Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 7
Understanding a Digital Object: Basic
Representation Information
Co-author Stephen Rankin
Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe
it from their own point of view, which they confuse with the absolute truth.
(
Simone de Beauvoir
)
This chapter describes some of the basic techniques for creating Representation
Information and how these techniques can be applied to a variety of digital
objects.
7.1 Levels of Application of Representation Information Concept
OAIS is not a design; its lack of specificity gives it wide applicability and great
strength but it also forces implementers to make choices, among which is the
level of application of the OAIS concepts. In this chapter we look particularly at
Representation Information.
7.1.1 OAIS as a Checklist
OAIS “
provides a framework, including terminology and concepts, for describ-
ing
and
comparing
architectures
and
operations
of
existing
and
future
archives
.”
The simplest way of applying OAIS is as a checklist. In particular, instead
of “
Do we have enough 'metadata'?
”, the question becomes “
Do we have
Representation Information? Do we have Representation Information for that piece
of Representation Information? Do we have Preservation Description Information
(PDI)? Do we have Packaging Information?”
and so on.
Similarly one can ask whether the various processes and functions defined in
OAIS can be identified in an existing or planned archive.
