[Moims-rac] Examples as discussed at 14 January Meeting

[Giaretta, DL (David)]

Hi Mark
 
I like the succinctness of the proposed text. The examples you provide
are also very informative. 
 
The second one:
"B1.1 Repository identifies properties it will preserve for digital
objects. 

The repository must identify all of the properties of submitted digital
objects that it will endeavor to preserve over time. This is necessary
in order to ??? (The reason why this requirement must be met is not
articulated in the document as currently written. It is not clear what
the intent of the original authors was. This needs to be remedied.)"

It is extremely interesting that this line of re-casting the text throws
up this omission. It certainly indicates that this additional approach
can throw up significant points.

However this particular example also raises another point. Whereas B3.2
talks about Representation Information, B1.1 seems more closely tied to
"significant properties" - something which document preservers refer to,
but which is not used in OAIS. There has always been a lack of clarity
about the relationship between "significant properties" and
"representation information". 

It is not clear to me what "significant properties" of data would be.
One possibility is that it is the information which is encoded in the
data - i.e. that which is to be preserved. However it is difficult to
emunerate these explicitly i.e. one does not know what the information
really is - hence the OAIS approach of talking about
understandability/usability.  

On the other hand one it may be more consistent to argue that the
"significant properties" are things which one must _have_ in order to
uinderstand the digital object. That would argue that "significant
properties" are a type of Representation Information. This would be
consistent with preserving the  Representation Information about the
data object.

Does that sound sensible?  

 

..David


________________________________

	From: moims-rac-bounces at mailman.ccsds.org
[mailto:moims-rac-bounces at mailman.ccsds.org] On Behalf Of Mark Conrad
	Sent: 18 January 2008 19:53
	To: MOIMS-Repository Audit and Certification BOF; Lambert, SC
(Simon)
	Subject: [Moims-rac] Examples as discussed at 14 January Meeting
	
	
	Hello!
	 
	As promised, attached are some examples of rewritten
requirements using the template ideas that we discussed at the 14
January 2008 meeting.
	 
	Mark
	 
	Mark Conrad
	Electronic Records Archives (ERA)
	NHER 
	The National Archives and Records Administration
	Building 494 Second Floor
	310 State Route 956
	Rocket Center, WV  26726
	 
	Phone: 304-726-7820
	Fax: 304-726-7840
	Email: mark.conrad at nara.gov 
	ERA Website: http://www.archives.gov/era/

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