Version Labels or Taxonomies:
The use of a common vocabulary to define and identify versions has been proposed several times in recent years. NISO/ALPSP (National Information Standards Organisation / Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers), RIVER and VERSIONS have all offered possible vocabularies to describe versions.
The NISO/ALPSP Working Group on Journal Articles focussed upon defining the position of a journal article in the publication process, and VERSIONS has also dealt with describing versions in this way. The RIVER project looked more broadly at any sort of digital object, and its lifespan in general terms, not just publication. The RIVER taxonomy therefore gives terms to describe the relationships between digital objects.
Pros:
An example of using a taxonomy in a repository can be found at LSE, where the VERSIONS project recommended terminology is being used to describe versions on Cover sheets:
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/2631/
Cons:
The development of a taxonomy was suggested as a possible solution in the VIF survey. Whilst it gained support in principle for some people surveyed, many free-text comments from both sets of respondents remarked that implementing such a taxonomy would be virtually impossible without some sort of enforcing body.
Recommendations:
Clarity of versions is important; but the terminology, even for just articles, is not static or decided. Consistent usage within one repository, possibly for particular items may be achievable, such as at LSE, but care should be taken in their use and their implementation should be supported by clear policy and definition.
Explicit definition of vocabulary used is a minimum requirement if taxonomies are used.
Please see below for the suggested terminologies from the three projects mentioned above:
RIVER (applicable to all object types):
| DigitalCopy | A Successor digital object that is identical to its Predecessor digital object in all significant attributes, and in particular with respect to its information payload and technical file format |
| DigitalVariant | A Successor digital object that is essentially identical to its Predecessor digital object with respect to its information payload but is in a different technical file format |
| DigitalRevision | A Successor digital object whose information payload has minor changes but where its reviser decides that there is no need for the changes to be recognised by renaming. |
| DigitalEdition | A Successor digital object which has information payload which has evolved from the content of its Predecessor digital object |
| DigitalEquivalent | A relationship between two digital objects where this is no Ancestor/Descendant relationship, but where nevertheless one may be functionally equivalent to the other in a given context |
Link: RIVER report.
NISO/ALPSP (for journal articles):
| Author's Original | A version of a journal article that is considered by the author to be of sufficient quality to be submitted for review by a second party. This review may be prior to any formal review for publication. The author accepts full responsibility for the article. May have a version number or datestamp. Content and layout as set out by the author. |
| Accepted Manuscript | The version of a journal article that has been accepted for publication in a journal. A second party (the 'publisher' - see 'Version of Record' below for definition) takes responsibility for the article. Content and layout as submitted by the author. |
| Proof | A version of a journal article that is created as part of the publication process. This includes the copy-edited manuscript, galley proofs (i.e. a typeset version that has not been made up into pages), page proofs, and revised proofs. Some of these versions may remain essentially internal process versions, but others are commonly released from the internal environment (e.g. proofs are sent to authors) and may thus become public, even though they are not authorised to be so. Content has been changed from Accepted Manuscript; layout is the publisher's. |
| Version of Record | A version of a journal article that has been made available by any organization that acts as a publisher by formally and exclusively declaring the article 'fit for publication'. This includes any 'early release' articles that are formally identified as being published before the compilation of a volume issue. |
| Corrected Version of Record | A version of the Version of Record of a journal article in which errors in the VoR have been corrected. The errors may be author errors, publisher errors, or other processing errors. |
| Enhanced Version of Record | A version of the Version of Record of a journal article that has been updated or enhanced by the provision of supplementary material. |
Link: NISO/ALPSP.
VERSIONS (for journal articles):
| Draft | Early version circulated as work in progress |
| Submitted Version | The version that has been submitted to a journal for peer review |
| Accepted Version | The author-created version that incorporates referee comments and is the accepted for publication version |
| Published Version | The publisher-created published version |
| Updated Version | A version updated since publication |
Link:
VERSIONS reports.