ID Tags and Properties Fields:
One of the central themes of this framework is that all digital objects should be handled in a way that allows the object to be identified as clearly as possible. This way, their version status should be more transparent to all audiences for the object, including the repository staff who manage the deposit of these objects.
Pros:
The benefits of adding the essential versioning information into objects is that a user can have trust and confidence that they have the right version for their purposes. The use of ID Tags and Properties fields is relevant for almost all different format types and should be filled in on all possible objects. However, they are particularly useful with objects that are particularly vulnerable to ambiguity of version or do not adapt easily to other methods of embedding versioning information in. For example, it is more difficult to insert a cover or title sheet or similar into many multimedia objects.
Cons:
- One potential issue with this approach is that some content creators will be resistant to changes being made to their work.
- A second problem can occur when converting one file type to another. The information contained within an id tag or properties field may not map cleanly over. Care should be taken to check what happens between different file types if a conversion takes place.
- Some may view the object as representative of how the research process stands at the time of deposit, and that altering it, even in such a 'behind the scenes' way, is a threat to the integrity of the work in an archiving sense. One answer to this is to record information about any changes made in the course of depositing or preserving an object in specific preservation metadata, known as PREMIS.
Notes and Recommendations:
The framework has detailed examples about how to add version information to all types of object by using the properties fields available, or any ID Tag that the file type provides for in the Content Creators section.
Repository managers may also wish to consider making use of these and add information specific to the repository that the content creator would not have been privy to at the creation stage, such as any identifier that the repository uses to denote an object.
This could include identifiers:
- URL
- Repository Number
- Other