Associations Between the Principle of Provenance and Metadata: Practical Implementation and Cases

Abstract

The principle of provenance is the fundamental theory of archives science, which also possesses important reference value in various areas of research and practice. This paper commences with investigating the core value of the principle of provenance, considering the principle to be the unity of theory and method and its core value lies in following historicalism and respecting essential attributes of the archives. Then the authors focus on the realm of government information management and explore the metadata implementation of the core value of the principle of provenance in the era of electronic records. In its essence, the principle of provenance requires full understanding and preservation of the source information of the record. In the age of electronic records this has ascended to the significance of obtaining "contextual information", which is often stabilized as metadata in electronic records, reflecting the process of the record’s creation, maintenance and long term preservation. Source information as the contextual information reflecting the record creation process, its typical form of expression in metadata is provenance metadata. Therefore the authors explore the implications of provenance metadata and its essential forms. The authors hold that source information is the indispensable characteristic information in records and archives, and also the essential form for the principle of provenance to exhibit the connotations of "provenance". This paper also explains that provenance metadata has further realized the core value of the principle of provenance, playing important roles in ensuring the authenticity, integrity, reliability and usability of electronic records as well as being the basis of their long term preservation and usage. In addition, the authors make concrete exposition on the composition and function of provenance metadata, considering it to be composed of entities and elements, specifically including such metadata as institution, business, environment, relationship and time. Different provenance metadata entities and elements record the source information of the electronic record from its creation until transfer to archives, performing various important functions in government electronic record management. The authors further their research through analyzing and comparing the characteristics of provenance metadata in government electronic record metadata standards at international, national and local jurisdictions levels. Some feasible suggestions for future research are made in the conclusion.