implementations
• But ... further scope for collaboration in
  preservation metadata
• Needed best practices/recommendations for
  implementing preservation metadata in real world
  digital archiving systems

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Issues unresolved in WG

• How minimal is a core preservation metadata
  element set?
• How much metadata can be generated automatically?
• Is it useful to apply metadata elements by object
  type or object behavior?
• Levels of granularity not addressed
• Need to provide less abstract view of
  preservation metadata for implementation

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PREMIS

• June 2003 OCLC and RLG sponsored new working
  group PREMIS
• Preservation Metadata Implementation Strategies
• Objectives
• Define core set of preservation metadata
  elements, with supporting data dictionary,
  applicable to broad range of digital preservation
  activities
• Identify and evaluate alternative strategies for
  encoding, storing, managing, and exchanging
  preservation metadata

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Membership

• Priscilla Caplan, FCLA (Chair)
• Rebecca Guenther, LC (Chair)
• Michael Alexander, British Library
• George Barnum, GPO
• Charles Blair, U. of Chicago
• Olaf Brandt, U. of Gottingen
• Adam Farquhar, British Library
• David Gewirtz, Yale
• Kevin Glavash, MIT/Dspace
• Cathy Hartman, U. of N. Texas
• Helen Hodgart, British Library
• Nancy Hoebelheinrich, Stanford
• Roger Howard/Sally Hubbard, Getty Museum
• Pam Kircher, OCLC
• John Kunze, Calif. Digital Library

• Brian Lavoie, OCLC liaison
• Robin Dale, RLG liaison
• Vicky McCarger, LA Times
• Jerry McDonough, NYU/METS
• Evan Owens, JSTOR
• Erin Rhodes, NARA
• Madi Solomon, Walt Disney Co.
• Angela Spinazze, ATSPIN
• Stefan Strathmann, U. of Gottingen
• Gunter Waibel, RLG
• Lisa Weber, NARA
• Robin Wendler, Harvard
• Hilde van Wijngaarden, KB
• Andrew Wilson, NAA

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Advisory Committee

• Howard Besser, UCLA
• Liz Bishoff, OCLC (via Colorado Digitization
  Program)
• Gerard Clifton, National Library of Australia
• Gail Hodge, CENDI
• Steve Knight, National Library of New Zealand

• Maggie Jones, Digital Preservation Coalition
• Nancy McGovern, Cornell
• Cliff Morgan, Wiley UK
• Richard Rinehart, U. of California, Berkeley

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PREMIS Subgroups

• Core elements
• Establish core metadata elements and data
  dictionary
• Developed a data model
• Has had 2 face-to-face meetings
• Weekly conference calls
• Implementation
• Examine alternative strategies for encoding,
  storage and management of preservation metadata
• Conducted a survey of practices
• Monthly conference call
• Expect to complete activities by end of 2004

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Core elements subgroup

• Development of data model
• Objects
• Events
• Agents
• Intellectual entities
• Rights
• Data dictionary structured according to entities

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Core Elements

• Conducting element-by-element review of prototype
  elements from metadata framework
• Is the element core?
• How is it being used at WG members institutions?
• How should it be implemented/populated?
• Elements not covered by the framework?

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Objects

• Identifiers
• Location
• Descriptive metadata out of scope
• Technical metadata not specific to particular
  file format
• Levels of objects representation, file,
  filestream, bitstream

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ObjectsTechnical metadata

• Object characteristics
• Fixity
• Size
• Format (including link to format registry)
• Inhibitors
• Significant properties
• Creating application information
• Environment (software, hardware)
• Externally defined technical metadata (e.g.
  Z39.87/MIX)

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Events

• Digital provenance/process information
• Actions that involve one or more objects
• May be related to one or more agents
• Semantic units
• Event identifier
• Event type
• Event outcome
• Event detail
• Event date/time

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Agents

• Agent descriptions out of scope
• Attributes of agents associated with preservation
  events and rights management
• May carry-out, authorize, or compel one or more
  events
• may create or act upon one or more objects
• may hold or grant one or more rights
• Semantic units
• Agent identifier
• Agent name

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Rights and relationships

• Rights
• Only in context of right to preserve
• Collecting rights use cases
• Relationships
• Data model expresses relationships between
  entities
• Relationships between objects
• Derivative, dependency, structural

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Implementation Strategies subgroup

• Conducted survey of preservation repositories to
  explore the state of the art
• Questions about policies, governance, funding,
  system architecture, preservation strategies,
  metadata implementation
• 70 surveys sent
• Responses from 28 libraries, 7 archives, 14 other
  in 13 different countries
• 10 national libraries, 6 national archives
• Survey published Oct. 2004

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Survey findings

• Little experience with digital preservation
• Most didnt have active preservation strategy
• Many not yet in production
• Cannot assess adequacy of metadata
• Lack of common vocabulary and conceptual
  framework
• Informed by OAIS reference model
• Difference of opinion as to meaning of OAIS
  compliance

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Survey findings (cont.)

• Metadata
• Many recording rights, provenance, technical,
  administrative, descriptive and structural
• Consistent roles in preservation scope and
  policies (academic libraries, archives, national
  libraries)
• Substantial use of METS, Z39.87/MIX, OCLC sets
• Most repositories serve goals of both
  preservation and access

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Trends

• Store metadata redundantly in XML or relational
  database and with content data objects
• Use METS for structural metadata and as container
  for descriptive and administrative MIX for
  images
• Use OAIS as framework and starting point
• Maintain multiple versions (originals, some
  normalized or migrated) in repository with
  complete metadata for all versions
• Choose multiple strategies for digital
  preservation

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Looking ahead

• Finalize core preservation metadata elements set
• Complete data dictionary
• XML schemas to support exchange of core elements
  for digital provenance/process and technical
  metadata
• Final PREMIS report by end of 2004
• Community outreach opportunities for public
  comment
• Follow-on activities?

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More information

• PREMIS Web site
• http//www.oclc.org/research/projects/pmwg/
• Implementing Metadata in Digital Preservation
  Systems The PREMIS Activity D-Lib (April 04)
• http//www.dlib.org/dlib/april04/lavoie/04lavoie.h
  tml
• Rebecca Guenther rgue_at_loc.gov
• Priscilla Caplan pcaplan_at_ufl.edu